MMM 2/9/09

"This weekend went way too fast," Russ told me last night after we had put the kids to bed. To which I replied back, "I think they all go too fast!" It was a pretty packed weekend with tons of fun for all of us!

Friday night we had family game night and introduced the kids to the game of Monopoly. Not the old regular one though, we played Star Wars Monopoly. Trent and Addy did really well and thought it was pretty fun "buying" planets and space ships. They were sorta confused that there was a real definite winner when it was time to end the game. We declared Addy the winner though since she was the only one who had space cities on her strip of property and more than $1700 in Republic credits. It was a great Christmas present (thanks again mom) and I have the feeling it's going to get played a lot in the future now that the kids understand the concept of the game.

Saturday morning we were all up early. Russ had to run a paint training at work for the day. I had won tickets from KS95 radio station for a free movie screening of 'He's Just Not That Into You' at 10am. So, I asked my friend Kim to go with me and we headed out early to pick her up and then drop the kids off at my parents. The movie was good; a funny flick. Plus, Kim won a CD and a t-shirt from the prizes that the morning crew from KS95 were giving out, so that was an added bonus to the morning. It was weird eating popcorn that early in the morning, and when the movie was over, I felt like it was 5pm in the afternoon, when in reality it was only 12:30pm! Meanwhile, the kids were being appropriately spoiled by Grandpa and Grandma Leeder. They enjoyed lunch at McDonald's and then a trip to Toys 'R' Us! They were both thrilled with their movies and toys and must of had fun because Addy fell asleep almost as soon as we left them! Russ got home from his paint training and we had dinner, then he left to go play poker for the night with the boys. He won money too, so I know he had a good time!

Sunday we were lucky enough to get WILD tickets again from Russ's company (I am thinking this is a very good sign that he is in no danger of losing his job!) and decided to take the kids. Trent and Addy had never been to the EXCEL or a WILD game, so we weren't really sure what to expect. They loved every minute of it! We had told them that they would each be able to pick out a treat during the game, and Addy was completely content to sit and eat her popcorn for most of the 1st period. Trent enjoyed his nachos and cheese as well. They both got balloon animals made for them too. Addy got a Duffy duck and Trent got a fish in WILD colors. Pretty cool, but I warned them both that they would more then likely pop before we made it home (hmmm, can you tell that I'm a mom?) Addy's duck lost a leg during the 2nd period and Trent's fish blew out its middle walking back to the car after the game. The balloon animals are still in one form or another though hanging out around the house today.

The game was a great one! Lots of action and it was so fun watching Trent and Addy cheer and jump up and down when the WILD scored. They also followed the game pretty closely, so Russ and I were happy that they understood what was going on and that they enjoyed it as much as we did. If you watched the game, you know that it ended in a 2-2 tie and went to a shoot-out. Backstrom had an amazing game and the WILD ended up winning 3-2 in the shoot-out. The kids thought the shoot-out was pretty cool. It was a wonderful family afternoon! Here are a few snapshots of us during the game:

WILD time!

We enjoyed a night out with Russ's brother, Ross and his wife Dawn, at the WILD game last night. The president of Russ's company at Hoffmann Enclosures personally gave Russ the 4 tickets and parking pass for the Club level seats. Such a treat for us! My mom came to babysit so Russ and I could enjoy dinner and then the game.

We ended up eating at the most expensive buffet either one of us has EVER eaten at. We thought we would eat at the Headwaters Bar and Restaurant that is located on the Club level. Little did we know the price would come as a shocker. A gentleman that we met on the way into the Excel Center recommended the place. You normally need reservations, but he offered to get us in. He was obviously some higher-up in the EXCEL/WILD organization, as everyone knew him and said hello to him as we followed him up to the Club level and to the restaurant. While it was the most extravagant and speciality buffet I have ever seen (they had such choices as clam cakes, stuffed shrimp, salmon, prime rib, stuffed chicken to name just a few of the entrees), we enjoyed the atmosphere despite the price shock when the waiter brought our check. Russ commentated to me, "Make sure you are absolutely stuffed and drink down all of that wine!" And at $35 a piece, we did. Luckily, the tickets and parking were free! And I think that meal is going to count as my Valentines, Easter, and Birthday dinners!

We headed to our seats and waited for Ross and Dawn to arrive. They just missed the drop of the puck for the start of the first period. It was a great game, with the WILD beating the Anaheim Ducks 3-0. It was fun and relaxing watching the game and chatting with Ross and Dawn. We even got the boys to take a few pictures with Snoopy!

MMM 2-2-09

Well, as I write this, the team I was cheering for won the Superbowl, Trent is off to his first Monday of school after having the last two Mondays off, Addy is singing Little Mermaid songs and playing Legos and of course Russ is at work. Wasn't the warmer weather this weekend so great? It was nice to have a little melt-down and despite the fact that my Yukon is really dirty, anything to help the snow melt faster is okay with me!

Saturday, Russ took the kids to Spicer to see the ice castle and do some ice fishing. Addy's main goal of the weekend was to make more beaded projects with Grandma Soukup. That is all she talked about the week prior to going, was that Grandma had new beads and she was going to make new animals. I think she brought home 8 of them, so I guess her mission for the weekend was accomplished! No fish for dinner, but I know Russ enjoyed spending time with his dad and brother. They also got to watch Eric "Perk" Perkins from KARE11 TV take a plunge into Green Lake and did some sledding down the ice castle.

I took advantage of everyone being gone for the day, and cleaned and organized the kids bedrooms (a task that must be completed without them around!), finished decorating my scrapbook room (which I will post pics of later), started putting Trent and Addy's school albums together, and watched the movie Waitress. Nice, relaxing day for me!

Sunday we had a big party to attend! Superbowl party at the Rein's! First, we got in some skating on the creek behind the Rein's house. Their neighbor cleared a spot and maintained it with some goals. The kids got a chance to use their new hockey from Auntie Missy and Uncle Brian, and practice their skating skills. Addy seems to have a more natural skill for it than Trent. But, they both got out there and did their best to try and step up-right and have some fun! Since it was so warm, I even got there and skated and had a good work-out (which is good I burned some calories with all the bacon-wrapped weinees I would later consume).

Here are some pics of us skating:

Then it was time to head inside and enjoy the company of a great group of friends, eat tons of bacon-wrapped weiners and other yummy foods, and watch the big game. I think I was the only one cheering for the Steelers. Most of the gang was cheering for the underdog Cardinals to pull off a win. It was a great game though and came right down to the end. It was a fun Superbowl Sunday!

My latest scrapbook pages:

MMM 1-26-09

Good morning! No need to hurry this morning as Trent doesn't have school today, teacher workshop day. Tonight I am going out with my friend Kim for dinner and Let's Dish while Russ attends Addy's Kindergarten Registration meeting. I can't believe it is time to get her signed up for school already! Anyway, back to what we did over the weekend:

Friday night we went to the beach. Yep, but you wouldn't of guessed that huh!! It might of been negative temperature numbers outside, but inside at Twin Lakes Elementary School, it was a warm, tropical atmosphere! Trent had is school dance and the whole family went. It was a fun time. Trent enjoyed running around with his friends (not a lot of dancing per se out of him) and Russ and I got to catch up with friends as hung out along the wall in the gym. Addy danced a couple dances with me, but mostly just spent her time between trying to keep up the group Trent was in and hanging out with the other little sisters.

Saturday, I did some shopping with my mom and then she stayed at our place to babysit while we went to our Christmas party. We have the BEST group of friends! They are so much fun to be around and I always know we will share many laughs, and good food. Apparently Russ was the big winner out of the guys for the dice present exchange game as he ended up with a bunch of fishing lures (yawn.) I thought I did pretty good with the bowl I ended up with though!

Sunday was Trent's big day for Scouts. The PineWood Derby Race. Russ and Trent have been working on his race car for the past few weeks. Trent designed it's shape and picked out the colors. Here it is, car #54:

They run 6 heats, 2 each on the 3 tracks. Then the computer calculates the top 3 overall winners for each den within the pack. And while Trent was not one of the top 3 winners, he took 2nd place in a couple of the heats and his fastest time was 2.8251 seconds. It does go fast! It is so fun watching the boys as they cheer and watch their cars racing down the track. They also had a lot of creative cars and you can tell the boys put a lot of effort into making their cars.

Happiness

My latest layout. These pics were taken last June. Those two smiling faces certaintly bring happiness to many people :)

That's O'Mama to you...

Here are just a few random things heard around the Soukup household this past week:

After being stuck inside for 3 days straight with the kids, Addy tells this to me before going to bed on the 3rd night:
ADDY: "Oh, I think I know why we have dads!"
ME: "You do?!"
ADDY: "Yes, so that at night when we go to sleep, you have been with us all day, but then dad is here so you won't be lonely."
ME: "That must be it."

TRENT (overheard singing in the shower) what he thought were the words to Queen's We Will Rock You:
"Buddy, your a boy, make a big noise, play in the street, going be a big man some day, you got mud on face, jump in the lake, kicking your ass all over the place, singing we will, we will ROCK YOU!"
***ummm, yeah, we had to make some corrections to his singing on that one!

Yesterday, I was explaining to Addy that we now have a new leader of our country, and that his name is President Obama.
ME: "So, the person who is going to lead us, his name is President Obama. You can tell your preschool teacher you know the name of our new president. Can you say 'President Obama?"
ADDY: "President O'Mama."
ME: (correcting her) "Obama."
ADDY: "That's what I said, O'Mama!"

Well, she's got 4 years to learn the correct pronunciation...

MMM 1-12-09

Another weekend that went waaaay too fast! Luckily, we finally got the basement cleaned and organized from putting away the Christmas decorations; it was getting to be a big mess down there! I am still in the process of getting my scrapbook room put back together after painting it. I am being putsy and taking my time organizing, which is somewhat unlike me, but it will get done this week!

Unfortunately, Grandma Rose (Russ's grandma) is not doing well. She had to be flown to Abbott hospital from New Ulm hospital Friday afternoon. She has fallen several times, resulting in a black eye, sore tailbone, and a large bump on the back of her head. They are trying to figure out what is wrong. They believe it has something to do with her heart and are thinking she will need a pacemaker. She will be there until at least Tuesday. Your thoughts and prayers for Grandma Rose would be much appreciated.

Saturday, Dave and Natalie Rein came over to play and go ice fishing. Since Twin Lakes is only about 5 minutes from our house, it is a perfect lake to ice fish on. The guys and kids headed out after lunch. An hour or so later they called and I went and picked up the kids so they could play inside. Trent and Addy had a great time playing with Natalie and she was a little sad when it came time for her and Dave to leave.

I received a phone call later that night from my sister Beth. She had news to share...she and boyfriend, John, are engaged! She had always been pretty adamant that she would never marry again, but John is obviously wonderful to her and changed her mind! We are extremely happy for them and will enjoy being part of their wedding in October. They plan on getting married in North Carolina where they met, so we will be traveling for their wedding. Such happy news to end the weekend with :)

The Grandma-Grandma sweater

Let me tell you, Addy is one lucky girl. See the adorable sweater she is wearing in the picture? She received two of them for Christmas! Both my mom and Russ's mom incidentally picked out the exact same sweater for her! It was so funny watching her reaction when she opened the second one from Grandma Soukup. She knew to be polite, so she just smiled and said thanks. I explained that Addy had received the exact same sweater from my mom just the day before. Luckily, we were able to return one of them to the store. But, she loves this fuzzy sweater from both her Grandmas. It is now known as the "grandma-grandma sweater".

Monday Morning Minutes 2009

Welcome to the first Monday Morning Minutes for 2009!

We have been crazy busy since about Dec. 21st and it will be nice to get back into a normal routine with school starting again this week and Russ starting back at work (I hope...as I write this he is really sick with the flu). One of my goals for 2009 is to learn more about how to manage this blog site and figure out some of the things that have been driving me mad with some of the formatting, etc.

Christmas was celebrated for 5 days in a row! Only way to do it and get all the families in. It was great having my sister and her boyfriend John here for Christmas. My dad and stepmom left for Mexico the day after Christmas (I am so jealous!) so we celebrated Christmas Eve with them this year. We had Christmas morning at our house with the kids and then my mom, Beth and John joined us for the afternoon. Then we headed to New Ulm to see Russ's Grandma Rose on Christmas night. Then back to our house, and got up the next morning to head to Spicer for Christmas with Russ's family. Russ and the kids enjoyed plenty of ice fishing with Grandpa Soukup and their uncles. The whole week was fun, if not tiring!

Trent and Addy also spent New Year's with G & G Soukup so that Russ and I could go have some all night fun. The last time with celebrated New Years out on the town was back in 1999, before Trent was even born. We celebrated with 3 other couples, the Rein's, the Bailey's, and the Balvance's. We had fondue at the Rein's and then headed out to Majors Bar to ring in 2009 and also met up with LeAnna and her boyfriend Jared. (which Mat if you are reading this, you and Jared know each other from your college days at UMM) I don't much remember much after about 12:30am, but I do know I had a lot of fun!! And that I am too old to party like that any more!

We headed to Owatonna on Friday and stayed with Dar and Mary until Saturday night so that Russ could help Dar re-do their upstairs bathroom. Trent and Addy had a blast playing with their second cousins and falling into the hay bales in the barn. I am still cleaning hay out of boots and hats!!

Unfortunately, Russ got sick early Sunday morning and had to miss attending the Vikings game with Jake. I got started on taking down all the Christmas decorations and general house cleaning and then finally sat down to watch the game. And we all know how that turned out. Another playoff game, another loss. It is so hard being a Vikings fan sometimes. And as the famous saying goes, "There's always next year."