It's Tradition -- Seventh Anniversary Celebration

One warm summer night a few days before our wedding anniversary, Andi and I packed up the kids and drove them over to Noerenberg Gardens on Lake Minnetonka to stand in the very same spot we said "I do" seven years ago. Andi's mom, Janie, happened to be over at our condo that afternoon so we invited her along with us, too.

Tory, in particular, was very excited to see the place Mom and Dad got married. "I've never been here before," she exclaimed more than once. We kindly reminded her that she's been coming to this spot with us every July since she was a baby. "It's tradition!" I told her. "Um, what's tradition?" she sweetly responded.

Strolling through the beautiful Noerenberg Gardens is one our family's favorite traditions. Wedding anniversaries are a time to celebrate one another, and there's no better place than in the spot where it all began. All these years later, it still sends goosebumps up my arms.

Andi and I have shared a fabulous seven years together, and I can't wait to see what the next seven will bring!

After we'd spent time in the gardens, the five of us (Janie, too) hopped over to downtown Wayzata for frozen yogurt. Marshmallows, cherries, whipped cream and sprinkles; Tory and Aden's favorite treat this summer.

I'm so very thankful for this little family of mine, and especially for my husband who made it all possible.

Musky Festival 2016

A few weeks ago, Andi and I took Tory and Aden to the Musky Festival in Hayward, Wisconsin. Attending the Musky Fest is one of my favorite summertime traditions. I'm not sure why I love it so much, but it probably has something to do with the nostalgia it brings. Tory was just a baby the first time we stumbled upon this event, and we've made it a point to return every summer since then.

The Musky Festival is an hour's drive North from the lake cabin, and Andi and I seem to say to each other every year how much farther away it is than we remember. Our excitement for the small town festival never wavers though. Some annual traditions are worth going the extra mile. 

There's an entire weekend calendar of events, but this year we only visited Hayward for a morning. We enjoyed walking around the vendor fair set up in the middle of town, visiting the old-time candy store and having ice cream at West's Dairy.

It was a super hot day the morning we went, and even Aden begged for relief from the sun. He kept stealing my sunglasses and requested to be carried everywhere we walked - ugh. I was dripping in sweat by the end! At 30+ pounds, he's no small boy these days.

 

The kids cooled off with a game of water balloon toss -

Then, we also sought relief from the heat in the air-conditioned Old Tyme Candy Store. This place is kid heaven with every kind of candy you can imagine. Andi let Tory fill a basket full of 10 pieces of candy, so she walked around for quite some time selecting her chosen items.

Before we left town, we stopped for ice cream at West's Dairy. There's something about this ice cream store that I love so much; it makes me feel like I've been transported back in time fifty years.  And, some of my most-cherished photographs of the kids were taken in this store so we do our best to capture more every year. 

I love this one of Tory and her criss-crossed legs. She is growing into a little girl before our very eyes!

 

 

Another lovely visit to Hayward's Musky Festival. I hope we're able to continue with this tradition year and year.

Christmas 2015

Christmas! It happened ... better get to blogging about it before Easter rolls around.

Andi, Tory, Aden and I spent Christmas at our lake cabin this year, and it was absolutely wonderful. It's something we've wanted to do for years, but weren't sure how to make it work without upsetting family. Bucking tradition can be a tricky thing, and past practice had us alternating visits with my family in Nebraska or celebrating with Andi's family in Minneapolis. Fortunately, everyone was supportive of our decision to try something new this year, and our Christmas celebration turned out to be everything we'd wished it to be. 

Our family of four arrived at the cabin on Wednesday, December 23 and were pleased to find a fresh blanket of snow on the ground! The weather stations were abuzz all week as to whether Minnesota would have a white Christmas, and fortunately the weather changed from rain to snow as we drove over the Wisconsin border. I'd pictured snow-covered trees surrounding us on Christmas Day, and happily it was as beautiful as I'd imagined.

On Christmas Eve (Thursday), Andi and I bundled up the kids and took them for a walk in the woods. Tory was in absolute heaven in the snow, and promptly dropped into snow angel position the first chance she got. Aden, on the other hand, wasn't a big fan of the white stuff. He had a hard time walking in his bulky snow suit and boots, and cried the minute wet snow touched his bare hands (but wouldn't leave his gloves on either).

Later that morning, we FaceTime'd my parents, sister and nieces so they could watch Tory and Aden open the gifts my Nebraska family sent us. I'm sure it felt strange for them to sit on the other side of a computer screen and watch Tory and Aden rip through gift after gift. There was the typical chaos of wrapping paper flying through the air and kiddo screeches as they excitedly unwrapped each box. Still though, I was thankful for the opportunity to share the experience with my family. It made the 10 hours of distance between us feel a little smaller.

Andi's parents joined us at the cabin later that evening to celebrate Christmas Eve, and together we attended church at a little country chapel down the road. Before we left, I carried forward one tradition from my own childhood: Andi and I gave Tory and Aden each one small gift to open before church. When I was a kid, we'd unwrap a piece of jewelry or a watch and it seemed oh, so special! Tory felt the same way as she opened a silver necklace with her initial T on it. She immediately put it on with her Christmas dress. Aden loved his Melissa & Doug Water Wow book to use during the service.

Tory and Aden had a difficult time sitting through the hour-long church service with so many readings, so Janie kindly took them to the children's room next to the sanctuary. Afterwards, the six of us headed back to the cabin for heavy appetizers and night-before-Christmas excitement. Andi helped Tory arrange cookies and carrots on a plate for Santa Claus, and both kids went to bed around 8:30pm. Janie, Jim, Andi and I spent the rest of the evening sharing stories of our favorite Christmas memories as we set out Santa's presents by the tree. It was a perfect evening.

Then, a Christmas miracle! Tory and Aden slept in longer than the adults on Christmas morning. Janie, Jim, Andi and I had breakfast in the oven and cups of coffee in our hands by the time the kids woke up to see what Santa Claus had left them. Tory was super excited to find a princess castle, a carriage and a yoga mat among other smaller things. Aden received a Little People City Skyway, a bike helmet, a frog umbrella and galoshes.

This was the first time (at age 4) Tory really understood the meaning of all the parts of Christmas. She expected presents under the tree on Christmas morning, and excitedly dumped her stocking out onto her new workout mat to see what Santa had left her. Aden (at age 2), on the other hand, wasn't sure what all the hubbub was about. He fixed himself on the biggest present - the racetrack - and ignored the rest. When Tory finally convinced Aden to look in his stocking, he pulled out a new package of pacifiers and exclaimed, "Ooh! Paci's!" Apparently, that was a gift he could get excited about.

 

Trying out the new paint sets Santa Claus left them in their stockings was mandatory, obviously.

Around lunchtime, Andi's sister Lindsay and her husband Kyle arrived at the cabin to spend Christmas with us. I felt so appreciative of Andi's family who agreed to travel to us at the lake so our kids could wake up in their own place on Christmas morning, and not have to rush off somewhere the minute they received their gifts from Santa.

Our intimate group of family enjoyed Christmas Day together without a pressing agenda to keep. We relaxed, ate, talked and took a walk in the woods. Janie arranged a fun, social meal for us - raclette - using a special Swiss pan she'd purchased. Similar to fondue, it involved melting special raclette cheese in trays under the pan and cooking meat and veggies on the top griddle. She served chicken, shrimp, beef, diced vegetables, gherkin pickles called cornichons and boiled potatoes. It was delicious, and so fun to sit around the table together as a family. The whole process took several hours.

After lunch and Aden's afternoon nap, we opened gifts. This year, we decided to dial things back and exchanged names amongst the six adults. Less presents for us meant more of the focus was shifted to the kids. My very favorite present was a pot holder Tory (with Janie's assistance) made me. She was excited to give it me, and I loved seeing how proud she was of her efforts.  

Janie, Jim, Lindsay and Kyle stayed overnight at the cabin Christmas Day, so we capped off the night with board games (first the Dazzling Princess game with Tory, followed by Mexican Train Dominoes after the kids were in bed). How many nights of the year allow the chance to sit around with family and play games together? To me, it's one of the best parts about the holidays. 

We finished our Christmas celebration the morning of Friday, December 26 with crepes made on the same raclette griddle used the day prior. Janie brought the making for sweet crepes with fruit, nutella and whipped cream. 

It was the perfect low-key Christmas celebration -- our first at the lake cabin.   

Christmas Advent Calendar, Day 20: Make Lefse with Grandma

Making lefse is a Christmastime tradition in Andi's family. Janie (Andi's mom) learned from her grandmother at age 20, and has since taught Andi's sister, aunts, cousins and now Tory, Aden and I how to make it. I think Janie made lefse four separate times this holiday season! Everyone wants to share in the tradition with her.

We chose Sunday, December 20th (advent calendar day 20) for our lefse session. Andi was suppose to be traveling for work that day, but thought he might be able to catch an earlier flight home in time to join us. (Plans changed, and he ended up skiing in Vail that weekend.) Andi's sister Lindsay and her husband Kyle planned to join us as well, but decided last-minute to take a trip to New York City. Andi's dad was working that day, so it ended up being Janie, Tory, Aden and myself for our lefse date. No worries though! We had a fun, memorable day together.

Considering our group of four-year-old and two-year-old participants, Janie made the lefse dough ahead of time and only made one small batch. She owns the special griddles, rolling pins and long wooden sticks used to turn the lefse while it's cooking. For my contribution, I brought a spinach salad and soup for lunch.

With all the prep work done for us, it didn't take long to cook the lefse. Janie showed Tory and Aden how to roll the dough ball onto the pastry board, and she and I took turns cooking the lefse on the hot griddle.

Tory caught on rather quickly and seemed to really enjoy the cooking process. Though, she really likes to help in the kitchen so I suppose it isn't too surprising. Later that evening, she told me there aren't many steps to making "lepsa"; you simply:

1) Scoop a piece of flour
2) Roll it out
3) Put the dough on
4) Roll it out carefully
5) Put it on the pan
6) Let it flip
9) Let it cool
10) You can eat it now

*The numbered steps are exactly as she described it

Tory enjoyed eating lefse (buttered and sprinkled with sugar), and had it for breakfast every morning the week before Christmas. Aden wasn't a big fan; though, it's not surprising considering he doesn't like potatoes or many starches in general. 

As always, I'm thankful for Janie presence in our lives and her dedication to family traditions. I hope my kids cherish making lefse with their grandma and remember these times together fondly. 

Thanksgiving 2015

Happy Thanksgiving from Nebraska! This is the first Turkey Day we've celebrated with my family since, well ... I'm not sure exactly. For many years, I worked Gopher football games in Minneapolis the Saturday after Thanksgiving and wasn't able to travel back to Nebraska. And for whatever reason, we've stayed in Minneapolis the years since I stopped working at the U. This year, it was such a treat to be "home" for Thanksgiving. I can't believe how much I missed my family's holiday traditions.

Driving was another thing we haven't done in forever; the last time being when Aden was four months old. Airline tickets were ridiculously expensive from Minneapolis to Lincoln this time of year, and now we have to buy four plane tickets since Aden turned two. For those reasons, we decided to give driving back to Nebraska a try once again. I packed up the car on Wednesday afternoon, swung by Andi's office to pick him up, and together the five of us (Andi, Tory, Aden, Chloe [the dog] and I) made the seven hour trek back to my hometown. Surprisingly, the drive wasn't too painful. The kids both slept on and off, and I brought plenty of road trip activities to keep them busy. We also stopped half-way at a Chick-fil-A to eat and to let the kids burn some energy at the indoor play place. All in all, it went pretty smoothly.

My mom and dad hosted Thanksgiving at their house this year, and whoo-boy did my mom go to a ton of work. I never realized when I was younger how much goes into hosting a holiday event like Thanksgiving. So much coordination with cooking the food and finding places for everyone to enjoy their meal. She pulled it off, and we all had a great time.

My Aunt Cheri and my mom, the hostess with the mostest

The Three Amigos -- Tory (4), Brooke (8) and Neeley (3)

Uh-oh, somebody found the pie!

There it is! My sister Ashley made a yummy chocolate pie that was a big hit with everyone. 

Our Thanksgiving meal was delicious. My mom served turkey with gravy, ham, mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, and green beans. In addition, my cousin brought cauliflower rice, my Aunt Cheri brought corny macaroni and my sister made homemade dinner rolls. It was a feast!

Of course, there was pie ... pumpkin and chocolate to be specific, as well as blueberry salad, green pineapple Jell-O, apple crisp and ice cream. The kids' eyes were as wide as saucers as they peered over the top of the countertop at the big selection before them. 

After dinner, it was time to get serious ... about Bingo. It's a Thanksgiving tradition in my family, after all. Everyone from young to old grabbed a card, and for one reason or another I was nominated to be the caller. Tory Bean acted as my trusty assistant.

Those who didn't play Bingo poured over Day-After-Thanksgiving sales ads and populated their shopping lists.

Aden found a quiet spot under the table to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on his iPad.

Baby Ben's first Thanksgiving!

Ten grandkids at our Thanksgiving this year. We have so much to be thankful for!