Christmas Events!

As usual we have been a busy crew! Last weekend we went to Las Vegas . The band Train was doing a concert at Caesar's Palace and Brad and Jeanette were so kind to babysit Matt, Micah and Luke so Louise, Jon, Karl and I could go to the concert. It was awesome! This was the 4th time I have seen Train and Karl's 5th concert and this one didn't disappoint. If you don't recall who Train is think "Meet Virginia" or "Drops of Jupiter."
Henderson had a Christmas festival downtown on Saturday. Before the concert we took the boys to see Santa, listen to choir music, ride in a horse drawn wagon, and just run around and play. Matt and Brayden did great with Santa. Matt is old enough to realize how special Santa is and Brayden is too young to care! Micah was a little hesitant although he got close enough for this picture.

This morning was the High Desert Runner's Jingle Bell Jog. Karl pushed the boys and we ran together. We let the boys get out of the stroller about 100 meters from the finish and run across the finish with us. They thought that was really cool and kept saying "we won!"
Tonight we had the Fitch's over for dinner. We then went out and walked up and down a street where the homes are coverd in Chirstmas lights. After giving the boys a quick bath we watched Polar Express. We put our futon mattress out and cuddled the boys up with blankets and pillows. We all watched the movie and drank hot chocolate. Karl said watching a movie with Matt is as bad as watching one with me because we both constantly ask "what is that?" or "why is that happening?" during the movie! After hearing Matt I agree, that is pretty annoying!

One week to go until Christmas!
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card Preview

Here is a sample of pictures from our Christmas card photo shoot!

CLU Turkey Tri

My brother assisted in putting on the CLU Turkey Tri. Somehow he talked me into participating...it was so much fun.
I had a great cheering squad including Karl, the boys, my sister, Jon, and my dad.
My goal for the near future is to find a sprint triathlon.

Happy Thanksgiving to all...I hope you have a wonderful holiday surrounded by family and loved ones! We plan to spend the day at my parents home. Check back next week for our turkey pics!

Trip to Vegas

We were in Vegas a few weeks ago. It was fun to celebrate a belated birthday for Micah and see family. Brayden is getting so big! It is hard to get a good "cousin" picture because it is near impossible to get a baby, toddler and preschooler to sit still!!
We went to a children's museum where the kids had a blast. Brayden was such a trooper and is so good matured. He didn't get fussy the whole time we were at the museum.
The boys had fun "flying" in the airplane, playing mechanic, paying with bubbles, and "shopping" in the grocery store.
Karl's buddy, Ron, completed the half Silverman while we were there. It was fun to go out to Lake Mead and see him swim. Karl and I also caught him on the run portion to give him suppoort. Ron put forth an amazing effort and we are so proud of him!! What an acompishment!

Micah turns 2!

Micah turned 2 this week. He is exactly the same height that Matt was at age 2. We had a family gathering on Monday night and then met some friends at the Fire Station on Tuesday and then had them over for dinner and cake! There was a theme with gifts this year...Disney Cars and Micah loves them. He got Cars sheets, boots, books, and lots of cars! He has been playing with all his new toys and taking a few to bed with him at night. He even had a Cars cake made by his mom! Nice work mom! The Fire Station was a hit as well. We were there for almost 1.5 hours with a full tour of the station and a REAL fire truck. One of the firefighters showed us all the equipment and put on all his gear. It was great to have the kids see a real firefighter with all his gear and hear about what happens in a fire. The firefighters were very good with the kids. They all got to try on some gear and sit in the fire truck. Check out all the pictures.

Now it's Mommy's turn to write...I read what Daddy wrote and he did a great job of summarizing the past few days.
I like to think that maybe someday you (Micah) will read this blog so I want to make sure that you know how much fun we had celebrating the day with you! You are turning into such a big boy and it is exciting to watch you grow and experience life. We love you very much. Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy Halloween!

The boys had a great Halloween. We went to Mo and Po's first. Then trick or treated around our neighborhood with Luke. Micah and Luke were not sure at first but once they realized they got candy it was a blast. We hit a few houses and then went home to have dinner and play with glow sticks in the backyard.

Halloween Preview

Matt had the idea! He talked Micah into it! Andi made the costumes! Stay tuned!

CLU Homecoming

Cal Lutheran homecoming was last weekend. The school puts on a carnival after the football game. The kids love it. They had bounce houses, face painting, pumpkin decorating, and lots of yummy food.
In the above picture...I graduated in 2000, Karl in 2001, my parents in 1972 and my brother is on track to graduate in 2012! Pretty good lookin CLU family!

MN Trip Oct 2009

Karl and I after the Twin Cities Marathon. We finished in 3 hours 49 minutes. A bit off our planned time on 3 hours 45 minutes but not bad! Just to finish 26.2 miles and complete the training for the race without getting hurt is success in my book! I love that my boys think every mom and dad run marathons!

Hanging out with Aunt Erin, Grandma Andra and Grandpa Tom.

Hike and picnic

Karl and Matt playing on a huge play structure. They were like Spideman climbing all over the rope web.

Lego display at the Mall of America. We went to the aquarium at the mall. The boys loved it!

We met up with Karl's Aunt Jane, Uncle Doug, and cousins Sara and Sonya for dinner.

The aquarium in the Mall of America.

The Aunt among the ants at the MN Children's museum.

Apple orchard in White Bear Lake.

The boys finally got to meet Erin's cat Mittens.

We had a great week vacation in Minnesota. It was great to spend time with family and watch the boys have so many wonderful experiences. In one week we ran a marathon, went to an apple orchard, played hard at a children's museum, went to the MN Zoo, played and picnicked at a state park, and went to an aquarium. All that plus the fun of playing in Grandpa and Grandma's basement and riding bikes and running outside on the parkway. It was a great trip!

Big Bear Pictures

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from Big Bear. Enjoy!

Micah was pretending to be an airplane.

Throwing rocks into Big Bear Lake. The boys, Max, Matt, and Micah did this for over 30 minutes!

Matt and Max checking out the ducks below.

My biggest fans!

Matt and I sledding down the Alpine Slide. We rode the ski lift up and sledded down on a track.

The Schneider-Stutelberg Gang.

Bedtime Stories