Christmas in the Toy Shop

And yet another Christmas program. Our church kids put on a play called Christmas in the Toy Shop. Ethan got picked to be a toy solider and even had three lines to learn and say. Dad and Mom had the challenge of coming up with a costume for him and Dad did a wonderful job coming up with it. Micah was just a toy so needed to dress up and he picked his Halloween costume and was Woody. Levi was even going to be involved with singing two songs as a teddy bear but backed out in the end. We figured he is only two so why push him. The boys did great and it was a wonderful program. And now I think we are done with programs for the year.

School Christmas program

Another year...another program and this year we had two in a school program. Ethan was a donkey and Micah was a camel. It was a very cute program telling about Christ's birth with a nursery rhyme twist. We love MVCA and what our boys are able to learn!

New things at the Carlson house....

We have a few new things at the Carlson house, new paint on the walls of the bedroom and a new car. We still need to hang things on the walls but the hard work of painting is done. Dave spent all day yesterday in Sioux Falls car shopping and brought this new red one home. We stayed up late to welcome him home and all went for a drive. It feels so fancy. We all approve and are thankful for a new more reliable car.

Thankful Tree

We had fun once again during the month of November with our Thankful tree. Each day we got a new leaf and wrote what we were thankful for and then hung it on our tree. Even Levi "wrote" what he was thankful for. The boys loved doing it and reminded us if we forgot. It is neat to see a thankful heart!

Turkeys

I found a cute cookie project for the boys to do. We had fun making these turkey cookies and then they took them to school to share with their classmates. Fun but very sweet cookies.  

Mommy's Birthday

Mommy had a birthday! She tries to give it away each year to the boys but they always say that isn't possible.  An overnight shopping trip to Sioux Falls was what she got for her birthday and then came home to flowers and a balloon. A very blessed Mommy. Love those boys!

Pumpkins and costumes...

We had a fun time on Friday with Daddy being home. He worked long hours in Iowa last week so took Friday off! The older boys had school but right after school we dug into our pumpkins for some fun carving. Each boy picked what he wanted his pumpkin to look like and Daddy did the carving. We then suited up with warm clothes and then costumes and headed out in the cold evening to ring a few doorbells and collect some candy. We made a pretty good haul and the boys had a ton of fun.

 Ethan, Micah and Levi's pumpkins

Black Ninja, Woody (it was cold so he is wearing a mask to stay warm) and Lightening Mcqueen

Hunting

Tis the season for hunting! We headed home to Murdo last week for a pheasant hunting weekend. It was a great Saturday to be out enjoying fresh air and exercise. Both Ethan and Micah did a bit of walking this year. Two hunters with guns means 6 birds and they got them all. Ethan and Micah also got to shoot a gun for the first time this year. Papa found his old BB gun and both boys had a blast shooting it. Levi got in on the fun too but Mommy didn't get out in time to get his picture, next time!

 The hunting crew heading out.

 Micah was with Dad for the first bird taken down.

 Ethan

Micah

Football

And we have come to the end of football. Ethan had his last game and the Cowboys ended their season with only a two game loss. They did real well together and it looked like all the boys had fun. Ethan loved it! He is excited about playing again next year. His coach handed out trophies after the game and he was pretty proud of it. It was fun but a break is nice too. Micah is excited about next year as he'll be old enough to play too. Soccer in the Spring and football in the Fall. We'll be one busy family! And then just wait until Levi gets old enough....

North Shore getaway...

There are many entries on this blog for the children...now it is the parents turn. =) We were able to get away for a week trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior, MN. We came up with our own idea of hiking lodge to lodge instead of tenting. We started in Grand Maris, MN and hiked the Superior Hiking Trail back to our car about 40 miles away. Day 1 was 18 miles, Day 2 was 15 miles and Day 3 was 5 miles plus a ride in a gondola that took off three miles. Day one started out great and then the rain set in about noon. We thought we'd get to our hotel about 4ish but it ended up being 7:30. Walking in the rain for 7 1/2 hours wears on you a little bit. We were mostly dry but very tired and sore. It was very nice to be at a hotel though and have a hot shower and meal. We decided to alter plans for day two and had a taxi service drive us to our next hotel and we just day hiked a few miles that day. Day 3 went according to plan with riding the gondola to the top of the mountain and then hiking the last 5 miles to the car. We were so happy to see the car. =) We then drove to Duluth for a day, Minneapolis for a day and then home to our precious boys. We enjoyed our trip and the adventure that it gave us, many memories! We enjoyed time being just the two of us, but it was also good to come home again and see our boys. Thank you Grandpa and Grandma for babysitting so we could go.

 All ready to begin day 1

 We saw some pretty red and yellow colors

 Riding the gondola to the top of the mountain

A blue blaze!! This is a trail maker saying we were on the right trail and it was a blessed site as at one point we were on the wrong trail and decided it didn't feel right and started looking around us to see if by chance we were on the wrong trail. Dave looked around a bit and found the correct trail so after that everytime we saw a marker we were very happy.

 Enger tower in Duluth. A great view of the city from on top. 

 We picked a cold windy day to climb the tower. We had a quick picture taken and back down we went to the warm car.

Duluth from the top of the tower. This is a view toward Canal Park and the famous lift bridge.

Apple Orchard

Last week Levi and I were able to join Ethan and Micah on a field trip to the Apple Orchard. MVCA took the K-2 grade kids and we were able to help drive. It was a fun time of apple picking, picnic lunch, and seeing some animals. 

 Getting ready for an apple class before heading out to pick apples.

 Micah's class and teacher and the wagon ride to pick apples.

 Our little apple picker!

 All three had fun picking their apples and then eating them later at home.

 Wagon ride back from picking apples.

Levi loved the animals.

Backyard football

The boys had a fun game of football in the backyard. It is fun having 4 so they can play two on two. Levi holds out for a bit before running off to do something else and then he'll come back to play a little bit more. As they grow up this could get more interesting and of course more fun!

 Daddy and his little quarterback!

And we are ready for football!

We are into the fall and fall means....FOOTBALL! Ethan decided this year that he would like to play flag football. He has been having practice for a few weeks and last night was his first game. His team is the Cowboys. For his first game they played the Vikings and they won 18-0! All the boys played well. It was a good game and Ethan had so much fun.

First day of school!

Summer has officially ended. Wednesday marked the first day of school for the year. We had two very excited boys. Micah had been asking for many days when it would be Wednesday so he could go to school. They both have awesome teachers this year and we are once again blessed to send them to Missouri Valley Christian Academy. What a blessing these boys are to us and we are all excited about our school year and what is going to be learned. Levi is enjoying his days at home with just Mom. It is crazy how quite it is in the house with just one and surprising how fast the days actually go.

All school picture.

Tough Mudder!

Dave has completed his second tough mudder! There were 8 on the Calvary Crew this year and they all did a great job. I was the only spectator and managed to get a few good shots of the action. We have started recruiting for next year and seem to have a large group interested...including a girl's team. Cherry has decided that being a spectator is done after two years and is going to give it a go next year!

 Before the action and mud.

 After some good mud!

 Dave getting ready to do the Funky Monkey (on the left)

 All done!

Big boy!

After 7 1/2 years of needing a crib we have taken it down for the last time. Levi has upsized to a big boy bed! He is doing great at sleeping and staying in his room. I'm not sure he knows that he can come out when he wakes up, but that is just fine with us. =) He does fall out in the night but with not much of a drop he doesn't get hurt. It is crazy how fast these children grow up!