Thanksgiving Festivities

Yes, I know it is way past Thanksgiving.  I'm behind.  Way behind.  But it is this or nothing at all.
 
We went down to Zionsville, IN for Thanksgiving this year.  River of Life has a Thanksgiving Eve service so Hans had no service obligations on Thanksgiving Day.  We woke up early that morning and made it to Zionsville in time to surprise his parents at their church service. The boys even picked out matching sweaters to wear.  They actually still like matching.

 We attempted a family picture with the matching boys.  If only they could have matching smiles...or at least all be smiling.

 Great Grandma Fiene was in town so we had to get a picture with her too.

 The table was set and we were all waiting for some delicious food.  I was just hoping Fritz wouldn't try to get under the table and break everything.

 We were excited to spend some time with Jake, Ashley, and our adorable niece, Finley.

 Finley definitely stole the show.  Grandma and Grandpa just couldn't put her down.

 Finley had just turned the big O-N-E a couple of days before Thanksgiving.

 I know the parents of an adorably cute child get lost in the crowd.  But we were super excited to see them too.

 Anders was willing to share his new toy...for about 5 minutes.  Then he picked up something else to distract Finley so he could take his toy back.

 Hans and I enjoyed some mimosas.

 Uncle Christian enjoyed spending time with his nephews.  We didn't think we were going to see this California boy, but he was able to fly in and surprise all of us at the last minute.  We loved seeing him.

See?  He is fun and crazy.

We all had a ton of fun and a Happy Thanksgiving.

A Birthday Celebration in Indiana

The day after Gus's birthday we drove to Zionsville, IN to see Hans' parents and his grandma.  Solveig was ready with the party supplies.

 Gus was excited about the Batman cake.

Each boy had a party hat.

 Cake, party hats, and presents.  A perfect party.

 Gus is so cool he needs two pairs of sunglasses.

 I had to grab a picture of Gus sharing, willingly.

 Buy a present for one boy and three boys will be happy.

 The boys were happy Great Grandma Fiene was in town for the party.

Time to blow out the candles.  A wonderful end to a great day.

Visiting Great Grandma Fiene

On our way home from California we decided to spend a day or so with Hans' grandma in Cortez, Colorado.  On Saturday she took us to the pool at the rec center.  She told us it was an indoor pool, so I was thinking it was just a big lap pool.  Boy was I wrong.

 This pool had a cool water play-scape, lazy river, a small lap pool, and a big slide.

 John actually went down this slide all by himself.  Hans waited at the bottom of the slide and when John came shooting out he said, "That was fun, but I don't want to do it again."  I'm surprised he went the first time!

 Anders spent the afternoon talking with Great Grandma Fiene.  Those two had a great time entertaining each other.

 On Sunday we went to church with Grandma Fiene.

 We thought we would try to get a family shot, but Gus was just a little upset that Hans wouldn't let him wear his hat.  I'm pretty sure Hans is yelling at Gus through that gritted smile he has.

Great Grandma Fiene and her Fiene boys.

We had a great time with her and the boys look forward to visiting again.

24 Hours in Indy

Several months ago Hans called his mom and asked if they would watch the kids while we went to a show.  Les Miserables was going to be in Indy and I had never seen it.  His parents thought it was such a good idea that they purchased tickets for all of us to go and arranged a sitter for the boys.  It was a fantastic show shared with wonderful people.  We even got to go out for dinner beforehand.

The next day we spent the morning at the park.

 Fritz enjoyed the park, but hated being on his leash.

 Anders will try to climb anything and everything.  He actually made it pretty far up this slide.

 The kid will climb up anything, but put him on a see-saw with his brother and he gets a little scared.

 Swings are always a favorite.

We had a wonderful time and hated having to leave.

Installation

On December 18, 2010, Hans was installed as the pastor of River of Life Lutheran Church in Channahon, IL.  It was a great service with a wonderful sermon from my father in-law, John.  Since the installation was on such sort notice and so close to Christmas, we were very surprised at the amount of people that were able to attend.

Hans' family came in the night before and we all hung out at the hotel then had dinner.  It was fun going out to eat, late at night, with 8 adults and 5 kids.

  Hanging out at the hotel.

The boys had a great time.  There is NO WAY I would let them have pillow fights or jump on the bed.  Grandpa and Uncle Christian prompted lots of rule breaking.

 My niece, Eva.  I love that cheesy smile.

 Cousins giving each other a high five.

Waiting to go the the installation.  The kids loved playing in the lobby at the hotel.

 Uncle Christian was having a great time holding Anders.  Until Anders spit up all over his suit.

Anders felt pretty comfortable with Uncle Mike.

All the pastor folk.