Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
January 25, 2013
Celebrate good times...
Come on, you know the rest. Seriously. Don't make me sing it. Holidays are so much more fun with kiddos and my kiddo doesn't even know what is going on yet. I don't care, I love it. I didn't do a great job of posting about our Christmas but we had a blast! So many firsts. We took Tyson to visit Santa (he didn't care about that). We dressed him in the cutest, jolliest outfits (didn't care about that either). And started a few tradtions with our little family. We are crossing our fingers that he will always get this much satisfaction out of tissue paper, not to mention, just being with the ones we love.
We were able to spend a good chunk of time with Derek and Jamee as they were home. Tyson totally hates any attention he receives from his Aunt and Uncle (please note the sarcasim). We had Christmas with our Bohlen fam. We cracked crab legs, played games (primarily Blockus and Derek primarily lost), laughed a lot and just enjoyed the time together. Grandma and Grandpa got Tyson a sweet sled that he loves. Although we have only taken those wheels out in the snow once, it gets plenty of miles inside the house. Who needs a playyard when you have a sled?
We had our own family Christmas on Christmas morning. Tyson was in love with the tissue paper but now we see the benifits of our carefully selected presents for him. The Zany Zoo and Sippy Cups were the biggest hits! We then traveled over to our Shaw family festivities on Christmas day. We enjoyed time with the extended family and then time with Grandma, Grandpa, Ian and Adrian afterwards. Tyson scored the cutest little monster mittens and plenty of snuggles!
We had an amazing first Christmas. I can't help but to think how much fun each added year is. As I said, I just love holidays with a little one. Any smalliday is just too much fun to ignore. Now that the Christmas/New Year hustle and bustle is over, I get to work on Valentine's, Easter fun and of course, a first birthday party. Yay!
December 18, 2011
Simply overwhelmed...by love
I can't help but to swirl around and be amazed by our blessings. I've got an incredible spouse, a cozy (and festive!) house, an amazing family, incredible friends... This time of year, I am reminded how different God's plan for us is yet it is far better than we could ever plan or even dream ourselves. I love the reminder that God works in the small things as well as the large. Mary giving birth to her son probably wasn't how she had always imagined it would be - in a situation that was not exactly socially acceptable, in a strange land, giving birth in a stable and laying that newborn child in a manager. Nevertheless, it held blessings far beyond her expectations.
For us this year, I am constantly reminded of how God is working. I can't be more thankful that He is in control and we aren't. I wake up every day so blessed that we are pregnant with a healthy baby. One day closer to meeting the little one. Yes, it took 16 months on the rollercoaster of trying to conceive. It is funny, the more we talk to people about some of the problems we were experiencing, the more we run into people who have similar stories. The road to parenthood can be a hard one, unfortunately it's not uncommon.
In May 2011, we found out we were pregnant which ended in a miscarriage. Our baby never grew past four weeks. This was another difficulty and a part of our plan that we just didn't understand. Just when we thought our prayers had been answered, God took us down yet another road. We had so many questions and faced a multitude of feelings - luckily, Ryan is such an amazing man. I can say through our entire journey to parenthood - our relationship has never been better (see - we couldn't have planned that!). As we (our doctors) dug a little deeper into why this was happening or what was going on, we found that I had hydrosalpinx (a tube that was blocked due to fluid). This isn't a problem if you get pregnant but can be a problem that prevents you from getting pregnant in the first place. Well, there was one answer for us! The doctor told us to wait a bit before we start trying again but to see if we can make it work without medical intervention on the tube. Sure enough, the first month we could try we found out we were pregnant again!
He knows what our hearts really need and when they really need it. It took us a while to admit that we are pregnant and to talk about it openly - believe us we wanted to scream it from the mountain but we were very protective. We can't believe we are just over the halfway hump and we couldn't be more excited to meet this little bean that God has prepared our hearts for. This Christmas, we are surrounded by love. We need nothing more.
We wish you all a wonderful Christmas, ask that you count your blessings and keep them close to you, and hope that you bust out the cake, candles, party hats, song and dance in celebration of the birth Jesus!
XOXO
The Four of Us
Ryan, Ashley, Myles and Baby
For us this year, I am constantly reminded of how God is working. I can't be more thankful that He is in control and we aren't. I wake up every day so blessed that we are pregnant with a healthy baby. One day closer to meeting the little one. Yes, it took 16 months on the rollercoaster of trying to conceive. It is funny, the more we talk to people about some of the problems we were experiencing, the more we run into people who have similar stories. The road to parenthood can be a hard one, unfortunately it's not uncommon.
In May 2011, we found out we were pregnant which ended in a miscarriage. Our baby never grew past four weeks. This was another difficulty and a part of our plan that we just didn't understand. Just when we thought our prayers had been answered, God took us down yet another road. We had so many questions and faced a multitude of feelings - luckily, Ryan is such an amazing man. I can say through our entire journey to parenthood - our relationship has never been better (see - we couldn't have planned that!). As we (our doctors) dug a little deeper into why this was happening or what was going on, we found that I had hydrosalpinx (a tube that was blocked due to fluid). This isn't a problem if you get pregnant but can be a problem that prevents you from getting pregnant in the first place. Well, there was one answer for us! The doctor told us to wait a bit before we start trying again but to see if we can make it work without medical intervention on the tube. Sure enough, the first month we could try we found out we were pregnant again!
He knows what our hearts really need and when they really need it. It took us a while to admit that we are pregnant and to talk about it openly - believe us we wanted to scream it from the mountain but we were very protective. We can't believe we are just over the halfway hump and we couldn't be more excited to meet this little bean that God has prepared our hearts for. This Christmas, we are surrounded by love. We need nothing more.
We wish you all a wonderful Christmas, ask that you count your blessings and keep them close to you, and hope that you bust out the cake, candles, party hats, song and dance in celebration of the birth Jesus!
XOXO
The Four of Us
Ryan, Ashley, Myles and Baby
January 07, 2011
:::more holiday hoopla:::
What a whirlwind of Christmas, New Year's, Birthdays and Weddings. Needless to say, life is good. We especially love this time of year as we celebrate our relationships with family and friends. I honestly don't know where the last 3 weeks went. It has been a month of celebrations! Go ahead and enjoy a few photos from our recent activities.
As for the New Year, Ryan and I have never been big on 'resolutions', we both like the idea of learning and growing BUT it never hurts to make a few goals. So serious or not, here are some of our hopes for 2011!
Happy New Year to you!
"It matters not the number of years in your life. It is the life in your years." Abraham Lincoln
As for the New Year, Ryan and I have never been big on 'resolutions', we both like the idea of learning and growing BUT it never hurts to make a few goals. So serious or not, here are some of our hopes for 2011!
-Improve our fitness
-Increase our creative jive
-Travel (we already do this but we love it)
-Take dance lessons
-Read books together
-Ryan would like to teach me the ins and outs of hockey in hopes I will appreciate the game
- More yoga
- Begin our midwest baseball tour
- Get outside of our comfort zone
- Complete a handful of indoor/outdoor projects around the house (including the lawn in our backyard - it's sad)
- To be better listeners when our hearts are quiet
Happy New Year to you!
"It matters not the number of years in your life. It is the life in your years." Abraham Lincoln
December 24, 2010
Christmas Eve
Merry christmas! Can't beleive it is here. Well there is no question about it, our christmas is definitely white. Here are a few photos of our day today. My not so new year's resolution is to take pictures this time. We'll see how it goes.
Oh, and here are a few pics of Christmas with Ian before they ventured off out east.
Oh, and here are a few pics of Christmas with Ian before they ventured off out east.
January 10, 2010
Christmas and New Year
We had an amazing time these past couple of weeks. Busy but pretty great. Family and friends were in town. We wish we could see everyone more often but hey, we'll take anything we can get. For New Year's Eve, we traveled down to Des Moines to see friends we haven't seen in a while. Ryan and I got to spend quality time with one another after things once again became quiet.
The day after Christmas, Jamee and Derek were back in Waterloo and we celebrated Christmas with the Durnil Family. We spent the afternoon laughing, remembering, watching movies and having fun.
Curt and Chance got in to Iowa that Saturday night. Sunday we got together with the Bouck family. We are always entertain by all of the boys and this night was no exception.
Monday we had Christmas with the Bohlen Family. Mom, Dad, Derek, Jamee, Ryan, me and our baby, Myles. Spoiled Pup. Anyway, we were able to spend that afternoon hanging out. The Reeds and Grandma and Grandpa stopped in for a visit later.
The rest of the week, we took advantage of spending time with everyone who was in town. I think I am still eating leftovers from all of the great food. I know this is short and sweet. We enjoyed just being together. Thanks for making another time of year special. Love you all! HAPPY 2010!
The day after Christmas, Jamee and Derek were back in Waterloo and we celebrated Christmas with the Durnil Family. We spent the afternoon laughing, remembering, watching movies and having fun.
Curt and Chance got in to Iowa that Saturday night. Sunday we got together with the Bouck family. We are always entertain by all of the boys and this night was no exception.
Monday we had Christmas with the Bohlen Family. Mom, Dad, Derek, Jamee, Ryan, me and our baby, Myles. Spoiled Pup. Anyway, we were able to spend that afternoon hanging out. The Reeds and Grandma and Grandpa stopped in for a visit later.
The rest of the week, we took advantage of spending time with everyone who was in town. I think I am still eating leftovers from all of the great food. I know this is short and sweet. We enjoyed just being together. Thanks for making another time of year special. Love you all! HAPPY 2010!
December 13, 2009
Big 14
I just realized that this will be my 14th post all year. Yep, sorry about that. I can honestly say that since my last post in September, we have been busy but I didn't think it would fly by so fast. I think it is safe to say we might get around to sending out Christmas cards in 2010? The last couple of days have required that I sit around and do nothing really so I decided that the least I could do was post an update. This was better than the other option, watching Top Chef and Julie and Julia when I have a selection of food I feel comfortable eating at the moment. Another thing I found while reminding myself what we did these past few months is that I am kind of lousy at pulling out the camera. Man, strike two. Don't hold it against me.
In October, Ryan and I celebrated our third anniversary. We got a bite to eat and enjoyed each other's company. Ryan is amazing and I never seem to get over how lucky I am that God choose him to be my husband. We dated for some time before we became engaged and thought we knew quite a bit about each other. Little did I realize that there is so much about him that has yet to unravel and I love watching all of it. He is extremely caring. He is intelligent (knew that one) and has an amazing ability to remember everything. He makes me smile on a day-to-day basis, normally not intentionally but just by being him. Each year keeps getting better.
In October, we also witnessed my cousin Tyler and Megan's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding. The ceremony was extremely touching and personal. Plus, anyone who was at the reception would say that the cherry on top, was a big Hawkeye win. Congratulations you guys!
We also had a little halloween fun. As you can see from the photo. Ryan was a cowboy and I was a deviled egg. What you can't hear is the fan that was used to keep Ryan's costume up and running. Ha, it was kind of distractingly loud but I think that made it even better. As usual, we had our pumpkin carving night. The fall this year was amazing, with weather in the 60-70's we really couldn't complain and we took advantage of the lovely outdoors as much as possible.
Not too long after that, we hung out with Ian and he thought the cowboy was pretty cool so he decided to try it on himself. It fit him pretty well. 
The weekends in the fall were primarily filled with Hawkeye fun. That's right GO HAWKS! We can't wait to watch them again on January 5th. Anyway, we made it down to Iowa City for 5 of the games this season. I can say that only one of them was cold (it was the night game vs. Michigan - the theme song for the evening was the Blacked Eyed Peas 'I Gotta Feeling' seriously, I think it was played ten times). Other than that the weather was manageable. We wore t-shirts in November which we were very proud of and the Hawks came out 10-2 this season. Pretty Great!
A couple of weeks ago, we were able to travel to Arizona for Thanksgiving. We truly had a blast. We spent the first night with James, Angie, Cole and Caden. We had fun watching them decorate the tree. It was so cute, since Caden is just a little guy, he was only able to decorate the bottom of the tree but he sure went all out. Thanksgiving dinner was amazing (thanks again James, Angie and everyone else who contributed yummy food). Although it just seemed a little odd to be in 75 degree weather. We were with family so it really didn't phase us. They let us in on the tradition of the snowball fight. We had Arizona snowballs (marshmallows) and nailed each other with them for no rhyme or reason. As you can tell from photos, it got pretty intense.
Friday, Amy and Andrew had us over for a poker party. It was a really fun group of people. Steph was able to make it as well. As for the poker tourney, let's just say I have a darn good poker face so good in fact, I made it to the last table. You don't need to know much more than that. That night got pretty late, imagine middle school slumber parties but many more laughs. Ha. We all ended up staying somewhere in Amy and Andrew's house. Got up to a lovely breakfast, did a little shopping and went back to Jamee and Derek's (where we stayed for the remainder of the trip).
Saturday night, Derek, Jamee, Ryan and I were able to visit the McRae's, Steph, Patrick (of course) and Brian and Shirlee for a while. Angie and James stopped by as well. We stopped by to drop off a few things for Kate's Crazy Christmas and were able to go on a walk, play around, watch Kate's famous dance moves and get a lot of laughs in. While we were shopping for toys, we came upon whoppee cushions that we just couldn't resist getting for Olivia, Will and Kate. They had a little bit of fun with those. Will would ask, 'Excuse me, could I whoppee cushion you?'. They were just balls of energy. When we were on our walk, I was hanging back with Kate and Steph while Olivia and Cole were running ahead of us and Kate asked, 'Why does Olivia keep playing with that hot boy? Does she like him?'. Will also started teasing Derek about his shorts (which were plaid). Will kept saying, 'Hey Mr. Underpants Man, why aren't you wearing pants?' Ha. He thought Derek had his boxers on. It really was too cute. It was just a true blessing that we were able to see everyone at home, hang out with everyone we haven't seen for a while and enjoy each others company.
Sunday, we had a pretty relaxing day. We hung out with Derek and Jamee and enjoyed our last day in Sun Country. Sunday night, the four of us went out to eat with Amy, Andrew, the munchkins and Amanda and Charlie. We had such a wonderful trip, it is always hard to leave after having an amazing time and knowing that we seriously could not ask for a better family to surround us. We LOVE you all. Thanks for a wonderful reminder of the blessings we are constantly thanking God for.
Here are some photos, like I said, I am really not that great at pulling out the camera but I was able to get some and borrow a few others. Check out Amanda and Amy's Blogs for more pictures of the trip and our shenanigans.
And that brings us to December. I was well aware that it would be a crazy month with Christmas parties, get-togethers, Christmas shopping, decorating, cooking, etc. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy these activities but I need to remember to PAUSE during all of this and remember the real reason we celebrate this time of year. I love our series at church right now, its called Waiting. It is going through a few stories in the Bible that are examples of when people were waiting for God to speak to them, whether it was in the middle of crazy times or in silence. He has a plan and we are part of it. It's not the other way around. I love small reminders like that. I also love the music this time of the year, it is extremely powerful and I could listen to it for hours on end, especially when the lights from the windows are twinkling on the snow that recently fell.
Here is a pic of our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
This is the Christmas bouquet that my parents brought over, wishing me a quick recovery. I felt they matched this portion of the post and they were too pretty to keep to myself. Thanks again Mom and Dad!
Derek and Jamee and Curt and Chance are planning to come home for the holidays. We can't wait to see them and spend time with our family and friends. If we (I'll say that so Ryan has a little bit of ownership of the long gap) don't blog before then, have a wonderful Christmas and New Year! LoVe, love, LOvE!
In October, Ryan and I celebrated our third anniversary. We got a bite to eat and enjoyed each other's company. Ryan is amazing and I never seem to get over how lucky I am that God choose him to be my husband. We dated for some time before we became engaged and thought we knew quite a bit about each other. Little did I realize that there is so much about him that has yet to unravel and I love watching all of it. He is extremely caring. He is intelligent (knew that one) and has an amazing ability to remember everything. He makes me smile on a day-to-day basis, normally not intentionally but just by being him. Each year keeps getting better.
In October, we also witnessed my cousin Tyler and Megan's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding. The ceremony was extremely touching and personal. Plus, anyone who was at the reception would say that the cherry on top, was a big Hawkeye win. Congratulations you guys!
We also had a little halloween fun. As you can see from the photo. Ryan was a cowboy and I was a deviled egg. What you can't hear is the fan that was used to keep Ryan's costume up and running. Ha, it was kind of distractingly loud but I think that made it even better. As usual, we had our pumpkin carving night. The fall this year was amazing, with weather in the 60-70's we really couldn't complain and we took advantage of the lovely outdoors as much as possible.
Not too long after that, we hung out with Ian and he thought the cowboy was pretty cool so he decided to try it on himself. It fit him pretty well. 
The weekends in the fall were primarily filled with Hawkeye fun. That's right GO HAWKS! We can't wait to watch them again on January 5th. Anyway, we made it down to Iowa City for 5 of the games this season. I can say that only one of them was cold (it was the night game vs. Michigan - the theme song for the evening was the Blacked Eyed Peas 'I Gotta Feeling' seriously, I think it was played ten times). Other than that the weather was manageable. We wore t-shirts in November which we were very proud of and the Hawks came out 10-2 this season. Pretty Great!
A couple of weeks ago, we were able to travel to Arizona for Thanksgiving. We truly had a blast. We spent the first night with James, Angie, Cole and Caden. We had fun watching them decorate the tree. It was so cute, since Caden is just a little guy, he was only able to decorate the bottom of the tree but he sure went all out. Thanksgiving dinner was amazing (thanks again James, Angie and everyone else who contributed yummy food). Although it just seemed a little odd to be in 75 degree weather. We were with family so it really didn't phase us. They let us in on the tradition of the snowball fight. We had Arizona snowballs (marshmallows) and nailed each other with them for no rhyme or reason. As you can tell from photos, it got pretty intense.
Friday, Amy and Andrew had us over for a poker party. It was a really fun group of people. Steph was able to make it as well. As for the poker tourney, let's just say I have a darn good poker face so good in fact, I made it to the last table. You don't need to know much more than that. That night got pretty late, imagine middle school slumber parties but many more laughs. Ha. We all ended up staying somewhere in Amy and Andrew's house. Got up to a lovely breakfast, did a little shopping and went back to Jamee and Derek's (where we stayed for the remainder of the trip).
Saturday night, Derek, Jamee, Ryan and I were able to visit the McRae's, Steph, Patrick (of course) and Brian and Shirlee for a while. Angie and James stopped by as well. We stopped by to drop off a few things for Kate's Crazy Christmas and were able to go on a walk, play around, watch Kate's famous dance moves and get a lot of laughs in. While we were shopping for toys, we came upon whoppee cushions that we just couldn't resist getting for Olivia, Will and Kate. They had a little bit of fun with those. Will would ask, 'Excuse me, could I whoppee cushion you?'. They were just balls of energy. When we were on our walk, I was hanging back with Kate and Steph while Olivia and Cole were running ahead of us and Kate asked, 'Why does Olivia keep playing with that hot boy? Does she like him?'. Will also started teasing Derek about his shorts (which were plaid). Will kept saying, 'Hey Mr. Underpants Man, why aren't you wearing pants?' Ha. He thought Derek had his boxers on. It really was too cute. It was just a true blessing that we were able to see everyone at home, hang out with everyone we haven't seen for a while and enjoy each others company.
Sunday, we had a pretty relaxing day. We hung out with Derek and Jamee and enjoyed our last day in Sun Country. Sunday night, the four of us went out to eat with Amy, Andrew, the munchkins and Amanda and Charlie. We had such a wonderful trip, it is always hard to leave after having an amazing time and knowing that we seriously could not ask for a better family to surround us. We LOVE you all. Thanks for a wonderful reminder of the blessings we are constantly thanking God for.
Here are some photos, like I said, I am really not that great at pulling out the camera but I was able to get some and borrow a few others. Check out Amanda and Amy's Blogs for more pictures of the trip and our shenanigans.
And that brings us to December. I was well aware that it would be a crazy month with Christmas parties, get-togethers, Christmas shopping, decorating, cooking, etc. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy these activities but I need to remember to PAUSE during all of this and remember the real reason we celebrate this time of year. I love our series at church right now, its called Waiting. It is going through a few stories in the Bible that are examples of when people were waiting for God to speak to them, whether it was in the middle of crazy times or in silence. He has a plan and we are part of it. It's not the other way around. I love small reminders like that. I also love the music this time of the year, it is extremely powerful and I could listen to it for hours on end, especially when the lights from the windows are twinkling on the snow that recently fell.
Here is a pic of our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
This is the Christmas bouquet that my parents brought over, wishing me a quick recovery. I felt they matched this portion of the post and they were too pretty to keep to myself. Thanks again Mom and Dad!
Derek and Jamee and Curt and Chance are planning to come home for the holidays. We can't wait to see them and spend time with our family and friends. If we (I'll say that so Ryan has a little bit of ownership of the long gap) don't blog before then, have a wonderful Christmas and New Year! LoVe, love, LOvE!
January 03, 2009
Family Time
Once again, I failed to take a lot of pictures. We had a great Christmas this year. All of our family get togethers were spread out which meant we could spend a little more quality time with everyone and we had four days of food, family and Christmas festivities. Can't complain about that. I am always reminded this time of year how fortunate we are to have amazing families and support systems. We also had Myles' first Christmas at home. He was of course spoiled with new toys and a stocking with cookies and treats.
On Friday night, we had our Christmas with Mom, Dad, Jamee and Derek (I apologize but this was the only one that I remembered to get the camera out for). Myles came and enjoyed ripping up (never eating) the wrapping paper. We had a lot of fun and 'humor' thrown into the gift opening this year. We ate taco pizza (yes, very traditional) and played games. I think we may have started a new tradition.
We had a big annoucement on the Durnil side of the family this year. Tyler and Megan got engaged. They make a great couple and we are really looking forward to the next step for them. Congratualations you two, we love you.
To celebrate ringing in the new year. We hung out with our group of friends (or our second family). We went out to dinner and played board games and then watched the New York ball drop at 12am central time? On New Year's day we rooted for the Hawks and were very happy with the turn out. We then played more board games (this was the girls' idea as the guys could have been content watching 15 games that day). If anyone wants to know Partini and Backseat Drawing are two of our new favs.
After all of the excitement we are relaxing and trying to take down the Christmas decor... We will see how motivated we get today. 2008 was a tough year, as we had a lot of change with our families, a lot of extreme weather with the floods and tornadoes, plenty of stress with the economy. We welcome whatever 2009 holds for us and hope that it is a good year for all.
On Friday night, we had our Christmas with Mom, Dad, Jamee and Derek (I apologize but this was the only one that I remembered to get the camera out for). Myles came and enjoyed ripping up (never eating) the wrapping paper. We had a lot of fun and 'humor' thrown into the gift opening this year. We ate taco pizza (yes, very traditional) and played games. I think we may have started a new tradition.
We had a big annoucement on the Durnil side of the family this year. Tyler and Megan got engaged. They make a great couple and we are really looking forward to the next step for them. Congratualations you two, we love you.
To celebrate ringing in the new year. We hung out with our group of friends (or our second family). We went out to dinner and played board games and then watched the New York ball drop at 12am central time? On New Year's day we rooted for the Hawks and were very happy with the turn out. We then played more board games (this was the girls' idea as the guys could have been content watching 15 games that day). If anyone wants to know Partini and Backseat Drawing are two of our new favs.
After all of the excitement we are relaxing and trying to take down the Christmas decor... We will see how motivated we get today. 2008 was a tough year, as we had a lot of change with our families, a lot of extreme weather with the floods and tornadoes, plenty of stress with the economy. We welcome whatever 2009 holds for us and hope that it is a good year for all.
December 10, 2008
#1
Last week was amazingly busy but fun. It started off with our typical Monday night volleyball loss (we totally should have won but for some reason it never really works out that way... we are not that bad, really!). On Tuesday, I went to a Women's Christmas party with mom at church. There were about 50 tables, each table has a different host who decorated their own table. We then ate dinner and had a little entertainment. On Wednesday we stayed home trying to get a few things done around the house. Thursday night, Ryan had a work dinner and I went to another Christmas party. On Friday we were planning to celebrate Dad's birthday but he was sick. I think by now he is back to feeling better, but that wasn't the best birthday. Saturday morning we helped with the Gift of Giving where we take kids shopping, getting their families Christmas presents and wrapping them. I am almost to the explanation of the picture, it's worth it. Saturday night we had the FRA (Ryan's work) Christmas party, where we went out to dinner and then did a white elephant gift exchange. With this being our first year (not knowing how ugly it gets) we were pretty nice with our presents. However, by the end of the night I ended up with the #1 Dad t-shirt which Ryan is sporting in the picture below. At least Myles thinks it is fitting!
December 03, 2008
'Tis the Season....
I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by. Thanksgiving has come and gone, in fact, we were so busy enjoying the company and the break that I didn't get in pictures (sorry). The Christmas season is upon us and I hope among all of the crazy shopping, get-togethers, decorating, cooking, etc. we are able to take some time to breathe and enjoy what surrounds us. I understand that circumstances are unstable with current issues afloat but we have the staples: the comfort of a warm house, the surroundings of friends and family who we know aren't going anywhere and the joys of laughter and love.
I have seen this all over and received e-mails with this little survey so in the spirit of fun, here is our Christmas Quiz:
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Ashley: Wrapping paper
Ryan: Gift Bags, Why?
2. When do you put up the tree?
Ashley: After Thanksgiving, I love the Christmas season and music but is there really a need to play it 24 hours straight before Thanksgiving has arrived??
Ryan: After Thanksgiving, if you do it any earlier you confuse everyone. One holiday at a time.
3. When do you take the tree down?
Ashley: When I get around to it. When do you take the tree down Ryan?
Ryan: After New Year's, it's rude to take it down earlier. I always take the real trees down, I don't care about the fake trees.
4. Do you like eggnog?
Ashley: Yuck!
Ryan: Uh...I can only have one glass otherwise I can't drive.
5. Hardest person to buy for?
Ashley: Dad
Ryan: You!
Ashley: I am not!
Ryan: Derek, because he is a little metro and buys everything he wants.
6. Do you have a nativity scene?
Ashley: Yes
Ryan: Yea, it's right there!
7. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Ashley: I wish I mailed Christmas cards. I usually make phone calls.
Ryan: Mail, you can't put a computer on the fridge.
8. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Ashley: Other presents yes, Christmas present... I don't think so
Ryan: Um.. I don't think so, maybe for a white elephant gift.
9. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Ashley: Sugar Cookies out of the freezer
Ryan: My favorite thing to eat at Christmas?? I don't really associate Christmas with food.
10. Lights on the tree?
Ashley: Yes, White lights
Ryan: Yes, who doesn't have lights on their tree?
11. Favorite Christmas song?
Ashley: O Holy Night
Ryan: Carol of the Bellls
12. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?
Ashley: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixon, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Roudolf (I typed them so Ryan couldn't hear)
Ryan: No! Roudolf, On Donner and Blitzen, How many are there? It's too late to think. Vixon, Vixon is definately one.
Ashley: There are nine, just sing the song.
Ryan: What are they?
Ashley: No you just want me to tell you the answer.
Ryan: Prancer!! Isn't he a reindeer?
Ashley: Yeah there's a movie about it! (I sang the song)
Ryan: I got all of them except Dasher and Donner and Stupid
13. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Ashley: Neither this year, sometimes a star
Ryan: An angel with a star where the heart is
14. Open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Ashley: Both, we have Christmas on both days for different families, Ryan doesn't let me open his present until Christmas Day, trust me, I try!
Ryan: Well we have to open presents for the 10 days around Christmas but my personal opinion is Christmas day.
15. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Ashley: 40 foot Santa's that blow around and scare the crap out of Myles
Ryan: The wind, it's cold out. Crazy women shoppers and... it's dark at 2 in the afternoon.
Ashley: Anything else grinch...
Ryan: Um, I don't know that's it.
16. Favorite Ornament theme or color?
Ashley: It's always different, I love creativity. This year ours is bronze.
Ryan: Red, I don't get it!?
17. Favorite Christmas Tradition?
Ashley: Cuddling with you while sitting by the lights of the tree and having apple cider.
Ryan: Hmm... leaving cookies and milk out for Santa
Ashley: We don't do that.
Ryan: Waking up and opening a gift and eating breakfast by the tree.
Merry Christmas!!!
I have seen this all over and received e-mails with this little survey so in the spirit of fun, here is our Christmas Quiz:
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Ashley: Wrapping paper
Ryan: Gift Bags, Why?
2. When do you put up the tree?
Ashley: After Thanksgiving, I love the Christmas season and music but is there really a need to play it 24 hours straight before Thanksgiving has arrived??
Ryan: After Thanksgiving, if you do it any earlier you confuse everyone. One holiday at a time.
3. When do you take the tree down?
Ashley: When I get around to it. When do you take the tree down Ryan?
Ryan: After New Year's, it's rude to take it down earlier. I always take the real trees down, I don't care about the fake trees.
4. Do you like eggnog?
Ashley: Yuck!
Ryan: Uh...I can only have one glass otherwise I can't drive.
5. Hardest person to buy for?
Ashley: Dad
Ryan: You!
Ashley: I am not!
Ryan: Derek, because he is a little metro and buys everything he wants.
6. Do you have a nativity scene?
Ashley: Yes
Ryan: Yea, it's right there!
7. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Ashley: I wish I mailed Christmas cards. I usually make phone calls.
Ryan: Mail, you can't put a computer on the fridge.
8. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Ashley: Other presents yes, Christmas present... I don't think so
Ryan: Um.. I don't think so, maybe for a white elephant gift.
9. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Ashley: Sugar Cookies out of the freezer
Ryan: My favorite thing to eat at Christmas?? I don't really associate Christmas with food.
10. Lights on the tree?
Ashley: Yes, White lights
Ryan: Yes, who doesn't have lights on their tree?
11. Favorite Christmas song?
Ashley: O Holy Night
Ryan: Carol of the Bellls
12. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?
Ashley: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixon, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Roudolf (I typed them so Ryan couldn't hear)
Ryan: No! Roudolf, On Donner and Blitzen, How many are there? It's too late to think. Vixon, Vixon is definately one.
Ashley: There are nine, just sing the song.
Ryan: What are they?
Ashley: No you just want me to tell you the answer.
Ryan: Prancer!! Isn't he a reindeer?
Ashley: Yeah there's a movie about it! (I sang the song)
Ryan: I got all of them except Dasher and Donner and Stupid
13. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Ashley: Neither this year, sometimes a star
Ryan: An angel with a star where the heart is
14. Open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Ashley: Both, we have Christmas on both days for different families, Ryan doesn't let me open his present until Christmas Day, trust me, I try!
Ryan: Well we have to open presents for the 10 days around Christmas but my personal opinion is Christmas day.
15. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Ashley: 40 foot Santa's that blow around and scare the crap out of Myles
Ryan: The wind, it's cold out. Crazy women shoppers and... it's dark at 2 in the afternoon.
Ashley: Anything else grinch...
Ryan: Um, I don't know that's it.
16. Favorite Ornament theme or color?
Ashley: It's always different, I love creativity. This year ours is bronze.
Ryan: Red, I don't get it!?
17. Favorite Christmas Tradition?
Ashley: Cuddling with you while sitting by the lights of the tree and having apple cider.
Ryan: Hmm... leaving cookies and milk out for Santa
Ashley: We don't do that.
Ryan: Waking up and opening a gift and eating breakfast by the tree.
Merry Christmas!!!
January 10, 2008
Christmas 2007 and Ringing in the New Year
Well it's the middle of January and we can't believe Christmas and New Year's has come and gone. The last weeks in December were jam-packed with family, friends, and fun. The weekend before Christmas, we got a chance to see many friends who have migrated all over the country. Short-haired Shane put together an impressive photo montage of the good times in recent years.
Next to sleeping and a few days at work, we tried to spend as much time with the Bohlen family as the whole clan was up from Arizona. Cole is now 5 and a super big brother to baby Caden, and AJ loves his vaccuum. Zach and I brought the poker prowess to the family, but Andrew still walked away with the title (we let him win). Those Southwesterners sure enjoyed snow, but I think they were ready to get back to warm weather.
Of course we did our hoppin' around the holidays. We hung out at the Bouck's (Ryan's side) on seperate occasions as family came and went during the week. Holly and Aaron's 3 kids are so adorable. Carrie and Ben's boys are funny and mischevious...never a dull moment with those two. It was also great to catch up with Stephanie and her adventures. Christmas with the Durnil's/Ferguson's was great. In the gift exchange, Ashley received Aunt Sandy's handcrafted jewelry and I scored a new Hawkeye blanket. Christmas caroling for Grandpa Durnil and his friends was a also a good time.
We also hit up the Shaw household which was the very opposite of Ashley's family events. There were only the six of us, but that didn't stop us from enjoying Christmas Eve by the fire. Although Curtis could not make it back, we were thinking of him, Angie and the girls. However, we were able to spend an evening with Ian and he loved his new toys.
New Year's capped off the busy week. Even though Ashley had to work, the gang and I came to keep her company and enjoyed the dueling pianos entertainment. It was fun, but I think we were the youngest ones there! As much fun as the holidays were, we are glad to relax and reflect on the good times had. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Next to sleeping and a few days at work, we tried to spend as much time with the Bohlen family as the whole clan was up from Arizona. Cole is now 5 and a super big brother to baby Caden, and AJ loves his vaccuum. Zach and I brought the poker prowess to the family, but Andrew still walked away with the title (we let him win). Those Southwesterners sure enjoyed snow, but I think they were ready to get back to warm weather.
Of course we did our hoppin' around the holidays. We hung out at the Bouck's (Ryan's side) on seperate occasions as family came and went during the week. Holly and Aaron's 3 kids are so adorable. Carrie and Ben's boys are funny and mischevious...never a dull moment with those two. It was also great to catch up with Stephanie and her adventures. Christmas with the Durnil's/Ferguson's was great. In the gift exchange, Ashley received Aunt Sandy's handcrafted jewelry and I scored a new Hawkeye blanket. Christmas caroling for Grandpa Durnil and his friends was a also a good time.
We also hit up the Shaw household which was the very opposite of Ashley's family events. There were only the six of us, but that didn't stop us from enjoying Christmas Eve by the fire. Although Curtis could not make it back, we were thinking of him, Angie and the girls. However, we were able to spend an evening with Ian and he loved his new toys.
New Year's capped off the busy week. Even though Ashley had to work, the gang and I came to keep her company and enjoyed the dueling pianos entertainment. It was fun, but I think we were the youngest ones there! As much fun as the holidays were, we are glad to relax and reflect on the good times had. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
December 15, 2007
Merry Christmas
I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything. Amy Jensen, a friend of ours taught me how to use this website. I thought that it was pretty cute so I figured I would post it and give you all a good laugh. Anyway, I haven't been the best at updating our blog but I promise I will start up again when we have a few days off. We hope to see all of you over Christmas but if we don't have a great Christmas season and remember what it is that we are really celebrating!
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