Father Son Weekend and Mother Daughter Weekend

Hockey for two kids can sometimes pull us in multiple directions as it did the weekend of January 17th - 19th. Canyon had a tournament in Roseau, MN (near the border of Canada) and Presley had hockey games in the Twin Cities. Made for some nice one on one bonding time for Mom & Presley and Dad & Canyon. Canyon took a bus to Roseau with his team. Dad was supposed to take a plane to meet him there. As fate would have it, his plane got delayed and he was able to ride up with another dad. The boys started the weekend strong with a win against Hermantown but struggled in their remaining games. Nonetheless, they had fun ice fishing, playing in the hotel, playing the guitar and visiting the local legion. Fun weekend for the boys!











Presley and Mom had fun on the home front. We hosted Presley's hockey team to our house for a sledding and pizza party after receiving 6-7 inches of fresh snow. And then we headed over to the community center to see the Girls Varsity team upset the #1 ranked Hopkins team. Fun girls weekend with friends and each other.

Presley's 1st of Out of Town Tournament - Fargo, ND

Presley had her very first out of town tournament after the new year in Fargo, North Dakota. The weekend was freezing cold with temperatures at -23 degrees. It was a special tournament for Presley. The team got their jerseys with their names on the back and Presley got to pin trade like she did for Canyon's tournament last year. The girls did exceptionally well, ranking 1st in bracket for pool play. The weekend was filled with other fun activities like swimming in the pool, going out to fun restaurants, riding the ferris wheel and eating fudge at Scheels, going to the other EP team games, and playing with their friends at the hotel. Canyon stayed back in Eden Prairie with friends for the weekend. Dad was excited to have some fellow guitar players to play with (including Presley's coach). Weekend ended on a low note with Presley getting a 24 hour stomach but was brightened up when Presley found out school was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday because of the bitterly cold temps. Memorable weekend!

Annual Christmas Celebration with Family

2014 was a smaller celebration but still very special and we are very appreciative that family were able to make the trip to MN. Grandma Harriet, Grammie, Aunt Kimmy, and Auntie made the trek to Minnesota this year. And many of our annual traditions continued, which made the Christmas special for all of us.

Grandma Harriet continued the tradition of baking cookied with the kids.



We had our annual pizza making party on December 23rd.



We enjoyed Christmas Eve service at the Upper Room. This one involved crazy glasses for the kids. This was the first year that Canyon was too old to be one of the "kids". Wow does time fly by!



We enjoyed Christmas Eve dinner celebrations with a great dinner with cousins Barbara Jondahl and the Abbeys. The night included cookie decorating with the kids, a great meal of beef tenderloin, and finished off with a fun grab bag exchange.









Christmas morning continued to be very special for all of us. Santa came again and treated the kids to very special gifts. We also enjoyed awesome Kringle from Aunt Barbara (even Stanley loved the Kringle) and Jelly Bellies from Great Granny Kohls.







We were excited that Grammie and Grandma Harriet extended their trip. This year we made the trek to St. Paul to visit the famous James J. Hill House and enjoy lunch at the famous Cossettas. Finished off our fun adventure with bowling at Bryant Lake Lanes and a walk around Lake of the Isles. Fun day in the city!











Our Christmas week ended with some sad news. Stanley, our loving and cuddly guy, passed away on the morning of December 28th. He was friendly and engaged until the end. The last week he spent his time with everyone, running around, eating lots of food, and cuddling with everyone. However, in the end his 22.5 year old body couldn't keep up with his lively and loving spirit. We will miss this guy dearly as our home is not the same without him. His spirit lives on! Love you Stanley!

Uncle/Brother Don Comes to MN for Ron's Birthday

What a great treat to have Don in town. He came from December 12th - 15th to help celebrate Ron's birthday. We started the weekend with a get together with a couple of friends. The boys enjoyed some live music, some hockey, and general bonding. Thanks so much for a great, great visit!