Falken Christmas

One week ago tonight we arrived home from our final Christmas celebration for this holiday season!  We set out on another roadtrip, but this time headed west and ended up in Rapid City for a Falken celebration!  With seven kids 6 years and younger, there is a lot of fun to be had and never a dull moment! 

We started out our Saturday morning swimming like fish.  We fortunately had the entire pool area to ourselves for the morning, and boy did we take advantage! We ALL had a fabulous time jumping from pool to hot tub!

Once we got everyone out of the pool and showered for the day, we headed to Scott and Kellie's house where we enjoyed good food and an afternoon and evening of entertainment.  With the weather so great, we took advantage and played outside... swinging, kicking balls, and pushing the wagon around the backyard.  Then, it was time for presents, hurray!  Before we started tearing the wrapping paper, Bev had some small instruments and arranged a Falken grandkid band!

And a one, and a two, and a one, two, three!

The kids all had a great time playing together.  They all got tents from Grandma and Grandpa and managed to get them all set up in the basement. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that! 

Delainey & Brinnley trying to be twins!

Gage & Reid - the actual Falken twins! So cute!!

Delainey loved making the twins smile!  She's a natural!

We attempted to take a group picture of all the Falken cousins.  It didn't turn out too bad considering how tired they all were after a long day of swimming, swinging, opening presents, and trying out new toys... phew, makes me tired just thinking about it!

CHEESE!

Happy New Year

The holidays have come to a close for 2011. Our Christmas was exciting, memorable, silly, and overall wonderful!!  Many great moments were caught on camera and some were not, but we had a great time despite not being able to go sledding. :)

Setting food out for Santa's reindeer

Dancing with Uncle Joe!

SMILE!  Merry Christmas!!!

"This stocking is mine Santa"

Crashed before Santa came.

Beautiful girls

Baby Max is such a treat!

Maya practicing handstands whenever possible!

So cute

Lights out!

We rang in the new year with the Falken's and also enjoyed some good food, family, and fun! We will have our Falken Christmas festivities in a few weeks in Rapid City... so the holiday fun is not over yet!  

Holiday Cheer

Weeks ago we decorated our house and started getting ready for the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.  Delainey was a big help putting the tree up, hanging wreaths, and spreading some holiday cheer!  She is like her Mommy... loving the christmas carols and singing right along!

A week later Grandpa Lonnie invited us to a live nativity at a church nearby in Webster. The event was very neat and well done. We saw donkeys, sheep, and even camels!  We were glad we made the trip!

This past weekend was a busy one full of last minute preparations, which I'm sure most people can relate to.  It is easy to get wrapped up in the lists and expectations of ourselves of what we "should" get done. At some point we need to prioritize and go on.  We did that and decided to make cut-out cookies!  That memory will last a lifetime.

While we were baking, Daddy went fishing!  He brought home a table full and later treated us to some delicious fish tacos. Delainey ate the tacos like candy, so I guess Daddy has his work cut out for him this winter.

The weekend ended with the beginning of our Christmas celebrations. We had Christmas with the clan up at Grandpa Lonnie's and boy did we have fun! Delainey fell asleep on the way home and slept until Monday morning.

The excitement in Delainey is contagious, and we can't wait for the days up ahead.  We had our family Christmas tonight and had another great evening of excitement, joy, and smiles! Now we have all week to play with new things and get ready for our roadtrip to the cities for our weekend holiday! 

 Safe travels and Merry Christmas to all!

Getting Settled

The Falken's are back!

We have been in our new home for over 5 weeks, and we have been pretty much settled for most of them.  A few boxes still linger around, because maybe it's stuff we haven't used in a while and we just don't know where to put it.  Maybe one would get rid of it, but I just can't do that.... yet!  As far as our new home, we LOVE it!  It fits our family life, and we feel like it was built with us in mind.

Enjoying s'mores before the snow flies.

Watching some TV, enjoying the fireplace, and playing dress up! What a Daddy!

My posts this fall have been few and far in between, but Delainey hasn't stopped changing daily.  She is as full of energy as ever and keeps us on our toes.  She has found a love for coloring. Morning or night, she grabs colors, makers, and whatever is near to her that needs coloring!  We have also done some watercolor painting, which has become a big hit... Delainey an artist?  Possibly!

Within the past few weeks we enjoyed a holiday - Halloween!  Delainey excitedly dressed up as a cowgirl. She already has a love for horses.  We drive by several horses on our way to and from town everyday. We say "good morning", "hello", and "good night" most days.

One sweet morning conversation on our way to town:

Delainey: "Hi, horses!"
Mommy: "Delainey, that is nice of you to tell the horses 'hello'"
Delainey: "It makes them happy."
Mommy: "You make me happy."
Delainey: "No Mommy, you make me happy." 

She melts my heart.

Here's our cowgirl!

This fall the weather has been spetacular giving us time to do some last minute yard work and take a few extra jumps in the leaves! 

Although this fall began with having to say good-bye to one of the strongest women I know, and continued on by throwing our family a few more bumps in the road.  I have to take time and reflect on the blessings in my life. My family.  I am one lucky woman!  I am so thankful for the strong support system of family members who are ready to pick you up when you feel like falling. Thanks ;)

And... one of the shortest ladies in our life really knows how to keep it real!





Farewell to Our First Home

Our first home is now empty and ready for someone new to make their own memories.  As excited and happy as we are with our new home purchase, it was still a bit sad to see our home of over six years empty as we walked out the door.

We had many wonderful memories there! We hosted several gatherings with friends, BBQ's in the summer, and in the winter there were football parties, New Year's parties, and even one big sleepover when everything in Aberdeen shutdown for a major snow storm. As we all were sent home from work everyone stopped for snacks, put on sweats, and gathered at the Falken's for a fun night of Wii!

Then there were family gatherings.  In our tiny kitchen we hosted a few Thanksgiving dinners, a graduation party, birthday parties, and other frequent visits from family just to say "hello". 

Along with the temporary visitors we had a few permanent ones as well! A few months after moving into our new home, we purchased a puppy to keep us company. We brought Dags home July 2005, and he was/is as spoiled as any dog could be. 

Then came our wonderful Delainey bug!  She seemed to feel right at home as we got her acquainted with her new surroundings, including Dags.  As Delainey rested in her room, we began to learn where and where not to step on the hardwood floor. Once you get a baby to sleep, you certainly don't want that one misstep to undo all of the rocking.

We will never forget our time at 1120 N 1st Street, but we are ready to move on to new memories in our new home. Come visit us anytime!  Delainey would love to show you her new room or her new backyard... she is quite the tour guide!

Winding Down

The last few weeks of summer have been busy.  We have enjoyed a few firsts for Delainey along with a few annual activities. The Brown County Fair was in town, so we took Delainey to her first rodeo.

She enjoyed watching the horses and sheep; especially when 4 and 5 year olds rode the sheep. She kept saying "they fall down", and she was right, those kids all fell down. When Daddy asked her if she would like to ride a sheep, she said "nope"!  We have a few more years to work on her. :)

The next day we went to a salon and had our first real  haircut.  Delainey didn't crack a smile until the beautician asked if she wanted a sucker. Then a little smirk came on her face.

We went to Rosholt for the annual Threshing Bee where we spent some time with the Rosholt class of 2001. We crashed the 10 year reunion and spent some time on Lake Traverse on a pontoon. It was a beautiful day, and Delainey and Delilah had a great time getting to know each other.

The girls got to take turns honking the pontoon horn.  It was a big hit!

Next up was the Threshing Bee parade!  The three musketeers put on their shades, grabbed their buckets and were off to collect some candy!

We have also enjoyed some fun nights of playing piano, singing with music books, playing with babies, purses, glasses, cooking in the kitchen, swinging, sliding, and just having fun!  She entertains herself so well, that I have to go check on her when the house gets a little quiet. The picture below is what I found one of those times. She was getting out her diapers to put one on the baby. She will be so helpful someday!

Delainey loves to sing songs... some favorites are Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle, ABC's, and Row Row Row Your Boat.

The picture is a little blurry, but it was too cute not to post.  Delainey grabbed some piano sheet music, sat down in the foyer, and started singing. What a joy!