60 Years Young!

Ted and Pat (my brother and sister-in-law) both turned 60 in the last few months, so we had a celebration dinner at Joyce and Paul's in Waconia on Saturday night. We were going to go to the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, but it was sold out for the few dates we all had available. We decided it would be more fun to just get together for some good food and conversation, and we were right. Dinner was great, and so was the company.

Here they are - not bad for 60, huh?

Here's the whole crew - Teddy, Janie, and Joycie and spouses. I spent some time with the direction booklet for my camera on Saturday afternoon so I could figure out how to use the timer and take a picture of all 6 of us - yeah, it worked!

Buggies

We are still blessed with box elder bugs and Asian beetles at our house, and Maddox is fascinated with the little critters. Every time he comes over, he starts looking for "buggies." Unfortunately, he doesn't have to look very hard.

Chuck loves taking him on "buggy hunts."

Look! There's one! See the little black spot on the ceiling?
Another successful visit to Grandma and Grandpa's!

Maddox is Growing Up!

Maddox is getting ready to give up those big bulky diapers! He definitely knows what to do on the toilet, and was excited to try out ours on Friday night.

He'll probably kill me for this picture some day!

He flushes, too, but wants to do it over and over again!

He also seems to know what to do to play "Guitar Hero" on Andy's Wii.

He was not particularly impressed with watching Daddy play basketball at the annual CF Alumni Tournament. Corey's team won 1st place for the 4th year in a row - yeah, '97!

Maddox was much more interested in running in the halls and climbing the bleachers. He just keeps going and going and going!

Moving Weekend - Brrrrrrrrrrr!

Finally.......moving weekend for Corey and Heidi!

This was their house in November - it still had a ways to go!

Here's the finished product, all ready for moving in on the coldest weekend of the year! I took Friday off to be on Maddox-duty during the closing process, and then we waited at the new house for furniture delivery, DSL hook-up, and DISH installation (all the necessary "stuff"), while Corey, Kyle, Rob, and Heidi loaded the trailer at the apartment, and then unloaded everything into the garage at the new house. I definitely had the warmest job!
Kyle was really bundled up for the 20 below wind chill!
We headed back to the house on Saturday to start the settling in. We all took turns corraling Maddox. He was so excited to have room to roam after being cooped up in the tiny apartment.
Chuck had no where to sit to watch TV, so standing was the only option.
CF Bakery rolls taste good sitting or standing!

Andy's job was installing light fixtures.
Chuck tried to give advice, whether it was needed or not!
Andy also put in ceiling fans in the living room and bedroom - what a guy!
Then the painting began. After we did one whole section under the counter, Heidi and Corey decided it was the wrong color, so back to the paint store they went to have a different tint added. The end result was much better!

We only had one ladder to share among lots of workers, so a long-handled roller worked great. The kitchen/eating area is a soft sage green (the picture doesn't show the true color) and the living area will be a light mocha color, with a dark mocha under the counters.
The counter tops came in handy, too, for getting above the cupboards. We couldn't even reach this high - good thing Corey has long arms.
Yes, I worked too, and we'll probably be back at it tomorrow. Heidi and Corey are so excited to get everything settled and in place - it's looking great!



We got home at about 7:30 pm to discover that our furnace had gone out sometime during the day. The thermostat was set at 70 degrees, but it was only 55 degrees in here and dropping fast (the outdoor temp was about -10 degrees). Fortunately, we have a service contract with the gas company, so I called them, they immediately sent out a tech, and we had heat by about 10:30 - yeah! However, I've been working on this post dressed in a turtle neck, a sweater, and a polar fleece jacket, plus thick socks and slippers on my feet, and a blanket around my legs. I also made cookies so I would have an excuse to get up every 10 minutes or so and stand in front of the hot oven. Guess that's what I get for avoiding the cold during the move!

North Shore in December

2008 has started out pretty slowly for the Bracken Bunch, and my camera has only been snapping pictures at school for the last few weeks (see my first grade blog). Work keeps us both very busy, but we did have a chance to get up to Two Harbors and the North Shore after Christmas to help Chuck's mom celebrate her 82nd birthday. We also took in a day of skiing at Lutsen, which was great! The old legs were still able to get us down Moose Mountain.

I wanted to take some good action pictures on the slopes, but I didn't want to ski with the camera. Guess the parking lot will have to do for this time!
We spent one night at Bluefin Bay, and these were the views of Lake Superior from our studio unit.
It seemed like we were the only ones at the resort until a jogger on her morning run came right past our window while I was getting dressed. Oops! It was a very gray day, but also quite mild for December.
We did a little hiking at Cascade River, too. The falls are gorgeous in the winter!
It's amazing how the water keeps running under all the ice and snow.

We hope to get back up north again before the end of the winter season, and we may get in a trip to Red Lodge, Montana, in March for some mountain skiing. Time will tell!

Merry Christmas - Part 2

We got together with the whole family on Christmas Day (minus Jenna and Andy, Tom and Kim and kids, and Phebe). It was great to be together, but we missed you guys!

Maddox entertained us at the piano.

He also wanted to try on my glasses - doesn't he look like a little scholar?

Matthew helped with the entertainment, too, showing off his amazing soccer skills!

Ted and Pat brought a HUGE teddy bear. The boys had fun snuggling up to it.

It was very difficult to get these two to sit still in the same place at the same time. Every time they got together, I would run for my camera, and by the time I got back, they were off to something else. Matthew took off up the stairs right after I snapped this one. He's fast!

Happy New Year, everyone!!

Merry Christmas - Part 1

Merry Christmas! We celebrated with the kids on the 22nd since Jenna and Andy left Saturday night for Pittsburgh to be with Andy's family. Needless to say, Maddox was once again the star attraction!

He had been sick for several weeks before Christmas, so he was sort of a little "glazed doughnut," as I call my 1st graders during the cold and flu season. We kept a box of Kleenex handy at all times!

The tree was loaded with presents, but Maddox was more interested in a little Santa and my coasters.

He got into it, though, when he opened the little kitty piano from Jenna and Andy.

He was great with the microphone - he'll be singing karaoke before we know it!

Of course, Chuck had to get into the act, too.

Next was a drum set from Uncle Kyle - a little small for Corey!

He knows just what to do with those drum sticks!

Jenna and Heidi got their annual set of new Victoria Secret pj's.

And Jenna and Andy had their annual photograph in front of the tree.

Maddox cooperated by taking a nap during dinner, but waking up is so tough!

Check out the socks - he can't pull them off when they come up above his knees!

Oh, sweet baby!

Maddox was looking pretty spiffy in his red pajamas - what a dude!

Jenna had to try on hers, too.

Still smiling at the end of the night!

Happy Birthday, Chuck!

Chuck celebrated his birthday in style on Friday night! We went out to eat at Ruth's Chris Steak House in downtown Minneapolis (his all-time favorite restaurant), and then stopped at Jenna and Andy's for cake and ice cream.

That doesn't look like quite enough candles on the cake!

If you look real close, you can see how many there should be.

Of course, Maddox is always the center of attention with any family gathering. He has been sick this week, but he rallied to entertain us all evening!

I think I can see where Maddox gets his chubby cheeks!

Thanks, Jenna and Andy, for hosting the birthday party!