My Grandpa Don

 My Grandpa Don passed away the morning of Em's birthday.  His health had been failing for quite awhile, but even though I knew he was no longer in pain and is in a happier place, strangely enough, it still didn't make the loss a whole lot easier for me.  My grandpa had the biggest heart and use his talents and gifts to serve those less fortunate than him.  He loved his family and was personally invested in each of his grandchildren.  Even now, almost a full year later, I miss him.  I can hear his laugh and smell his pipe tobacco.

His funeral was up in Minnesota the first weekend of December.  I felt very strongly that the whole family go up for it, even though it meant quite a bit of extra work to pack EVERYONE and EVERYTHING up.  (Traveling with my children is no easy task.)  But, it ended up being a fantastic trip, and we got to visit with our friends that had moved up there a year before too.

Big smiles as we start out.

Big smiles from me when Britta falls asleep!

Welcome home!

Our good friends, the Snows, opened up their beautiful home to us.  Tessie was there for me shortly after Juliana was born when Cubby started traveling.  She would come over and either read stories to the big kids, tuck Kari into bed while I nursed Juliana, or hold Juliana while I put the big kids into bed.  Truly an angel in disguise!

Still reading to my children :-)

 My Uncle Rob and Aunt Barb were also close to my Grandpa.  We were able to catch up with them and with many others who came to pay their respects.

 Another friend from my childhood, Alexis, came as well.  Her family lived across the street from my grandparents and Erin, Alexis, and I used to play together all the time!  I love it that we still keep in touch--Thank goodness for facebook!

All of the travel and action left Miss Britta pretty tuckered out.  Sweet little girl.  (The quilt she's sleeping with was also made by Tessie.  Yes, she's extremely talented.)

Britta wasn't the only one worn out.

 Saying a formal good-bye to my grandpa wasn't easy, but it was definitely worth it.

S'mores at Gma and Gpa's

It was one of those beautiful evenings, top 10 of the year, and I was in the mood for s'mores!  (Really, when am I not in the mood for s'mores?!)  It was the perfect night to go play at Grandma and Grandpa's!

Britta was completely cool with chilling on the blanket!

Emily strikes a pose!

Grandma helps Kari with her 'mallow

Smile, Ju Ju!  (She had been crying over something or other, but Daddy helped her feel better.)

Juliana roasting her marshmallow...

And then eating her s'more :-)

 Next up were some yard games!  Croquet anyone?

Grandpa's girl, Britta!

Kari, riding the little tricycle that I road when I was little! 

 All of the grandkids with Grandma and Grandpa!

It was SUCH a beautiful night and we are so lucky to live so close to Grandma and Grandpa!

Fun With Grandma and Grandpa Lindseth

Grandma and Grandpa Lindseth came into town for Christian's baptism.  And, as always, the kids put them to work right away!  (Twelve hour car ride???  No problem!  They're ready for fun!)

Juliana, on the other hand, conked out from all of the fun timers!

One day we took them to the exploratory zone at the Joselyn Art Museum.  We had been there once before, and the kids were really excited to show Grandma and Grandpa what it was all about.

And...this time it was Kari who got all tuckered out!

The girls also had a great time with play-doh!

Later that afternoon, Emily and Christian gave us a magic show!  It was so cute!

We always pack a whole bunch of fun into their visits.  The kids sure do love their grandparents and they are so lucky to have grandparents (five of them!) who love and support them so much.

Gingerbread Disply

Every year we go to the gingerbread display down at the Mormon Trail Center.  There are some really amazing creations that come through there and the missionaries serving there even put together a scavenger hunt for the kids to do.  They love it :-).

 One of the largest displays this year was the Wizard of Oz.

This was my favorite--a tribute to Calvin and Hobbes :-)

Ju Ju doing the scavenger hunt

Grandma and Grandpa got to come with us this year!

Shout out to Memorial Stadium

A more traditional display--cute detail work

We went upstairs and they had a Nativity dress-up scene.  Very cute.

Trip to Michigan with the Big Kids!

Cubby had a client up in Detroit to visit and so he used some of his frequent flyer miles and brought the big kids along to visit Grandma and Grandpa Lindseth.  They were just a tad excited!  And, even though their planes got delayed a LOT (they were supposed to get in at 11 pm Easetern Time, but didn't get in until 1 am!) they were quite the troopers...  

 But, the after effects became evident as soon as they got into the car!

 The next day, Emily and Christian were so excited because their cousins drove into town from Buffalo to hang out and play!

 One of the places they visited had a big Thomas the Tank Engine statue.  NON of the kids would pose by it...so Cubby did instead!

 They weren't, however, too proud to do lots of other silly poses.

 The kids also showed Uncle Peter the world of Minecraft.  Oi.

 They also had fun just hanging around, putting coins on the train tracks to be flattened later that day, rolling down hills, and playing at the park.  Also on the agenda was a visit to the Henry Ford museum.  The kids all liked going there and making candlesticks, candles, and writing with old-fashioned ink.

 Not really sure what Christian was eating, but he apparently enjoyed it.

Then, it was time to come home again...with more delays...these kids were BEAT.  (Both ended up sleeping in quite a bit the next day, hence, being able to go with me to Kari's preschool program, the next day.)  Poor Christian also ended up with strep later that week...yup, the kid just gets sick if he parties too hard.

They all had such a great time though!  Cubby even got to be with his mom on Mother's Day and was there to help bless Aunt Tessa's baby girl, Payton.  It was a wonderful opportunity for all of them to be together.