Steiner Wedding

October 8th was the wedding of Amy Tripp, a good friend from college, and Sam Steiner. They held it at the MN Zoo, which I had never heard of before. I have to say it was the most unique wedding I've ever attended, in a great way, and they added so many personal touches that made it all the more special. The ceremony was probably the briefest in history, but it was so personal and moving that it felt really intimate. We were in a small auditorium where the bride and groom stood center stage and the attendants walked down the stairs to stand by their sides. They said their own beautiful, heart-felt vows to each other, which gave me goosebumps and left not a dry eye in the whole place. It was so cool to have the dinner in Discovery Bay, where the dolphins swim (they were not out at the time, but it was still cool) and where we could walk around to view the other animals in the touch tank and the cave area between the ceremony and reception. Everything was lit up and beautiful. We had another great time at the party that night, hanging out with the newlyweds from the weekend before and all the same friends. None of us ever see each other that frequently anymore, now that we're all spread out and busy with our own lives, so having the two weddings on back-to-back weekends was a special treat. Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Steiner!

Posing for a formal picture, followed by some not paying attention and slightly drunken (before dinner even started) dancing

The newlyweds from the weekend before, Cody & Sarah DeBondt

Brea and I with our buddy Brendan

Cody & Curt

The twins

Goofing off between shots

My hubby and me in a rare photo of just the two of us

DeBondt Wedding

October 1st was the wedding of Cody DeBondt, the best man in our wedding, and Sarah Mayer. Their daughter, Kennadi, 1 1/2, was the flower girl to Jackson's ring bearer. What a cute little couple they made! They both played their parts very well; she grinned like the pretty little girl she is, knowing we were all eating it up, while he smiled as he slightly tugged her up the aisle. They were both really good throughout the whole ceremony as well, sitting (mostly) quietly with the adults. The bride and groom looked lovely, as did the wedding party, and she chose a beautiful color scheme of dark brown and a sage-y green. They added their own personal touches throughout the day to make it their own, which was special. The reception was a ton of fun, as we were re-united with our group of college friends from Duluth/Superior. Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. DeBondt!

A teeny, tiny picture of the bride and groom...

...and the mini bride and groom. :)

Curt, a groomsman, and the bridesmaid

My little ring-bearer

With Auntie Brea

Kennadi and Jackson

Mom, Dad, and Jackson

Hans and Chee goofing off

Brendan and Chee trying once again to abduct me. Lucky for me it was more crowded than camping is.

Fall 2011

We had a really fun, busy fall that included Jackson starting preschool (My baby! Boo hoo!), two weddings in October, including time for the kids to be with their cousins in Duluth and time for their parents to enjoy some grown-up time in Hudson, plus Curt's trip to one of the few games the Vikings have actually won this season.

So proud to be starting preschool - what a big boy!

Jackson showing off his first-ever, Toy Story backpack. Carter wanted to be in on the picture, too, of course. :)

Day one of Jackson's two-mornings-a-week preschool. He was so excited to go to school with his new backpack and a snack inside; the transition was easier for him than it was for me. He is quiet each morning, taking a few minutes to warm up, but never has a problem separating. It was me who had to hold back the tears on that first day as I said goodbye and walked away.

When Jackson tried on his suit for the first wedding in October (against his will), Carter wanted to pose for the picture, too. :)

The boys and I spent some of our time at Auntie Sheila's during our weekend in Esko and Duluth for the first October wedding. She and John were gracious enough to babysit while I got some last-minute stuff done for the wedding Jackson and Curt were in, and they also took care of Carter that afternoon so I could focus on just one child at a time and still try to enjoy myself while Curt was busy partying with the wedding crew. We had tons of fun, and I am still so grateful for all they did to help us out that weekend.

The boys love to spend QT with their cousins, Maddy & Jay. They hung out at their house in Duluth, watching movies and eating popcorn, and went to a nearby pumpkin patch for some fun fall activities.

Maddy, King of the Hill, and the boys

Auntie Sheila said that Carter's teeny tiny body almost got lost in the huge corn play area!

The kids goofing off for the camera

The big game. Don't ask me who they were playing.

Curt and co. at the Vikings game Oct. 9th. Do you call these fans? Anticipating a terrible performance by MN, Curt and Andrew spent a lot of time making these bags of shame, then didn't get a lot of use out of them because the Vikes actually did well for a change.

August 2011

August was a busy month for the Wojos. We spent time with my side of the family, who watched the kids while we went to our 10-year class reunion and later came up to our house for a day of fishing and four-wheeling fun. I also had the joy of revealing my third pregnancy to them at that time, which was quite exciting for all of us!

The kids riding home from an exciting weekend trip. I'm so glad they both sleep well in the car!

Friends at the class reunion, from left: Dustin, Kim, me, Curt, Heidi, Josh, Bre & Andrew

Colin (one of the organizers), Josh, and Dustin enjoying a drink and a story

A few of the girls, from left: Brittany, Ashley Z., Laura, Bre, Lynda, Annie (one of the organizers), and me

Grandma Paula and the boys enjoying a four-wheeler ride. They both actually loved it this time - no crying or fear at all. "Whee!" Carter kept saying.

Me & Carter, Dad & Jackson, Auntie Brea

Andrew and Curt filleting their big sunnie catch

Farewell, Grandpa, and thanks for the motor!

This June, my family lost a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather after a short series of strokes. It hasn't been the same to be at the farm without him, and going into the house is just too quiet. The good news is that he's with Grandma again, arguing up a storm over a game of cards, to be sure.

A while back, when Grandpa was still alive, my dad had been cleaning some things out of his garage with his supervision. Curt was there at the time, and he noticed an old boat motor sitting around that looked like it hadn't been used in years. When he asked Grandpa if he could have it, Grandpa gave some usual response, like, "Oh, shit! That old piece of shit? Sure, you can take the God-damned thing, but good luck getting it to work! It's yours if you want it!" So for the next long while, it sat in our pole barn, untouched. Then, this spring, Curt finally obtained an old boat that had been sitting at his grandpa's place, also unused for years. He was beyond excited at this point and immediately got my grandpa's old motor to a shop to get it repaired. We had forgotten about it for a while, and then Grandpa had his first stroke and went into the hospital. On the same day that he died, Curt got a call from the shop, saying the motor was fixed and ready to go. Curt shared the story at Grandpa's funeral, which was very moving.

Unfortunately, things didn't go so smoothly after that. When we brought the boat out to the lake for a first run, it was leaky, and the motor wouldn't work. We were so disappointed, most of all Curt, who had already put a lot of time and effort into this project. But he's ambitious and a hard worker, so he got right back to it. After taking more time to affix some new benches and seats, cleaning, painting, and working on the motor till he figured out the problem and solved it, we were finally able to go out for a cruise on the lake last week. The boys had a good time, and it was so special to be in the boat that used to belong to Curt's grandpa, using the motor that used to belong to my grandpa to run it. Of course I cried for the first few minutes while we cruised around the lake, thanking Grandpa for what ended up being this gift to our family. It seemed to be a fitting farewell.

Goofing Off

The boys on the hood of Daddy's truck. Climbing the windshield was

fun, too, until Mommy made them stop when they got too high.

I don't usually allow rudeness at the table, but Jackson was
really in the mood to make funny faces this particular morning.

Wrestling together has already become a favorite past-time

Eating

We are lucky to have two (usually) good eaters at our house. Neither is super picky yet, so I like to put new or unusual-looking things on their plates and tell them to try it when they're ready. That way they've had a chance to enjoy the familiar things they like first, then might feel more adventurous with weird things if they feel they have some control over when to put it in their mouths, since we don't force it. Some days it works, some days those foods remain untouched, but it's worth a try.

You wouldn't believe how many kids come into our preschool program with food/eating issues (often, it's that they've been allowed to be extremely picky or given crap so that they won't even touch fruits/veggies). That's why our program is required to put a small amount of each item on each plate, too. They'll never try it if it's not in front of them! Of course, my kids like all that good-tasting-but-super-bad-for-you stuff, so we just try to limit their intake. I have found that I allow more of that than I ever thought I would before I was a parent, though. I am more strict on the beverages, because all that sugar really adds up fast, and they never want to be done drinking it! No matter what they're eating, most of it still ends up either on their faces or on the floor. Oh, the joy of indeveloped social awareness!

Reading

My kids love, love, love to read - looking at books, "reading" themselves, and especially being read to. Carter brings books up to us and says "book," then throws them at us - still working on that part - before climbing into our laps. I am thrilled to have passed this love of books and reading on to my kids, and I hope it only grows as they age.