The sights and sounds of Christmas...

This past weekend we decided to take the kids out and enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas.... We decked the kids out in their snugly pj's and blankets and headed out in search of our favorite Christmas light display. Brad and I started looking at Christmas lights 13 years ago when we first started dating. Brad would pick me up and we would head out, he would take me to his favorite spots and then we would venture to a few of my favorite spots. This year we were excited to continue this tradition with our own children! We stopped and got some Cappuccino for mom and dad and some cookies for Dylan, with our snacks in hand we were off to our first destination. We cranked up the Christmas music in the car, even daddy tapped his hand on his leg to the beat of his favorite Christmas songs!
We first stopped in Bowman Ridge. The whole neighborhood had a Candy Cane theme. It was beautiful seeing all of the tree's decorated in red and white lights, the trunks resembling the perfect candy cane.

The next stop was in Vinton. On the way to one of our favorite displays we saw this, a VW Beetle all decorated with lights, being pulled by reindeer. Another version of a pretty hip sleigh for Santa!

We arrived at our next destination. One of mommy's favorite spots. I remember when my Grandmother use to take me to Vinton almost every year to see this exact same display. It is amazing seeing all of the hard work this family puts into this display. We even cracked the window and turned down our radio, the display had music to go along with each theme. It was very very neat! The kids loved seeing a few of their favorite characters all lit up for Christmas!

The whole display is pretty amazing. We have to say it is probably our favorite! We were very happy to put a cash donation in the giraffe head for the family to be able to continue this very memorable display.

The next stop on our route was this beautiful home and yard all decorated just outside of Cedar Rapids.

All of the traditional lights mixed with the new LED lights made for a very bright, fun display.

Another stop on our destination had this beautiful drive thru over the driveway. All of the white lights were even more beautiful lit up next to the sparkling snow. And the red bows topped of this decoration!

This was our last stop. Literally a winter wonderland! It was beautiful. Strings of lights hanging from the tree's. The gazebo complete with Santa, all decked out for Christmas.

The sleigh and reindeer waiting for Santa. And music playing our most favorite Christmas carols.

The huge globes and inflatables were un-real. All of our favorite holiday characters!

The whole entire yard was covered with lights of some sort. Not a bare spot to be found. Another 'favorite' to make sure we keep on the map for next year!

We still had 2 more spots on our map but all of a sudden we noticed the chattering and giggling in the back seat had stopped. Danielle and Dylan were fast asleep. We decided to try one more 'must', Cedar Memorial where our beloved 1st son Dalton is laid to rest. Unfortunately the light display wasn't on this night. We will stop there again.

But after that we headed home. Brad and I both really enjoyed taking our children out on a beautiful winters night, all snug in the car, to continue a tradition that we started when we were so young and our love was just beginning 13 years ago. Now we have 2 little ones, an even bigger sign of our love for each other, to celebrate with. The true meanings of Christmas!~

Blizzard of 2009...

BLIZZARD was the word of the day today! Our family enjoyed our first ever family SNOW day, and we enjoyed every minute of it! We started hearing at the beginning of the week what would be in store for us come Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday. 12+ inches of snow, Blizzard conditions, travel would not be advised and everything would close. Well old man winter sure dumped on us this time, the weather man was right.....we are snowed in! We awoke this morning to several inches of snow, the snow still falling and the wind howling outside. We knew we weren't making it out of our town today. The kids slept in and late in the morning daddy went out with the 4wheeler to plow us and the neighbors out. He had fun doing it!

For our snow day we stayed in our pj's all day long! The kids played and did whatever their little heart desired. We read books, giggled at Dylan entertaining us all day long, and Danielle had some floor time playing with a few of her favorite toys!

Both Brad and I had some nice one on one time with each of the kids. That is always nice getting in those individual snuggle times, it is important for the little ones too!

Even Skylar didn't want to stay outside for long today. The wind was howlingm the wind chills kept dropping the temps, -21 degrees they say for tonight. She isn't a crazy puppy, she wanted to be snuggled up inside after a short time in the first snow of this winter. Can't say we blame her on a day like today!

It didn't take long and the path that Brad made for Skylar blew in. The winds were blowing so hard today the branches hung down close to the ground . The nice clean driveway and sidewalk were covered over just a few hours later.

This afternoon both kids took a nap, mommy had a yummy smelling roast in the crock pot, the Christmas tree and garland lights were twinkling bright and mommy and daddy snuggled up on the couch to catch a good movie. These snow days are perfect for some R&R and not feeling a bit guilty for any of it!

The official snow fall total in Springville is 11.1 inches. It truly was the biggest snow storm that many can remember in the last 20 years. We sure hope this isn't a sign of what is to come for the rest of our winter! But we are sure all snuggled in tonight, staying warm on a burrrr....cold winters night!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

A time to be thankful, a time to reflect and also a time to celebrate! This year our Thanksgiving was celebrated with great family. Uncle Chase came to stay with us for the whole week. The kids loved having him around. He got lots of snuggles and attention from our little ones. Thanksgiving morning started at home. Mommy in the kitchen cooking for our feast and daddy, Chase and the kids eating cinnamon rolls in front of the TV watching the Macy's day parade. It is hard to believe that 4 years ago mommy and daddy were there in NYC for the parade! Later in the day we went over to Aunt Ellie and Uncle Bill's house. Ellie of course had her home all fantastically decorated for the holiday. It was such a warm, comfortable and homey feeling. This was just one of my favorite centerpieces she had out for the kids table.

We tried to get a couple shots of the kids together, this one was the best one out of the ones we took and neither kid is looking at the camera!

Here is our smiley princess!

Showing her pearly whites. She has 4 teeth in fully and two on each side on top just poking thru plus one on the bottom left just poking thru. Poor little peanut is getting them all at one time!

She loves to roll all over the place on the floor. Belly to back and back to belly, she knows how to get around!

I love my Uncle Chase!

That Saturday after Thanksgiving we took Chase to the airport. It was a sad day as we said farewell, but knowing we will see him again in just a few short weeks made it a whole lot easier! Since the weather was beautiful that day we thought what a better way to enjoy the nice weather than to go out for our annual picking out a Christmas tree! We headed out to Wickiup Tree Hill in search of the perfect tree. The have SO many to choose from. Long needles, short needles, Frazier Fur's, and the list goes on...and on...

You can even have a teal colored tree if you want!

We let Dylan lead the way this year. He paused for a brief moment trying to decide which way to go, and then...he was off!

Danielle snuggled with mommy in the Baby Bjorn and we followed right along.

Dylan came across a little tree that he really wanted to bring home for him and the baby. It was a cute little thing. But we persuaded him to keep looking for a BIG tree!

And he found one. A really full one with a needle perfect for the star we would put on top. It seems we always mis-judge the size and then we get it home and have to cut some off the bottom. This year this one fits perfect. A little rounder than the ones in the past but it works, this is the perfect tree for our family this year!

Daddy cut the tree down and then we were down the hill to take it home.

Brad debated on having them come with the Gator to carry the tree for us. But then him and Dylan decided that they could just drag it down the hill.

We had them put the tree on the shaker to get all of the access needles off so it didn't make a complete mess once inside the house. They netted it for us and we were off to home to decorate our tree.

Thank you Wickiup Tree Hill for once again helping us in our family tradition of helping us to find the perfect Christmas tree. Maybe next year we will take a Gator ride in search of the perfect tree!

We also have had the fantastic opportunity recently to ride the 'Polar Express'! Mommy and Daddy purchased tickets over a month ago to ride the Polar Express train to the North Pole in Boone. We have anticipated this day ever since. Part of the experience is to dress the kids in their pj's for the train ride to the North Pole. We snuggled the kids in their pj's, slippers and blankets and we were off to Boone.

Danielle sure was excited to ride the train for her first time.

After a 2 1/2 hour car ride poor little peanut was fast asleep. Dreaming of the fun night yet to come!

We arrived in Boone to the Scenic Valley Line at about 5 pm, in time to pick up our tickets from the will call window and wait inside the Depot for the Conductor to tell us, 'All Aboard'!
6 PM departure was fast approaching. The kids waited patiently to board the train. Dylan had his Polar Express book tightly protected in his hands.

Brad was very very excited to be with the kids, taking them on their first train ride!

The train was very festively decorated for Christmas. This experience sure put our family in the Christmas spirit. Tis' the season for family traditions.

It was fun to see all of the kids dressed in their pj's, even some parents, the elves and conductors were dressed in their pj's too! We browsed up and down the train cars in search of which one we wanted to ride on.

And we picked one, 'the little train that could!'
We waited in line and the Conductor punched our tickets just like the do in the Polar Express movie. The Polar Express book and movie are a favorite of mommy and daddy's, and we felt like we were experiencing it in real life!

Our train car was all decorated for Christmas. Complete with garland strung with white lights all around the train car. Each train car had a 'Elf Story Reader' and a 'Helper Elf too'.

We got settled into our seats the the big train whistle blew and we were off, to the 'North Pole'! The Elf story reader introduced himself and began to read the Polar Express. We followed along with our book and we felt like we were a part of the story!

After the story was over the reader asked all of the little ones questions about the book. It was so cute, they would raise their hands to answer the questions. What a magical experience. Once we arrived at the North Pole we saw Santa's house on one side of the train and live reindeer on the other. The little ones were naming them one by one and picking out which one they all thought was Rudolph! When the train stopped our Elf handed out cookies...YUM!

Then the helpers came around and handed out Hot Chocolate, perfect for a cool winters night!

After the cookies and hot chocolate we heard a little rustle from outside our train car, the door opened and in came Santa Claus! HO HO HO, MERRY CHRISTMAS he boasted out loud! All of the kids cheered and Dylan said he spotted Elmo! Shortly he realized it was Santa Claus and was just as excited to see him. Santa came around and handed each of the kids a shiney Silver Bell, just like in the Polar Express book and movie. The sound of ringing bells filled our train car! Soon Santa waved farewell and we were on our way from the North Pole back to the train depot. On the ride back we read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' and even sang Christmas Caroles. The kids also paraded up and down the aisle so everyone could see their pj's! This was a very memorable experience for our family. It definitely put us in the Chrismas Spirit. Lots of memory's were made and we hope to do it again next year!

The kids slept the whole car ride home. Danielle was a little sad to have been woken up. She is a true princess complete with the pukered out lip when she is sad....

And the full fledge scream when she really isn't happy. But a nice warm bottle took care of that and soon after she was tucked in her bed and fast asleep.

We are very thankful for all of these wonderful memory's we are making this Holiday Season. We are thankful for each other, our beautiful children that complete our family. We can't wait for what else this Holiday Season has in store for us!

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On another note. The day after Thanksgiving our family lost a wonderful Uncle. Uncle Tom Randklev passed away that Friday morning. He was a beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother, Uncle and Friend. He will be greatly missed by everyone that knew him. He had such a will for life. His sudden passing shocked everyone around him. His services were this week, the huge outpouring amount of love and support that came for him and the family was truly amazing. People waited for hours and hours to greet the family. We want to pass along one of the poems off of Tom's funeral card. Well said, to the point and a very important message:

Remember what a smile's for;

Show off those pearly teeth.

Try to make one friend a day,

That's not beyond your reach.

Try to find that spot of good

In each one that you know;

And live each day so you'll be missed,

When your time comes to go.

Try to see the other side;

Take time to understand.

Recollect you have a heart-

Include God in your plan.

Have some time for everyone,

And let your good side show.

And live each day, so you'll be missed,

When your time comes to go.

May you rest in peace Tom. May Linda, your children and grandchildren find comfort knowing you are with the lord. You are greatly missed.

In memory of Thomas Allan Randklev: 1943-2009~

Until next time. Keep the ones you love close to your heart. Don't take any day for granted as you never know what tomorrow will bring. Live each day as if it was your last. We love you Danielle, we are very thankful you are our daughter.~