celebrations!

Olivia and Violet celebrated their 7th birthday on November 22nd. They had a party with friends at the Big Thrill Factory, a local activities center. They invited four friends from school along with four of Jamie’s cousin’s kids. We started in a party room, where the kids had the biggest pizza I have ever seen! While they ate, they played a game to see who knew Olivia and Violet the best. Then, the kids went for a ride on the bump-and-spin cars. After that, we played two games of laser tag. Jamie and I joined in, and it was a blast! That is, until Olivia cried because she didn’t want to be on my team, saying I was too wimpy! J All of the kids were great, and we all had an awesome time.

Birthday girls Violet & Olivia

The whole birthday crew

Pizza!!

On Thanksgiving, November 27th, we went to my sister Terri’s house. My mom and dad were there; we spent the day just hanging out and relaxing. The girls went sledding for awhile with cousins William and Noelle, but it was pretty cold outside so they didn’t last very long! It was a very enjoyable and relaxing day.

Thanksgiving with cousins

On Olivia and Violet’s actual birthday, November 29th, we took them out for donuts at a local bakery. We then went downtown Minneapolis to see Santa at Macy’s. Olivia asked him for a Princess Leia doll, and Violet asked him for Millennium Falcon (a ship from Star Wars) Legos. Santa smiled and said to both of them, “Star Wars stuff, huh?” It was pretty cute! They were very excited to see Santa this year.

Birthday girls with Santa

On the way home, we stopped and picked out our Christmas tree. The girls originally wanted a white one, but unfortunately we couldn’t find one so they picked out a really nice green one. We spent the rest of the day decorating our tree, putting up lights outside and other Christmas decorations inside. I had to help the girls put the lights on the top of the tree where they couldn’t reach, but otherwise they decorated the tree themselves. It was fun to get into the Christmas mood!

Violet really enjoyed lacrosse class in November and December. I would say it was the sport she has been most excited about so far. Her favorite move with her lacrosse stick was “walk the dog,” which involved moving her stick back and forth with the ball in it, so the others couldn’t take it away. She hopes to continue with lacrosse class sometime next year!

Violet (pink shirt) at lacrosse class

Olivia and Violet have been counting down the days until Christmas. I really can’t believe it is only a week away; this month has gone so fast. We will have a pretty quiet Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; we will be celebrating at our house with just the four of us. We are looking forward to enjoying some quiet family time. We have the Thronson family celebration on December 27th and the Suchy family celebration on December 28th, so that will be a busy weekend! We are looking forward to celebrating with our families and participating in our annual Christmas traditions.

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

fall update

Since my last post was about summer activities, and we just encountered our first winter snow storm today, I figured it was about time for me to post an update.

In September, Olivia and Violet went to their first birthday party of the school season. It was a party for one of their classmates, with a Disney "Frozen" theme. It was probably the most elaborate birthday party I've ever been to, and included an appearance by Anna and Elsa themselves. I've never seen so many excited girls belting "Let It Go" all in unison! Anna and Elsa played games with the girls, read them stories, and posed for pictures. Olivia and Violet thought it was pretty awesome!

Violet with Anna and Elsa

Olivia with Anna and Elsa

The girls and I also went to a Minnesota Twins game on September 19th. I received some free tickets from work, and the seats were in a special area that had its own concessions. When we were inside the concessions area getting some food, TC Bear walked in! He walked up to us and pretended to start eating our food. The girls thought that was pretty funny! They were pretty excited to see him. They also received free Twins hats as a giveaway item, which matched the hat TC Bear was wearing. It was a fun night with my girls!

Violet and Olivia with TC Bear

Girls night at Target Field

We had our first conferences of the year on October 7th. It was nice to have them early in the year so we could touch base with their teacher and see how things were going. We are very proud of both Olivia and Violet, they are doing well in school and are really enjoying first grade.

On October 25, we celebrated Olivia and Violet's 7th birthday along with their cousin Emma's 9th birthday. The party was at Emma's house, and we had a Halloween theme so most of the kids wore their Halloween costumes. Olivia was dressed as Princess Anna and Violet as Queen Elsa, both from the Disney movie Frozen. Both the Thronson and Suchy families were there, which was really fun. The kids went on a scavenger hunt for candy, and of course played outside with each other.

Olivia as Princess Anna

Violet as Queen Elsa

Time for cake! Birthday girls Olivia, Emma and Violet

During the months of September and October, Olivia and Violet participated in swimming lessons. Due to the time the lessons started, Jamie was the one who took them. I made it to the last week though and was amazed at how far they've come! They could swim the length of the pool doing actual strokes. They really enjoyed it.

Now that swimming is over, they are doing separate activities. Olivia went back to tennis, and Violet is trying lacrosse for the first time. Olivia says tennis is her favorite sport, and Violet loved her first week of lacrosse.

Olivia and Violet had a fun Halloween too. They had a party during the day at school, and we carved a pumpkin before trick-or-treating. Well, Daddy actually carved it, but Olivia and Violet drew a picture of what they wanted it to look like. I think they had a pretty fun day!

Olivia & Violet's class on Halloween

The pumpkin Olivia & Violet designed, and Daddy carved

summer update

Wow, where have the last months gone? Summer has just flown by!

In June, Olivia and Violet had their first sleepover at a friend's house. They stayed with their friend Sylvia and had a blast. They made a fort and apparently slept in it, they came home pretty tired the next morning so I'm not sure how much sleeping they actually did! They had a lot of fun.

We had a great July 4th weekend again this year. We spent July 3rd at the Suchy farm. We had a cookout, went for tractor rides, and just relaxed. The girls had a lot of fun, especially when Daddy let them drive the tractor!

Cookout at the Suchy Farm

Tractor ride at the Suchy Farm

On July 4th, we headed into Evansville for the parade. The girls and their cousins really enjoyed running for candy this year. This was the first year as long as I can remember that my Dad didn't march in the Color Guard, so it was nice to have him join us as spectators.

Red, white and blue!

Evansville Parade (a.k.a. the battle for candy!)

After the parade, we went to the Thronson farm. The cousins played in the pool and on the water slide, went on four wheeler rides, put on a talent show, and we even played a family baseball game. In the evening, we had a bonfire. It was a very fun day!

Thronson Family

Family Baseball Game

Annual Thronson Cousins Photo

On July 5th, we went to my parent's camper. William and Noelle were there too, so they had fun playing together. They went swimming, played on the water slide and water mat, and most importantly, they caught frogs. That is one of Olivia and Violet's favorite things to do at the camper. They had a great time!

The camper

Catching frogs

Water fun

In July, the girls took a golf class. They enjoyed it but often got frustrated when they didn't hit the ball very well. I don't know where they get that from....ha ha.

I also was able to do some fun things in July. I spent a weekend with my sisters which is our annual tradition. We stayed at a hotel in the cities this year. We did a lot of shopping, went on a Lake Minnetonka boat cruise, visited a tap room, and just relaxed. I always enjoy that time with my sisters every year! Also, on Sunday, July 27, I met some of my college friends for lunch. I hadn't seen a few of them for many years, so it was really fun to catch up!

Sisters!!!!

College friends!!

In August, we celebrated niece Noelle's 3rd birthday, Aurora's 3rd birthday, and Emma's 1st birthday.

Noelle's 3rd birthday at Rainbow Play Systems

Emma's first birthday

In August, we also went to the Douglas County Fair and the Minnesota State Fair. This was the first time the girls have been to the Douglas County Fair in Alexandria, most of Jamie's family joined us which was fun. The girls went on rides with cousin Claire, saw pigs shown by cousins Nicholas and Chelsey, and visited Auntie Jill at her company's booth. After the fair, we went over to my sister Nikki's house and spent time with my whole family. It was kind of an impromptu family get together, but it was a lot of fun!! The cousins spent most of their time in the pool that they just had put in their backyard. It was a great day!

Ready for the fair! With cousins Claire and Emma

Fair ride with cousin Claire

Klimek's New Pool

Olivia and Violet spent the week of August 17 with their grandparents because we didn't have child care. They spent time with both grandparents, and came home with all sorts of stories. They really enjoyed the time with them and didn't seem to miss us very much! When they came back home, we went to the state fair on Friday, August 22, with Grandma Suchy and Uncle Joey. We rode the city bus from the U of M campus, which the girls always think is fun. The weather was perfect, warm but not too hot. We were able to see Chelsey show her pig, she advanced from the county fair level to the state fair level. She won a red ribbon at the state fair, so we were very proud of her!! We also met up with William and Noelle for some rides. Our girls have been pretty nervous about trying any bigger rides, but we finally convinced them to try the Tilt-a-Whirl, which they rode with Uncle Joey. On the first fast spin, I thought Olivia's eyes were going to pop out of her head! They made it through though, and after they got off the ride they said it was fun. Among the favorite parts of the day for Olivia were going through the horse barn (she asked me to take a picture of every single horse) and the rides. Violet enjoyed going down the Big Slide and riding on the Tilt-a-Whirl and the kid roller coaster. They both enjoyed the Lumberjack Show, Little Farm Hands and were thrilled that they got to eat cotton candy.

Waiting for the bus

Entrance to the state fair

Tilt-A-Whirl Ride

Bumper cars with Noelle and William

Chelsey showing her pig

Fun with Grandma Suchy

Lumberjack show: Log sawing competition

Violet also had her follow-up appointment with her eye doctor in August. The checkup went well, and at this point we believe her surgery was successful. Yay!

The girls spent their last week of school vacation at a YMCA Day Camp near Monticello. They rode a bus each day from the Y near our house out to the camp and back. They did many fun camp activities such as tie-dying, group games, horseback riding, canoeing, swimming and cookouts. Two of their friends from preschool went with them, so they were very excited to see Evan and Avery again!

With the end of summer came the shift to school mode. We had a great summer, but it was very busy so we are looking forward to getting back to a regular routine and schedule.

On August 28, the girls met their first grade teacher at their school's open house night. Her name is Senora Michelli, she is very nice and even has twins of her own. They were able to see their classroom, organize their supplies in their desks, and learn a little bit about how things will go in first grade. They are in the same class again this year by our request. They were pretty devastated at the thought of being apart, so we decided to keep them together. As long as they are not dependent on each other, we are fine with them being in the same class. At some point I'm sure they will want to split apart, which is just fine with us too! We'll take it on a year-by-year basis.

Violet and Olivia with Sra. Michelli

We are just finishing up the first week of school. The girls have enjoyed first grade so far, Olivia said her favorite part is lunch and Violet said her favorite part is recess. Pretty typical kids, I guess! They have really enjoyed seeing their friends again and usually don't want to go when we pick them up. They have been riding the bus to school in the morning which has been working out really well. Their bus ride is a little longer this year than it was last year, but they don't seem to mind.

First day of school

First day of school

the latest

Jamie and I had a little weekend getaway on June 6-7. We stayed at a golf resort in Ottertail and had a very fun, relaxing time. We met some really neat people, including some 85-year-old pool sharks that managed to beat us twice. We golfed quite a bit, and enjoyed our time together. The girls stayed with my parents, they were mainly at the resort where my parents have their camper, which they thought was pretty fun.

The following week, Violet had eye surgery on June 12th. She had a lazy eye condition that wasn't improving, so the doctor recommended surgery to correct it now while she is young. They went in through the corner of both eyes and cut/stretched some muscles. She was very, very nervous but got through it. The hardest part was getting her to the point of sedation. She knew that they were going to give her medicine so she would sleep during the procedure, so when we got there she refused to take any type of medicine, because she didn't want to go to sleep. Her stuffed animal buddy Olaf kept her company. The procedure went well and she is healing great, which has been a relief. Her eyes will be red for a couple of weeks, but other than that she doesn't have any side effects. She went back to daycare last week. She was afraid that she was going to get teased for having red eyes (oh, my heart broke) but all of the kids have been great and she is no longer afraid. She has to back to the doctor in two months to see if the issue has been corrected. Hopefully it has and then she won’t have any problems in the future.

Nervous before surgery!

Post-surgery recovery

Leaving the hospital in style!

This past Saturday, we celebrated Jamie’s grandparent’s 65th wedding anniversary. It was just a get together of the family members, which was really nice. It was at the party hall connected to the living center in Parkers Prairie where Grandpa and Grandma live. Grandma’s wedding dress was on display, and there were some neat pictures to look through. It was a very nice day, and I think Grandpa and Grandma had fun!

may days

Wow, May was a busy month for us! It was filled with many fun family events, including Mother’s Day, Jamie’s parent’s 45th wedding anniversary, Claire’s fifth birthday party, Nick’s 16th birthday party (watch out on the roads!), Alex’s First Communion, plus the girls had two birthday parties for friends from school. Whew!

Beyond that, Olivia had tennis class and Violet had swimming lessons one day a week. Olivia has been through the 4-6 year old tennis class twice, so when I signed her up this time her instructor moved her up with the 7-10 year olds. She looked so little out there on the court compared to the older kids! She was very intimidated the first week, but has improved and loves playing tennis. She definitely has the drive, if she has a bad shot or misses a ball she can get very upset at herself.

Violet’s swimming lessons were in the afternoon, so Jamie would always take her due to my work schedule. However, this past Tuesday was her last lesson, so I was able to get off work early in order to watch her. Wow, I couldn't believe how much she had improved! Her best stroke is the back stroke, she can easily swim the length of the pool, although sometimes she would go a little crooked and bump into the lane ropes. J I was really happy that I got a chance to see her swim.

On May 25, the girls and I went to the play “The Little Mermaid” at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. It was a fun girl’s night out! We had a fancy meal, followed by the play. The girls were a little confused as to why their meal was served in courses, but they thought it was pretty cool. The play was really good, Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” is one of their favorite princesses so they really enjoyed it. Violet sat and stared in awe most of the time, while Olivia liked when some of the characters came out into the audience. It was a fun way to spend time together!

Easter times

We had a nice (but busy!) Easter weekend. The girls didn’t have school on Good Friday, so we headed out of town on Thursday night. Traffic heading out of the cities was terrible (ugh) – so we were a bit late in getting to Alexandria for my niece Emma’s First Communion. It was a very nice service though, and depicted a reenactment of the Last Supper. Afterward, the girls and I rode with my parents out to their farm. Jamie went to his parent's farm to go turkey hunting. The girls and I spent Friday at my parent’s, it was a pretty relaxing day but the weather was very chilly! The girls had fun playing with their cousins William and Noelle. Despite the chilly temperatures, the kids really wanted to play outside. It is nice that they are at an age where they can play out there by themselves! We also drove to the nearby small town of Hoffman to see the store where my Mom is a vendor. She sells American Girl doll clothes and accessories that she sews. Her stuff is so cute and unique! We also had lunch there, the girls thought it was pretty cool to have a root beer float for lunch. J Spoiled by Grandpa and Grandma!!

We went over to the Suchy farm on Saturday morning, and celebrated Easter with them that day. The Easter Bunny hid eggs both inside and outside so Olivia, Violet and cousin Claire had fun finding them. Then of course we had a huge meal, we all were stuffed afterward. The weather ended up being beautiful that day, so we mostly sat outside and visited. Olivia, Violet and Claire played in the sandbox and ran around outside. We went to church in Millerville at 8:00 that night. On the way into town, we stopped at the cemetery and showed the girls Uncle Jim’s grave site. It was nice to pay him a visit. Then, we headed into church. We left after 1 hour and 45 minutes – and the service was still going! I couldn’t believe it. Olivia and Violet did very well sitting that long, but it was already way past their bedtime since it was 9:45.

Olivia and cousin Chelsey

Outside egg hunt with Grandpa

Olivia: "JACKPOT!!"

Violet: "I found one!"

Cousins - silly face picture!

On Easter Sunday, we went to Rhonda & Jeff’s house in Alexandria. The kids had an Easter egg hunt which was pretty fun. The eggs were hid inside, but their Easter baskets were hid outside. The weather was awesome so the cousins all basically ran around together outside while the adults visited. J They got a little muddy, but other than that didn't get into too much trouble! We also celebrated William’s 5th birthday (which is actually on May 9) and Emma’s First Communion. It was so much fun to see the girls play with their cousins, they definitely had a blast.

Violet & Olivia on Easter Sunday

Family picture

Hunting for eggs

Grandpa & Grandma Thronson with their grandchildren

Happy Birthday William! Happy 1st Communion Emma!

Olivia’s top front tooth has been VERY wiggly, it finally fell out at school a couple of days ago. Well, the one next to it got loose and happened to fall out moments later! So she lost two teeth in one day, which she thought was pretty cool. Here is her new smile!