Snow Day on December 9th!!!

Winter storm. We were out playing last night in the dark and again when we got up and we couldn't see our footprints from the night before! Snow day - no school for Mitchell and no work for me...it was nice to know I didn't have to go out driving in it! However, the only thing that brings the kids inside is the promise of Hot Chocolate! Chuck got to work and also has to head up to the cities for school tonight. I'm still working on the Christmas card and I think I only have today left to get them mailed in time to send out for Christmas - they may be late!
What a great Snow Day!

Fun Photos

2008















2006















The cowgirl and her brother playing along!















September 1, 1991
Dad's 50th Birthday
What a beautiful couple - and holy cow! Look at all of those candles!!!
















November 1972
We were all styling!

Halloween 2009

Mitchell wore his Thomas the Tank Engine costume again this year to his fall party at Kindergarten, and to his Halloween party at WeeCare. After WeeCare we had to run home to get the robot costume Mitchell and Chuck made last year which he didn't like after it was all done. We went to trick or treat downtown to the local businesses on Friday from 4-5 pm. What a great gig!

Maria dressed up in her new ballerina dress, and when we went out for the official Halloween trick or treating she put on the Elmo costume. We've had Elmo since Mitchell was 2 years old and this is the first time it has been worn! It sure kept Maria nice and warm - she was even sweating!

Chuck even dressed up for work on Friday for Halloween - most people didn't recognize him in his 70's outfit! We got a promo graduation gown at work and it fit just right to keep me warm to go along with the kiddos!

We visited the neighbors - the kids love visiting Mark&Lynn and Molly made special bags with homemade popcorn balls (no need to check for razor blades, whew!) and we stopped by Mr. Brad's house...he lets the kids take whatever they want to fill their bags! The snack pack of teddy grams was the first treat they chose to eat! Kaitlyn and Madison's Mom and Grandma helped Kaitlyn special deliver Trick or Treats. We stopped in town at a few houses and at Denee and Randy's the kids got their very own pumpkin bags filled with lots of things, including 3 juice pouches each--the second treat they broke into! Mitchell sucked down all 3 juice pouches right away (yes, he ran to the bathroom a few times that night)! We ended the evening at Grandma and Grandpa's house where the kids climbed into jammies and were ready to head home. Both fell asleep on the way home: Awesome!

Daylight saving time has made it much easier to get the kids moving in the mornings! Mitchell is very quick on the mornings he has kindergarten, but the mornings he goes to WeeCare with Maria he takes his time.

Now the kids are looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Mitchell & Grandpa on the Field Trip

Grandpa chaperoned the Blue kindergarten class on their first field trip on Friday. The plan was to go to Afton Apple Orchard, but the weather was cold and snowy. The teachers had a little help, but they organized a different field trip in less than 30 minutes! Grandpa was in charge of Trenton, Matthew, and Mitchell for a field trip to the Children's Museum. Mitchell reported that his favorite part was the Gopher hole...he said Grandpa couldn't follow him in it because Grandpa's butt would get stuck in the gopher hole! Mitchell got to eat lunch with his old friend Kristopher who used to go to WeeCare Daycare with him. It was a big day for them...Mitchell took a 2 hour nap when he got home from school and still went to bed at the same time! We are preparing for Halloween and have a few back up costumes. Pictures will be posted in the near future!

September Times

September brought a Moon Walk to the family picnic and Mitchell's first day of Kindergarten with Grandpa on hand to take photos of him on the bus. We also made it to the First Thursday where the kids got to sit in a mini street rod. Lots of good times and warm days.

Uncle Brent and Aunt Wendy gave Mitchell and Maria a Barbie Jeep. Grandpa and Grandma got a new battery and they have been cruisin all over the back! Mitchell has also found new courage while riding his 4-Wheeler and Grandpa spends a lot of time following him around the Sigmeth acres!

September 1st was a celebration of Grandpa's Birthday!

State Fair 2009

I had several second thoughts with the H1N1 around, but the food cravings and a day with the family at the fair won out! Mitchell and Maria were very well behaved and had a great time! Maria had Mini Donuts and Mitchell chose fresh fruit--what the heck?! I told him Grandma would be very proud that he picked such a nutritious treat! He also had a pronto pup, or "corndog on a stick" that he ordered. And after not wanting anything else he ate most of my Dole Whip cool treat! Maria watched a lot of people and gave them smiles. She liked the horses--one cow almost laid a cow pie right on Chuck! We spent some time on the kiddy rides - people kept giving me their extra tickets, so we had enough for both kids to go on one more ride! We also went through the John Deere farmer's market so the kids could get their JD visors. We got to see a couple larger than life Backyardigan Characters (Uniqua and Pablo). Mitchell was amazed at the crowd...he wanted me to lift him up to see everybody down the street! We drank lots of water and used lots of wipes!


Today is our family picnic at the Sigmeths. It is my signal that the summer is over--every year on Labor Day weekend we all gather for a last hr-rah. We usually bid farewell with, "See you at Christmas!"

Memphis-St.Louis Trip

Chuck and I took a whirlwind trip with Amy&Doug Dombeck down to Memphis. Grandma & Grandpa Sigmeth graciously accepted the responsibility of Mitchell & Maria Thursday evening around 4:30 pm through Sunday about 8:30 pm. Amy borrowed her dad, LeRoy's 1994 conversion van - what a great set up. The Dombecks and the Hoffmans share the month of August for wedding anniversaries and decided to take a road trip. You know the honeymoon is over when you take a couple with you on an Anniversary trip!!!

With Amy & Doug as our tour guides we saw Graceland, had the best BBQ at Interstate BBQ, took a stroll on Beale Street, & survived a flat tire (with assistance from our good samaritan, Henry). Saturday morning we took off for St. Louis and stopped at the Arch - the gateway to the West! We had a great time at Union Station for dinner as well as a late night stroll around the city of St. Louis. Chuck loved the city and it's architecture and I enjoyed the nice soft beds and sleeping through the night without kids waking me up to accompany them to the bathroom! On the way out of town we stopped in Jherico for a bathroom break - we are happy to not have disappeared from the face of the earth! We had brunch at Lambert's-home of the throwed rolls!

As you can see there are no photos. South of the Minnesota border I happened to delete them all. Very disappointing! I'm thinking of taking another trip there someday with the family...as long as we bring walkie talkies and follow the Dombecks so Amy can say, "As you look to your left you will see..."