Santa comes through

Ellie had wondered if she and Sam should ask Santa for an iPad together.  They decided together it was a good idea.  They spent much of December wondering would he really bring one, would he bring any other gifts if they got something so big??  Ellie has continued to wonder is Santa really real??  Well from this video you can see a little excitement was had on Christmas morning. 

He even brought a craft book and a full stocking too.



Sam got some legos and a full stocking too.  Sam of course mentioned Santa forgot to bring an Xbox.  Wow- how much technology does he think Santa can bring in one year?

Sharing the new iPad

Presents

A little help from Cousin Hayleigh

Grandpa Randy doing his usually Christmas activity- helping Sam build something

Uncle Dave helps build transformers

Layna is excited about what Colin is opening

It's Christmas Morning- we even got to sleep in until almost 8.

Yes!  More hockey stuff, now we can play indoors

Trying out the new nerf gun

Present time

Family Time

We were able to have wonderful Christmas celebrations in Granite Falls and Rochester this year.  It is so fun to get together with our families.  But, wow how fast the time goes by.

Christmas in Rochester with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Randy

Dave's mom, and her two sons

Christmas Time in Granite Falls, with Grandma Mary Ann, Grandpa Tom, and Aunt Margie

Christmas Time in Granite Falls

A little quiet movie time with cousins before bed

These girls stole Grandpa's t-shrits for nightshirts again

Game time



Ellie and Mom on Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Ellie in her music program at OneTrueMedia.com

Check out Ellie in amongst all of the boys. She informed us she was standing between some boys who don't always behave. :)

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Sam in his music program at OneTrueMedia.com

Look for the boy in the little suit and tie. Yep he picked that out himself. Hope you enjoy his singing as much as we do.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Proud Mom Moment

Today Ellie was  a server at our church for the 1st time.  In October you could get trained.  I mentioned it to her and of course she wanted to go.  I could tell she was a bit nervous today- what should  wear?  Can we be there by 4? (mass didn't start until 4:30).  An older boy was with her and Father of course gave cues so all went well.  She said she would be ready to do it again.  I'd love to show you a photo but thought it might be a little extreme to take a picture of her during church.  :)

The best day of my life, by Sam

So the last post was about skating.  As soon as we got on the ice, Sam began talking about hockey.  I said learn to skate first then we can talk about hockey.  Well we figured out we could go skating weekly right in town and even rent skates.  Ellie, Sam, and I have had a great time skating, but with that came Sam's not stop talking about hockey.  He even resorted to watching hours of hockey on You Tube, and asking if next year he could have a choice to play hockey instead of basketball.  Well as you can see below his wish came true and he is playing hockey.   He is having a great time, we are loving watching him, and his poor sister just wishes he would talk about something else!

On his way in to his first hockey practice

He is padded up and ready to play

Looking pretty good for day 1

Ice Skating Fun

Sam has been waiting to learn to skate for at least a year.  We finally went to open skate tonight with some friends.  The kids and I had a blast.  We will definitely go back again. 

Cute boy in hat

I just had to share this adorable picture of Sam in his new Angry Birds hat.  What makes the hat even better is that it was especially made for Sam by his Grandma Mary Ann. 

My Video 10/29/12 at OneTrueMedia.com

Ellie was so lucky to be a part of an Opera and Symphony performance. A very proud moment for her family too!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Wahpeton, ND

The kids and I had a wonderful weekend with my sister Becky, her husband Chris and their kids.  They moved to a new house last year and we finally got to see it.  What a great place they have!  Mom and dad joined us so we had a weekend of playing, zoo, electronics, games by Ellie and Emily and simply a great time had by all!

Ellie and my sister's family's dog Teddy- I think we all wanted to take him home.

Emily, Leah, and Ellie doing some crafting

Brady, Sam, and Leah make a grandpa train

Fun at the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa

Even a little birthday celebration for me

A little more football

 

These pictures are from a football camp in September.  I love that it is Sam and his best friend Kenny playing catch. 

 

 

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

The kids and mom enjoyed a couple of hours at Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch today.  First the kids had their pictures take by a woman in town.  I think we will have some good ones to share.  :)  Then we went on our hunt for the perfect pumpkin, along with fun on the hale bales and silo slide too.  As you can tell from the last picture we found some good pumpkins.  Happy Fall to all!

Striking a pose on the hay bales

Look how tall I am now!

Will this be enough??

Dancing and Cheering

Just for Kix performance

Just for Kix performance

YMCA Cheer Camp performance

YMCA Cheer Camp performance

Here's a little view of Sam during flag football.  He finished up his season on Thursday.  Then on Friday his coach had a pizza party for the team.  I must say that was a fun idea for the boys.  Sam even won a football at the party.

Some amazing kids

Yep this post is dedicated to bragging about my children!!  :) 
Ellie:  She is in 5th grade and loving it!  She's involved in just a few activities:
*Student Council
*School Patrol
*Peace Patrol- umm you may need to ask her what that is- I think it has too do with the hallway.
*Piano lessons- just started level 3, we are thinking it might be time to try duets.
*Violin- just started Orchestra.  So far I love listening to her violin!!
*5th grade choir-She will perform with MN Opera and Austin Orchestra along with other Austin choirs on Oct. 28
*Dance- Jazz and Kick again of course
*Volleyball- she went to a camp loved it and now wants to play for a few Saturday mornings later this fall- now for her mother to remember to sign her up!
*Wednesday nights she goes to either Faith Formation or Bible Study
She is one busy girl but seems to enjoy all of her activities. She makes her parents just a little proud.  :)

Sam: He is in 2nd grade and seems to love it too.  He is a busy little guy too:
*Junior Great Books- he gets to read a book at school and do some projects with it, we read it once during the week do.  I honestly don't know how they pick you to be in this but I know he gets to be creative, read, and learn new vocabulary!
*Flag Football- He will let you know in 3 years it will be tackle and he can't wait.  He really seems to be learning a lot and having fun this year.
*Piano lessons-Yep when flag football is over he gets to start piano
*Wednesday night he is in my Faith Formation class and is excited about 1st Communion coming up in the spring.  I love getting to see him as a student each Wednesday.  :)
*He does need his daily dose of Sponge Bob to survive but overall seems to enjoy each of his activities.  He also has some very proud parents!

*And let's not forget that the inside of the house looks like fall due to their great decorating!

With any luck in the next month a few photos will show up on the blog but for now enjoy visualizing these great kids!!

One last weekend of summer fun!

We had a little weekend of family fun.  The kids
and I had a birthday treat with Grandpa, Emily, and Aunt Margie.
Then we picked up Aiden and headed back to Austin for a
weekend of cousin fun- pool time and lunch in
Owatonna, movies, toys, and sleepovers at
our house.

Grandpa Friedrich, Great Aunt Margie, and Laura



Happy Birthday Grandpa Friedrich

Fun in the pool with Ellie and Adrian



Fun in the pool with Layna and Gabby




Legos with Sam, Aiden, and Brittney



Yes it really is the first day of school

Wasn't it just summer??  Today started another fall adventure in the Eyre household.  Dave is back with his EBD students at Austin High School.  I am back with my preschool students and my co-teacher Lindy.  Today was amazing- hope that's a good sign for our year.  Ellie started her last year at Banfield Elementary school.  She has Mrs. Wiste who was also her 3rd grade teacher- she is feeling very lucky to have her again.  Sam started 2nd grade with Miss Hull who we hear is great.  I sent her an email asking how they share supplies tonight- Sam had already shed some tears about his scissors being with everbody elses- I am guessing we all brought supplies that the whole class shares. Sam was feeling so bummed that his new scissors that he picked out all by himself was not in his desk that he began to cry at home.  I am guessing Miss Hull will work her magic and he will be fine tomorrow- what a mom can't fix a teacher usually can.  :)

Banfield Elementary School- 5th grade and 2nd grade

Cooking and Crafts

This is Ellie's craft area- you might find her sewing, making cards, or scrapbooking. My favorite part of this picture is that she has organized her work space using recycled boxes.

In the pictures below Ellie had just made silly puddy.  Then she showed me how you can blow it up with a straw- who knew.

While in Hinckley, Ellie learned to make banana pancakes.  Here she is cooking supper for us- and yes she can make pancakes better than her own mom.

 Although I don't have pictures to add, tonight with minimal help from me, Ellie made play dough.  I love how creative that girl is!