Christmas Eve...

Every year we have Dave's dad over for dinner and then the rest of his family comes over to share some Christmas cheer with us. We were a little late in bringing out the cameras, but did get my nieces and sister-in-law. We played the game Catch Phrase for almost 2 1/2 hours. Its addicting and full of laughs. Brittany the tall one lives in Minnesota and we don't get a chance to see her very much - she is extremely beautiful and Alyssa the blondie is sweet and cute. We love them both. I am hoping to include them in my photo blog soon. So watch for them as they have agreed to be my practice. We hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas.

A Classic Christmas Story...

At school the girls had a book exchange. They each were to purchase a book and in their classes they were to play a game and then they would have a different book to go home with. Autumn got her friends book (imagine that). She said she knew which one it was and knew it would be good so why not pick that one? Ambrea on the other hand said we switched around so much I couldn't keep track. Anyways, when she pulled out Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, I instantly had a flash back of when I was a kid and for some reason I remembered that I too had gotten this book when I was either in Kindergarten or 1st grade from a little friend. I loved that book and I know I must have asked my parents to read it over and over. When I read it last night to the girls I enjoyed it even more. They followed along and loved the pictures and to tell you the truth if they would have asked me to read it again - I would have.

Christmas Cut-out Cookies....

Thank goodness for daddy and thinking about making cut out cookies with the girls. I am not one to make cookies and I am not sure why. Maybe its the fact that anything that I make lately - burns!! Anyway, Dave thought it would be fun to make cut outs this past Sunday at about 5 p.m. I said I think to save some time you should just buy the pre-made cookie dough (I am always looking for a way to save some time and mess for that matter). Autumn and daddy set out to the grocery store and returned with no frosting. So they got the cookies all cut out - Autumn helped periodically, but Ambrea hung in there the most. I, on the other hand, was blogging the last blog entry. The next day I ran out and got the frosting and had it all ready for them when they got home. Ambrea did a great job and was even creative with the sprinkles. Daddy even made her a cookie in the shape of an "A" for being such a great helper. The cookies tasted great!!!!

An attempt.....

I was thinking this year the girls would be up for some fun wrapped up in lights. Or should I say mom thought it would be fun to wrap her girls up in lights. I was taking pictures and listening to them tell each other how they should be posing. At one point, Ambrea said "Autumn you always think your the cuter one." It was quickly answered with a " I do not - I just like to over pose my self." It was fun and challenging to get them to stay wrapped or hold the lights so they didn't look like the lights were growing out of their bodies. Then it came to a point where the "lights are just to hot-mom", "when are we going to be done," and "didn't dad just say it was time to go to Wal-Mart?" Needless to say the attempt at our own personal touch to this years Christmas card was a bust. We choose a nice pic of the girls taken by our dear friend - Kristen. Thank goodness for those pictures. So no sneak peeks here just a fun one that I played around with on my Adobe photoshop. There are more and I may put them in slide form. They are nothing special just a 1/2 hour of their time and me trying to get them to cooperate for what its worth.

Drawings Ambrea Style....

Do you ever just wonder what goes through a little ones mind
when they are drawing pictures? I find pictures around the house
all the time and most of them are intended for me to enjoy. I love
picking up a pile of papers and finding a sketch from Ambrea that involves
my hair all curly - cuz it is! Not so sure why I have arms in
different positions and hers are perfect. (hmmmmm?) At least I am thin in her world (lol!) I also love how at this stage of the game its all about sounding out the words - literally! Did you catch the word "famley"? or the "p.s. I love you" (the p.s. is covered up) where did she pick up the "p.s." part? She makes me smile everyday with her silly little quirks and her cute little drawings. Keep them coming!!!

Another year older.....

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Yes, another year older. Could it be that these will be the better years of my life. I hope it to be, but I also don't want to lose sight of what I have learned along the way to get to where I am at now. I have a great family that makes my birthday mean even more. My girls went out tonight with their dad to pick out a present for me. Ambrea got me the Willow Tree 'Angel of Miracles'- Trusting in life's everyday miracles. My cup runneth over as I look at my girls and know that we are blessed. Autumn got me a new bow case for my bow as I was borrowing one from David. David also got me a Willow Tree 'Heart of Gold' Angel - You will always have my heart. If any of you know me I started to cry. I am a sap I know, but sometimes its these kind of moments that remind you that you really are loved. My birthday is actually tomorrow, but they just couldn't wait to give me their presents. They also got me a cake (the birthday cake had a Bratz ring on it!!) and some great cards. Yes- my cake is sitting on the bow case as I wanted all my little treasures to be in the picture. I love all my presents.

The season is upon us....

It begins... the hustle and bustle of the season. Along with all of that comes the school projects. The girls came home with a "family project" instruction sheet and a huge green piece of paper. We were asked to make a tree that represents your family, traditions, or artistic ability, etc.. You could cut the paper any way you wanted and use whatever you wanted, be creative! Well we gave this some thought and to the Dollar Store we went. Got a few things and realized that the styrofoam cone that we wanted was not there. Off to Michaels on Saturday a.m. with my girls and everyone in their brother out - Yeah! Mind you when we walked into the place you could not get to a check out, but this project was due on Monday we had to proceed. In the Styrofoam isle there is a bunch of things to choose from. My girls can come up with anything that involves hitting each other with something, to being in someones way, to "mom why are we here again?" NICE! But we found what we came for and I wanted out of that place. Got in the longest isle ever then became smart and walked all the way to the back of the store -literally as every isle was full of chaos (don't stores have a max capacity? - cuz I think Michaels was at it) found a check out that I think someone else should have gone before me - but I butted in and put my stuff on the counter - Had to write a check out so it gave the girls time to ask for everything under the sun near the checkouts - hate that they put $1 items by the checkouts - Seriously, are you kidding me? We were out of there. Got home and let my finds sit on the counter thinking that someone would want to help mommy with this. OF COURSE NOT! Sunday morning I got up at 5 a.m. ran to get a paper (more like drove - I have no ambition) came back, drank my coffee, and started on the Family Tree. At about 7:30 a.m. they finally pitched in and by 7 p.m. the decorations were on the tree. Yes -it became an all day thing! The whole point is, we finished it with things that we love about Christmas and the above pic is the finished project. Got to love those school projects!

Thanksgiving at Coley's House....

Thanksgiving this year was at my sister's house. She wanted to host

it and I had no qualms about it at all. In fact, it was nice to get out

of the house for the day. I was to help her get things going and ran

a bit late, so the turkey did not get in the oven at the exact time

we had planned. Things happen and that's what you get. The

dinner was great and the company was fantastic. We got the place

cleaned up and Coley wanted to play a game of Catch Phrase. The

teams were picked as follows: Tab, auntie Linda, and Nathan for team

one and team two -Coley, Nana, and Dave and away the game went.

Lots of laughs, lots of "you could have said" and lots of buzzers going

off, but the winner was team two. Maybe next year guys!!! Anyway,

it was a nice day and lots of things to be thankful for and mostly just

thankful to spend time with our loved ones. We wish you all a Happy

Thanksgiving!

FINALLY.....

Finally......Here's the story of a girl who wanted so bad to have a Nintendo DS. She could hardly contain herself. It was something she talked about all the time and if she saw an advertisement on t.v. she went into a frenzy. At one point, she blurted out "its makes me so jealous that they keep coming out with new games and I don't have one to play with." Because our children at times need to learn that money does not grow on trees. David and I decided that she needed to work for the DS and earn her own cash. The proposal was made this past summer and an agreement was reached. She had to earn the cash for the DS and daddy would pay for a game (god forbid a game come with it!) So away she went, at times kind reminders were made to do things around the house, but for the majority of it if she saw something that needed to be done she did it. Yes, lessons were learned from this that we know how to wash clothes, empty a dishwasher, load a dishwasher decent, pick up after the dog, clean out the window wells, pick up sticks at the farm for mowing purposes, help with the garden, help with her sister, help the family. She did all this without complaining and earned her cash. Her dad and I decided that she did have some money in her savings that she could use to help out with her purchase, but needed to continue with household things to replace that money. She agreed. So away her and her daddy went on a Wednesday night after church to purchase her Nintendo DS. She came home with a smile like she just brought home a brand new baby! She was glowing. I am glad that it took her some time to save for this. She set her mind to it and didn't change her mind. She did good and I know that she appreciates it a lot more than if we would have bought it.

Daddy....

Most of you know that my hubby has been having to travel out of town for work. Not just an hour away and be able to come home each night. No, we're talking four to five hours away in Iowa. What does this mean for the Olson girls? Well, it means a big empty spot until he returns. We need our daddy. Let me say the reasons why (which they of course would not fit all in one spot and if I leave one out - sorry. They are in random order) We need our daddy to give us hugs, to tell us he loves us no matter what, to wrestle with, to chest bump (moms least favorite thing that Ambrea loves to do), to settle arguments of who gets on the bus first, to call and tell us he is on his way home, to play DS, to play football in the basement, to remind us that being nice to each other is most important, to kiss Ambrea on the forehead, to kiss Autster for helping out without asking, to say silly things to change the subject, to whisper to mom how much he loves her and this family, to call and listen to him talk to his dad, to listen to his hunting strategies, to sleep next to mommy so she can get a good night sleep, to let mommy know that were going to be alright in this economy, to wipe away tears over the phone (yes I cry when he is gone), to make us smile and laugh. I know I could go on, but some things need to be written to let him know just how much he is missed when he is gone working. We love our daddy! One thing I know for sure - my family does not function well without daddy here!

** the pic above was taken after playing with the girls and he needed to do some of his "book" work. Autumn just wanted to be by him and not leave him alone. She thought if she brought out her DS he would interact with her. He did!

Because its what he does....

Because this is what my husband thinks about, reads about, dreams about, and lives for everyday. I felt he deserved a spot on the blog. He has been putting in countless hours of scouting around here and in Gordon. We haven't had any bucks in the back woods for quite some time. Mostly Does, but his patience finally paid off. On November 9, 2008 (his dad's birthday) he got a 5 pointer. This was great as he woke up bright and early that morning and said "I'm not sure if I want to go out now or later this afternoon." I was secretly grumbling as he now had me awake and still contemplating if he was going out or not. Ugh! Anyways, its obvious he did and it was worth it. A shout out to Autumn as she has been going out with him to check rubs, scraps, and cameras to do her part. He's got some great little helpers. Needless to say, I went out that night and saw nothing, but got very COLD!

Warm weather one last time....

Warm weather going into November is rare, but well worth being able to play outside after school. The girls didn't even bring their school bags into the house as they didn't want to waste one minute of day light or being able to not have a coat on. They chose playing on the edge of the corn field where all the dead foliage has been piling up and to be burned as it was becoming that late fall eye soar. Apparently, I had stepped on someones house and garden when I tried to take a few pics of them playing "Nice" together. I heard about it as I was walking back to the house. Can't win, but I got some pics.

Halloween Style...

I know Halloween has come and gone, but I had to at least show all of you what these two had in mind for costume style. Autumn went as Cleopatra and looked awesome and thankfully the weather was warmer and she didn't have to wear something underneath as "that would totally ruin my look!" Ambrea was a punked out witch, but still a "nice witch" mom! She had on some great purple and black striped stockings which I apparently forgot to take a pic of. At least we still have them and she amazingly did not put a hole in them. All in all they had a great night and got a lot of candy and can I say it is just about gone. I believe that is a first as normally it sits around for months and disappears into the garbage can. Oh - before I forget Ambrea was at a house by her grandparents and received a small bag with an apple and orange and one little sucker. She quickly responds as she is walking away - "Mom I thought I was trick or treating not trick or fruiting." Leave it to her to come up with something witty.....

1st Grade Fire Safety Poster Winner 10/16/08

Ambrea came home with a letter from the school secretary informing us that her poster that she made for the Chippewa Falls Fire Dept. had been chosen for first place. She would need to be in attendance at the Fire Department to receive her award. She was excited to say the least. When we got to the Fire Station we realized that this was a big deal and the contest was for 1st - 5th graders from all the area's elementary schools. There were 1st - 5th place winners and if your poster had been chosen for first place you won a nice home fire extinguisher and your poster was kept to go off to State for judging. To say the least, when we went that evening to her parent/teacher conferences and told her teacher about her award the teacher told us that she had wanted to start over on it because another girl at her table started over. The teacher had told Ambrea that she was doing a great job and didn't need to start over. We are all happy that she didn't. Way to go Ambrea and of course we had to take a picture of her and her Blue ribbon with her sister in front of the fire truck.

Visiting the girls...

Our friend Cory and his daughter came over to play on Saturday.

The girls are always crazy to have their friends jump on their

trampoline and having Aaliyah over was no exception. Plus, we

don't get to see her that often and they sure were having some fun.

Gotta love the faces they make.

Walking trail....

Dave had thought it would be a good idea to take the girls out

on the bike trail. Since they were on their scooters it was pointless to

try and take their pictures as they were just a bundle of energy. So

what better to take a picture on a non-moving object -a cow. Nothing

better than seeing a good ol cow just eating away on your walk.

Of course, we took the pup with us and he stopped to pose with a smile.

Good I love that dog - life is good with that dog!

Time is flying by....

I have realized that I have been slacking for some time now on the family blog. I have been doing a few things and learning a new art per say. I have made a major purchase for myself, but with great intentions to benefit my family and friends (I hope) I have bought a new camera from a dear friend (only so that she could go out and purchase a new one herself - I understand completely LOL!) This is something we had been talking about for a few months and I was really losing sleep over it and kind of moping around as I wanted to make this purchase as she was learning the ropes of photography herself. But eventually, you get there and make that leap and since it was not at the same time as her. I have learned so much from her and I am absorbing all that I can about the art of photography. No more letting my camera make the decisions of how it thinks a pic should be taken. With that said, I will be starting a new blog site soon of my work. I will be asking friends if I can borrow them for some fun times of photo shooting. In return, I hope to take some rockin' pics and that people will like them enough to want me back. Once the site is up I hope that it will inspire my friends to pass the word along and let me share in their lives as well. Thanks again in advance for your support. Check back for the new link to my photo blog. It is a work in progress and my family one will still be here.

American Girl.....

Autumn has really been into her American Girl Doll - KIT. Her nana had taken her to see the American Girl Movie - Kit Kitteridge and low and behold Autumn just happened to have her with her that day to take her along. Autumn loved it and ever since then it seems to be her new "thing" She has quite a collection of clothes and books and she had gotten Kit's scooter and pup - Grace for Christmas this past year. Now she has been scanning the catalog to see what her next wish would be. I am thinking that she is wishing that she had Kit's Best Friend and the tree house. Boy, oh Boy she has big wishes.

What you will find......

Ambrea has been working on her own little collection. As you can see we are now finding Care Bears everywhere. Over the past summer, she and her daycare buddies would go out to thrift sales and if the price was right she would come home with a new one. The ones on her bed are her prize finds. She has a stack of the bigger ones up towards the head of her bed and of the three that she has two of them were won at the fair by her dad and one bought at a thrift sale. I think there will be more of these types of collections if she continues to keep finding little bargains. Notice we can also find Scooby in her room - I guess you can count him as being a "Caring Dog"

1st day of school.....

The first day of school always brings some cute photos and my girls have become these little divas in their own way. Of course, we couldn't just have the traditional pose of the two of them in front of the door together. Oh no, we must strike our own pose without each other next to one another.
Then there is the rare moment of the two of them being nice to one another while walking out to the bus and I just happen to catch them holding hands (brief moment as I wanted them to do it one more time and Autumn yells back the "bus is coming" Guess that means I was SOL! There is something that tugs at the heart strings when you see your children entering that school bus and knowing that your life is now ran by the school schedule and that homework is again a reality. I missed them the moment those feet hit those stairs. Our girls are now 1st and 3rd graders.

Its all about the shoes.....

Nana was out with Ambrea looking for her ballet and tap shoes for this dance season and while Nana was doing the looking Ambrea was looking elsewhere and eyed up these "super sparkley shoes, that oh my gosh nana they are Hannah Montana super sparkley shoes." Nana said. "do you think you need those shoes" and Ambrea says, "oh nana, they are just so sparkley and look so cute on my feet that of course I think I need these shoes!" My mom looks at me and says "you can't deny super sparkley Hannah Montana shoes now can I?" I just shook my head. Yes, the shoes came home, got tags cut off, and were worn the rest of the evening! I guess its all about the shoes at age six.

A little tree time.....

The girls have seemed to take a liking to my grandmothers trees that line our property. As a child I use to, along with my cousins, climb those trees every time we went out to visit. There really was not a whole lot to do when we were there so we came up with our own ideas. I miss those days of being carefree and worrying about falling. Heck- I don't even think I could get myself up in the tree let alone try and get down.
Look at the picture of Ambrea - see anything in her hands or in her mouth? Yes - those are cookies and notice not a one of them is broken. How did she do that?

Pudgy Bunny......

I am back and sorry for not keeping up.There has been a lot going on around this place.

The answer to "if I have found my camera" Yes! I found it that night, but lost it for good the following day in a terrible incident that I don't want to pour out on my blog, but replaced that same day to show that some things are replaceable (love to my husband).

Ambrea just cracks me up. The girl goes no where without having some sort of food tucked away or in this case, stuffed in her mouth LOL! Ambrea had been asking her dad if they could please just have one more campfire before school starts and as you can see he came through. They love sitting outside and burning up some marshmallows always is a hit. With these two girls.

I Simply Adore......

My girls and I recently went to see my grandparents. I haven't seen them for many years and wanted to see them before they left again in Nov/Dec. I do talk about them a lot and miss dearly when they are gone. Of course, we stay in touch by email and telephone calls but it just is not the same sometimes. They decided that their calling in life was to help others. They do missionary work in Mexico and they live in a nice fifth wheel that they park in Texas. In the winter months they head south and come home to their family in May. I can not express enough how I feel about them and what giving people they are. While visiting with them I felt like I never missed a thing. They just have this warmness about them that makes you want to be a better person. When I was little I enjoyed every moment I had with them and only wish our daily schedules were not so busy that we could visit even more. I am glad that my girls got to meet them again. I think the last time we saw them Autumn was two and Ambrea was only one or two months old. Scary how time just pasts us by - life just has its way. To grandma and grandpa know that I love you and miss everyday and hope that we can see you again before you leave. Thanks for loving us and keeping us in your thoughts. Miss you already!!!!!!!