Q Bear Visits E. 4th Street

The weekend before you are star of the week in kindergarden, you get to take Q Bear home*. I am not sure why it is a bear with a Q or what the reason behind the tradition either. I know it has been going on for a long time because Luke, who is now in 7th grade, also had a bear for the weekend when he was in kindergarden. So, we went along with the tradition and noted the things we did this weekend that involved Q Bear.

• He went to the basektball game Friday night where Gerrit met up with a few friends from school and stopped running long enough for a quick picture. 
• He hung out with Cylde, our elf, at night - snuggling on the couch and playing Legos.
• He accompanied Gerrit and I to Rochester, and made it through a shopping trip to Target.
• Elf was showing for free across the street so we took Q Bear to see Elf. We only stayed for half (and seeing we saw it earlier in the week at home, it was not a big deal). {Apparently, Gerrit doesn't like with Finch comes to help out with brainstorming new book iddeas.}
• Gerrit was brave enough to take Q to see Santa and stayed long enough to get a picture too!
• And finally, with the snow falling, Q made a trip up Sugarloaf Hill today. (I took Rockne's Christmas card pic and that as the destination - behind their house. A beautiful hike up a hill that overlooks Z-town.)

And there you have our weekend in a nutshell as well as Q's. Gerrit will take Q back to school tomorrow with pictures of their adventures together! A great way to start off Star of the Week!

*Q bear almost didn't come home with us this weekend. Mrs. Boyum, Gerrit's teacher emailed me and said Q smelled so bad like smoke (from the previous home) that she was too embarrassed to send him home with Gerrit. She planned to take him home and wash him and Gerrit would get him next weekend instead. I quickly emailed back and said I would wash him as Gerrit was really looking forward to having Q this weekend - the bball game and visiting Santa. So, she made a trip back to school (I think a special trip just for us) and found a non-smoky smelling Q bear for Gerrit. So a big thanks to Mrs. Boyum for making this weekend extra special for Gerrit!

Not Much has Changed in a Year

I love that Santa visits Zumbrota. We can walk to visit him, rarely have to wait in line and we can take our own pictures. Plus, there are snacks and treats to enjoy thanks to the Telephone Co. annual Holiday open house.

I would hate to stand in line only to find out my kids are still afraid of Santa and refuse to go near him. Making the short walk is not a huge investment if the situation goes bad.

Gerrit whispered to me at breakfast he didn't want to see him but we convinced him to go for the snacks and possibility of seeing some friends.

Plus, Q Bear is visiting this weekend and wanted to see Santa (more on that later this weekend).

So he agreed to go and look how close he got!

He even told Santa what he wanted for Christmas: a dirt bike race track.

He wouldn't sit on his lap but did get closer and posed for a picture.

Emmit is still a bit shy. We thought he was going to walk up to Santa but no such luck. 

And again, dad is in the photo..maybe next year??

A Hunting We will Go...

We made our annual trip to Menomonie Wi to get our tree. We went a week later than normal thanks to a nasty cold Adam had during Thanksgiving. Turned out to be a blessing - the weather was much nicer when we went compared to when we were suppose to go.

The annual wagon ride out to find the perfect tree:

Gerrit did a great job carrying the measuring pole and double checking to make sure the tree wasn't too tall (we still have a mark on the ceiling from a tree that was a wee bit too tall!).

A family was near us when we found our tree so we actually got a family photo by the tree this year - first time ever?!

Emmit getting down near the action, checking things out - really he wanted to use the saw (and hold it as we were walking around).

Everyone was hard at work - the boys carrying the measuring pole to the wagon pick up area:

Gerrit was a huge help with the lights and putting ornaments on the tree. Although many ornaments were bunched by topic, it was still nice to have company (even if I had to move a few ornaments). Gerrit insisted that the MSU ornament was near the Gopher one and that the MSU football was near the MSU ornament because they won the game. Make sense, right?

Emmit tried to help but is not quite there yet. He went and brought his own chair over to get higher like his big brother.

And now the house is officially decorated for Christmas. Both boys remind us to turn the lights on the tree and the other areas we have lights in the house. Gerrit is doing a pretty good job of behaving himself seeing Clyde the elf is visiting again. And mornings are great - Gerrit usually is not an easy one to wake up in the morning but seeing the advent calendar is up and running he has to be the first one down to open the door! 

MSU - Gopher game

A cold day did not stop us from enjoying a MSU football game. We decided to leave Emmit behind due to the cold temps (22 degrees). 

We were invited to the game back in Sept by friends who have season tickets. We jumped at the opportunity and have waited all season for this day to come. Unfortunatly, it was a bit colder than we would've liked, but we embraced the whole experience.

Here is our tailgating spot - yep - 2 tents and thankfully the sides and a heater were included!

Dan, our host and chef. I think we will just tailgate in the future - who needs to see the game when you can have a meal prepared by Dan! We had Philly steak sandwiches and numerous adult beverage choices to keep us warm:

I was a bit nervous when this is what I saw shortly after we arrived to tailgate. We still had 2+ hours till kick off! No, that is not Goldy, its Gerrit in there!

 Shortly I saw this face which made me feel better:

 A little entertainment and learning experience: "shot ski" - something we don't have in MI. A nearby tailgating party had the ski and we supplied the beverage. The funniest part....the song that is sung before the shot is taken: "Jesus hates Wisconsin" - no joke. They sing this little phrase before you can partake. A little harsh, but funny if you understand the boarder battle.

Here they go!

Adam did say it warmed him up - dual purpose!

 A little pregame work out...

Finally, game time!

Goldy, struttin his stuff before the game:

Typical site in November - a pile of snow! The cities got a bit of snow Thanksgiving...Goldy snowboarded down it near the end of the game.

Sparty! Gerrit spotted him first.

Coach Dan...the man!

One of the plays...

Still smiling and warm!

Gerrit did great. He didn't complain about being cold or hungry. We stayed for the whole game too. Emmit had a blast at John and Deb's (Dan, our hosts inlaws) and we are ready for another game next season (although we'd choose earlier in the season when its a bit warmer). 

Best quotes of the day from Gerrit:

Mom, I want to go to a game where there are more Spartan fans...

Why did the Gophers get more kicking practice?

I guess we'll have to take a road trip to East Lansing to get a game with more Spartan fans.

If you watched the game, you'll know Gerrit's observation is true - the Gophers had a few too many 3 and outs and had to kick more than MSU did!

Even though Gerrit had his Goldy hat on, he was sporting his Spartan jersey underneath and was cheering for them. He wanted me to bring his Sparty hat along but I figured the camera and a few blankets were enough for me to carry! 

Loved the game and experience and the cold was not too bad! It was all worth it.

Oh, and the stadium is awesome. I had not been to the new one yet (Adam and my dad went last year). Watching college football outside is so much better than in a dome, cold and all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sneaky Pete

Last night when I was tucking Gerrit in bed, he was reflecting on the night. 

He said: I was pretty good tonight, wasn't I mom?

I responded: It was a pretty good night, I just wish you wouldn't sneak snacks. (He had opened a box of football shaped brownies after dinner w/o permission and later told me about it.)

Gerrit responded: I didn't like the brownie anyways - it tasted like a frozen brownie and I couldn't get Emmit's open for him to eat.

I asked where the brownie was and he said in his room. When I asked where it was specifically, he said in his cubby. I made him get out of bed and find it before I forgot about it and found it in the spring! He came back with it and says he couldn't get it open because Emmit had made such a mess of it, it was too hard to open! 

I guess I will have to do a better job of putting the treats out of reach. I'm running out of room because the boys can reach quite high in our kitchen!

Homework

Gerrit came home with homework last week. He needed to make some sort of transportation for class. They are studying modes of transportation and could build any kind they wanted to build. 

First, Gerrit wanted to build a rocket and we started planning out what we needed...

Then, he switched to a golf cart....

The whole time I'm assisting on the building of this project, I was taken back to when I had to build a rubber band car in high school. I should say, my brother built it for me and I assisted...kind of like Gerrit assisting me...brought back some great memories and at times I wished Uncle Jeff lived closer because I'm sure he'd build a cooler golf cart than what I came up with!