Babyshower...

Last Saturday we had Rissa's baby shower. We rented a hospitality room at Black Bear Casino. We had a wonderful time and were thankful that so many friends and family arrived for the occasion.
The guests especially enjoyed the playdough babies game that we played. We had many interesting looking babies!! Too bad my camera died. Rissa received many gifts. To me, the most interesting gift was a bear that you put in the babies crib and it plays the sounds of a mother's womb.
Rissa only has eight weeks left of her pregnancy!! I can't believe how fast the time went by.

Birthday Time!!

On January 26th, my baby turned 10!! Tomorrow my eldest will be 18!! Everyday I thank God for giving me three beautiful children. Sometime I wish I could turn the clock back to when they were babies and stop time.
We had Tristan's party at Brag Game Rights. I knew that I had picked the right place when one of the little boys looked up at me with his big eyes and said to me " This is the best party I have ever been to in my whole life."
The boys picked out video games that they wanted to play and they were given pop and candy. We had ordered 10 pizza's from Little Caesars but they boys didn't want to eat. We had 6 pizza's left over and ended up giving them away!!
Here are the pictures from Tristan's party.

Skiing

When I was a little girl I remember going skiing all the time with my parents. The image of my mothers bright orange ski jacket will always come to mind when I think about skiing. As a chid I loved to ski and would always be the first one down the hill. Ryan on the otherhand was always a bit fearful and always struggled to make it down the hill.

As a teenager I loved going skiing with my friends. I think we did more boy chasing then skiing though. I was really happy in college when I was able to take skiing for a college credit!!! I loved teaching others how to ski and hated when the season ended!!

Then Kyle and I moved to the cities and we didn't ski one time since we had moved. Today we decided to take advantage of my day off and go skiing. We had a blast!!! Tanner didn't want to go and Rissa is pregnant. So Kyle, me and Tristan headed out to Spirit Mountain for a day of skiing. Ines was already there with friends.

It really was like riding a bike and I was able to ski just like I used too. I struggled a bit because of my weight and my hip locked up on me at one point but overall it was a great day!!! It was Tristan's first time skiing and by the end of the day he really had a hang of things.

Next time we are going to try moun-ta-lac ( Spelling)!!!

Sundays

Sundays have always had a significant meaning in my family. When I was little every Sunday after church we would head to Grandma and Grandpas for a wonderful pot roast dinner with potatoes, gravy and carrots. Sometimes my parents would take us to Saints Roller Rink or we would go ice skating or sliding. As a child I always looked forward to Sundays because I knew that they would be filled with fun and adventure. I have continued this tradition with my children.
We usually wake up around 9 and have breakfast and then we start getting ready for church. We start Church at 11 but seem to always be running late. After an enjoyable service we usually visit with friends for a bit and then leave church to begin our afternoon adventures.
In the summer we usually drive up the shore and stop at Kendall's to have smoked fish. We have been going there since I was a little girl. The next stop is the Candy Shop a few miles up the road they sell chocolate covered sunflower seeds that are to die for.
In the winter we usually go to lunch and then we head over to UWS for an afternoon of Racquetball, swimming, ping pong, and other activities.
I hope my children will pass this tradition on to my grandchildren!!!

Ice breaking on the lake

The noise on this video is not the wind. It is the acutal noise of the ice hitting the shore. This video was taken at Brighton Beach in Duluth. Lake Superior

Photography.

For many years I always have the same dream.... I am taking pictures by the lake, I am older and my hair is very long and I am at perfect peace. I always wonder if that means I should go into photography. I love taking pictures- especially black and white ones. Here are a few of my favorites.

A perfect day.

Today was a perfect day. Everything just fell into place. We started the day by traveling to Two Harbors for Tristan's basketball tournament. Tristan was on track and shot over nine baskets. His team came in first place.
On the way back I decided we should take the scenic route. The boys and I stopped at French River and went on a hike. We were shocked to see at least twenty mallards floating in the water. The boys had fun throwing rocks and braking the ice. I on the other hand had the opportunity to take some photos. On the way back we saw a bald eagle flying overhead.
We then headed to the Edge water park and resort to celebrate Brittany and Alex's tenth birthdays. Tristan and uncle Ryan had a blast going down the giant water slides. The girls loved the presents I had purchased for them. Even great grandma Donna made it to the party!!!
We then headed home for an evening of relaxing and hopefully early bedtime.

SPORTS!!!

In our family winter symbolizes the beginning of basketball, spring and summer symbolize the start of baseball and fall is dedicated to football!! My boys love sports. If they are not playing on the field or on a court you will be sure to find them throwing something around at our house!!! We have had our share of broken windows- two days ago Tristan broke the living room window with a tennis ball :) Boys will be boys!

I never imagined that I'd be a sports mom! I have grown to love every moment of being a sports mom and I try to never miss a game.

I've included a video of Tristan playing basketball- he trips in it but he still did a great job taking the ball.

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!!

I am writing this typing with just one hand- a difficult thing to do. I am starting out the year with a partially torn rotator cuff ( snowmobiling)- it has been a tough week for me. I am physically and emotionally exhausted from the pain.

We've had lots of fast food this week.

The pain didn't stop me from crawling out of bed last night to bring in the new year! We had shrimp, chicken, stuffed mushrooms and green beans. Rissa did a great job going to the store and picking everything out. Kyle and Tanner did an amazing job cooking and Ines volunteered to do the dishes!! Tristan helped out by cutting and making confetti!!!

I even had Rissa pick up grenadine, sprite and cherries.... the kids had our traditional Shirley Temple drinks to bring in the new year.

We then played Farkle -a dice game that we recently learned when Tanner's Grandma Marilyn , aunt Sarah and cousin Imania came to visit. The game is addicting and every night since they visited someone has been playing it at our house.

A scary thing happened this week. Tristan had thrown a ball into our Kitchen Chandelier and forgot about it. It had started a fire in our light fixture. It could have turned out dangerous if we hadn't smelled it burning. We are thankful that nothing bad happened.

Christmas Fun!!!

Christmas came and went quickly. We had a very exciting Christmas -my brother Ryan proposed to his girlfriend Erica! It was unexpected and created a room full of crying women!!! lol

It's unbelievable to think that next Christmas we will have two new additions to our family! I love babies!!

The day after Christmas we decided to head up to Floodwood and take the snowmobiles out to the hunting shack. We had a wonderful time. Snowmobiling through the woods in pitch blackness was a little creepy- especially when you could hear the wolves howling in the background!! We are looking forward to our next trip and we plan on staying out at the shack.

Ice Fishing

Today my brother and Mike( Rissa's boyfriend) decided that they were going to go ice fishing. They rest of us tagged along. Mike just got a new ice house that seats 6 and we used another 2 person one. On the way out I stopped at Super one and bought 4 pounds of Deli Meat, hawaian rolls, Chips and pop.
We listened to the bulldog game and actually met a nice dog named Suzie that lives on the lake. Her owner also came out to visit us and warned us that she steals fish!!! lol
I was nervous is when Rissa was driving me and Tristan back to the car on the 4-wheeler!!! lol
It was a wonderful day and now we are going to spend the evening at my moms- she is making homemade pizza and crazy cake!!

Grandpa's Gas Station

One of my fondest memories as a child was being able to go to my grandpa’s gas station. My Grandpa Tom and his brother Joe owned “ Frenchy’s” a service station in Downtown Duluth. Frenchys was located on 1st Ave East and 1st Street. They opened it in 1960 and it closed either in the late 80’s or early 90’s. Every Sunday when church is over we drive past the location and an overwhelming sense of nostalgia passes through me.
Grandpa’s gas station was located right in the heart of the “Bowery”. The homeless people used to sleep in an area under 1st Avenue until the city sealed it off. Grandpa made projection videos of the drunks, prostitutes and homeless people that habitated the streets. (IF I ever find a projector I could watch the old movies)
The local police officers loved to hang out at Grandpa’s station. I would often find them sitting at the counter writing a report or visiting with Grandpa. I was usually greeted with a big hug or carried around by some of the local officers. I would sit and visit them while savoring the taste of the glass bottled coca cola that came from grandpa’s machine.
Sometimes I would wander into the service station and watch Uncle Joe at work. The rugged scent of oil and metal has always stayed with me and when I go into a shop- I see myself standing in the doorway looking at a car with Uncle Joe under the hood.

Grief

Just yesterday my mom said " Grandma doesn't want me listening to Christmas music in the house, it makes her miss grandpa too much" I understood why Grandma felt this way. Grandpa Tom loved music and he loved singing songs to the ones he loved. It made me wonder what Christmas songs were special between the two of them.

I grieve for my tiny little Grandma and the fact that she lost the love of her life.

The last few years have been a time for deep grieving in our family-

We are thankful for the years we had with our loved ones and we will always cherish their Memories.

In loving memory of my grandfather - Thomas Aubut

My Auntie Marilyn

Myrissa's Father- Chico Warner Laitinen- Age 34- a life cut way to short

Kyle's best friend- Hjalmer James Johnson- Age 34- another life cut way to short.

My best Friend from High School- James Pierson Age 34- another life cut way to short.

The loss of Olie our dog was also another time of grief for us this year...

Kyle and I will never forget the loss of our daughter Olivia Lynn Louhela 4/9/97-4/9/97

"Carol of the Bells" Tanner's Choir Concert

*Baby Calyb*

Myrissa is now 19 weeks Pregnant!!! She is due April 29th!! Here are the 4D ultrasound pictures!!

"Oh Lutefisk"

Every year my dad always bursts into song singing the Lyrics to " Oh Lutefisk" In case you want to join in on our family tradition I've decided to post the lyrics.... lol

O Lutefisk, O Lutefisk
Lutefisk, O Lutefisk, how fragrant your aroma,
Lutefisk, O Lutefisk, you put me in a coma.
You smell so strong, you look like glue,You taste just like an overshoe,
But lutefisk, come Saturday,I tink I eat you anyvayLutefisk,
O lutefisk, I put you in the doorvay.I wanted you to ripen up just like they do in Norvay.
A dog came by and sprinkled you.I hit him with my overshoe.
O lutefisk, now I supposeI'll eat you while I hold my nose.
Lutefisk, O lutefisk, how well I do remember.On Christmas Eve how we'd receive our big treat of December.It wasn't turkey or fried ham.It wasn't even pickled Spam.My mother knew there was no riskIn serving buttered lutefisk.
Lutefisk, O lutefisk, now everyone discoversThat lutefisk and lefse make Norvegians better lovers.Now all the world can have a ball.You're better than that Geritol.
O lutefisk, with brennevin [Norwegian brandy]You make me feel like Errol Flynn.
Lutefisk, O lutefisk, you have a special flavor.
Lutefisk, O lutefisk, all good Norvegians savor.That slimy slab we know so wellIdentified by ghastly smell.Lutefisk, O lutefisk,Our loyalty won't waver.
tune: O Tannenbaum

Christmas Time!!!

Christmas time is our favorite time of the year. We love it so much that Kyle and I even were married on December 6th. I of course had my tree up and decorated the day after Thanksgiving. The same weekend we spent time making spritz cookies.
My father is a full blooded Norwegian and some of our food traditions include lefse, the dreaded lutefisk,rosettes and I recently started making futtagmen.
Christmas Eve is going to be spent with Kyle's family in Floodwood and Christmas day we will spend at our house with my family.
Our family is thankful for God's gift to us and " Jesus is the reason for the season" is not just a saying but a truth that is placed closely in our hearts.