Christmas Day

We broke tradition in the Stremler house and opened gifts on Christmas day. It was nice to go to church with my parents (we usually are with Adam's dad) and relax a bit before heading to my brother's house in the afternoon.
We had a nice sit down dinner and a fabulous table display by my sister in law - the kids table was great -- treats and all! So jealous she was able to decorate the tables and have a reason for decorating and know that it would be appreciated (by me at least).

After a filling dinner, we opened gifts. Emmit loved his new 'pack back' also known as back pack. He is now ready for preschool to start! Gerrit can't wait for the snow to disappear to use his new skate board from his cousins too. Emmit and Mia enjoyed playing in a shipping box as much as he did with his real gifts!

We spend a day with Adam's dad and Uncle Travis and Millie too. It was nice to see them and have everyone on Adam's side together too.

We stopped by Adam's mom on the way back to MN and dodged a small snow storm while at their house. It was nice to be a little closer to home too by stopping at her house.

Our trip was locked in to certain days because we had a wedding back in MN to go to. Even though it was a shorter trip than planned, we were so glad we didn't turn around in Madison and go home. Spending time with family and watching the boys make connections with everyone was well worth the stress it put on Adam and I! 

Celebrating 3 Birthdays

We made it to Michigan in time to empty the car, watch the last half of the MSU game and grab a quick snack before heading off to Max's high school hockey game. We might have missed family pictures (which later we learned everyone was thankful we cancelled - well, maybe not Oma) and Ella's hockey game, but we enjoyed watching at least 1 game.

Following the game we headed back to my brother's house for a birthday celebration of Max (19th), Bill (26th) and Emmit (31st). It was a great time for the cousins to hang out and play as well as the rest of us to chat and enjoy each other's company.

  

Griswald Family Vacation*

I know it has been a while since I posted and no excuse...I'll try and catch up tonight though.

After our family Christmas, we prepared to head to Michigan at the end of the week. Well, with the huge snow storm headed for Wisconsin and a good portion of our driving route, we were hesitant to leave on Thursday as planned. We watched and hoped the storm was going to miss the area but no such luck. Also, no such luck in Emmit missing out on the flu. Gerrit was fine after a day and by Tuesday afternoon, it had struck Emmit. And unfortunately, it was not a  24 bug for him. Seeing he was still not feeling well and the snow storm, we decided to wait till Friday to head to Michigan. I had the day off anyways, so I hung out with the sick kid - and Gerrit (snow day because the storm that hit WI, hit us too, just not as hard). Friday we headed for Michigan only to have Emmit throw up in Madison. Not fun having to deal with that in the car! After much discussion as to what to do (Emmit had been good for 24 hours which is why we decided to make the trek East), we opted for a hotel verses traveling further (in either direction). We were suppose to be at Adam's mom's and then switched that visit till the end of the trip because of family photos with my family scheduled for Sat. morning. Well, now with Emmit still sick and we were spending the night in Wi, we cancelled the photo shoot.

A night in the hotel was perfect. I was able to wash Emmit's clothes and blankets and he was able to relax with Adam (who wasn't feeling well either). Gerrit went swimming in shorts and loved every minute of it. It was a nice break up in the drive even though it put us another day out.

I rode in the back seat with the boys in our Subi for 5 hours clinging to 2 coffee cups for fear of the flu striking again. Lucky for me, it did not! I was going to be ready if it did this time! A stressful drive that was worth it to see the family, even if for only a few days.

We survived the rest of the trip without anyone else getting sick!!

*Friends enjoyed the updates I was giving on Face Book and said it sounded like the Griswald Family Vacation movie with all the stuff that happened and went wrong! Gave us a good laugh - after the trip!!

Santa Makes an Early Stop

Santa has made a special stop at our house the past few years. Lucky for the boys, his visit meant a few gifts were left behind. The boys were interviewed and filled out their wish list for Santa and surprisingly, they both got what they asked for!


I didn't realize till I downloaded the pictures that I didn't get any pictures past the stockings! Guess we got caught up in the excitement. Gerrit was sick with the flu so he did not enjoy his gifts right away. Emmit enjoyed putting on Gerrit's new BMX goggles without a fight from his brother - that really showed us Gerrit was not feeling well.

Gerrit was suppose to be in the church Christmas program but due to his flu, we stayed home and enjoyed some family time. I think I was more bummed he couldn't be in it than he was. Singing is not really his thing - although he does it and looks so cute!

The Plague

When you think of the Plague you think you need to stay away...well that is what it was like at our house this past week. No one wanted to come near us for fear of getting sick!

Emmit started out the illnesses with a short bout of the flu Thurs. night. I stayed home with him on Friday due to a nasty cold I had. Even though Emmit seemed fine, I was suffering! He did play in bed with me while I rested - I could hardly keep my head up it was so full. I slept it off and things seemed to be getting better until Sat. night when Gerrit had the flu. Sunday was our little family Christmas before the Christmas program at church - well, we didn't make it to the program thanks to the flu. It was not worth trying to fight the crowd for a seat if Gerrit wasn't going to sing so we stayed home. Gerrit wasn't too disappointed as singing is not his thing - I think I was more bummed than anyone. Emmit enjoyed playing with his new toys while Gerrit laid on the couch and watched. I stayed home with him on Monday to make sure he no longer was ridding fluids at either end of his body. It gave me another day to nurse my nasty cold.

Tuesday we were all back to our normal routine and watching the weather closely. A major blizzard was predicted to hit WI on Wed. night and Thursday...Thursday we were to leave for MI! Emmit ends up with the flu again on Tuesday at daycare so our plans were set - we would leave Friday (and based on the snow Madison is getting, it was a good move regardless of illnesses).

It is now Thursday and Emmit is home from daycare still. He is starting to keep food down and play with his toys. He has been very cuddly the past 2 days which has been nice but it is great to see him start to show signs of himself again. I think we are all on the mends, my cold included.

We ended up getting about 5" of snow out of the major snow that is hitting Wisconsin. This hit at the right time to call of school for Gerrit. Luckily I was home anyways so the 3 of us hung out. We are waiting for dad to come home to snow blow the driveway so we can start loading the car. Our plan is to head out first thing in the morning and give the Subi a good test. Blowing snow is what is expected which we can handle. Hopefully the roads will be cleared by the time we hit Wisconsin in the morning. Once we make it through Wisconsin, it should be smooth sailing...we shall see!

Good thing I finished my class a week ago as it would have been a nightmare trying to take care of sick kids and finish a class! I am enjoying some extra time until mid January when the semester starts up again.

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??