Christmas Day

Christmas morning came bright and early with Brooke up at 5:45 am. The poor girl had to wait until 7:30 when we woke Riley up from a deep sleep to open presents from Santa. They both enjoyed Christmas morning and loved their gifts. They had time to play and they we had a breakfast bake. They guys plowed the driveway, again, and we then we headed over to Scott and Angie's for a festive meal as well.

The kids got these funky towels from Santa.

I gave my mom a three generation frame for Christmas so we attempted a photo of us girls. There was a better one but I couldn't tell when I was browsing for photos for the blog.

Here are Ali, Scott and Angie opening their gifts. We had some laughs and tasty food at their house.

Christmas Eve

This year my parents came to our house for Christmas. It was my first Christmas in MN although I have lived here for more than 13 years. We decided to attend the 3:00 church service at Hosanna! Church in Lakeville. It was a beautiful Christmas service which we thought was almost a theatrical performance. They had a live nativity and beautiful music. We all enjoyed it, even Riley who slept through the first part. We came home, opened some presents, ate dinner, and enjoyed being together. We managed to take a few photos too!

Sledding

Eric took the kids out in the yard to sled a little today while I was out and about. They said they had fun but by the look on Riley's face it was a little painful too! Looks like fun! We might as well enjoy the winter-I think it is here to stay!

A Visit with Santa

This weekend we went to a coworker of Eric's for her annual Christmas party. Santa always pays a visit and spends a little time with each child there. Brooke and Riley went right over to him when their names were called. They were pretty enthralled with that guy in the red suit since he knew some details about them. The photo below Santa shows the kids before we went to the party. I just love Brooke's crossed legs and Riley insisted on wearing one red sock and one blue sock for the party.

Eric and the kids clowning around before we went to the party.

Prior Lake Parade

On Friday, December 4th we attended the Prior Lake Christmas Parade. We got there in time for the tree lighting, which was really neat to me. I have never witnessed that before. We ran into some of our neighbors and watched the parade with them and then ran into a coworker of Eric's and watched the fireworks with them. I enjoy the small town feel here. The kids did a couple crafts in the City Hall and then we hit the DQ drive-thru on the way home. It was a fun night for the Spielers!

Eric's birthday and Thanksgiving

So much time has gone by since I last blogged! It's been a busy time so here are just some quick photos from November. We celebrated Eric's birthday. Here he is opening his gift from the kids. And below are a few photos from when we were in WI for Thanksgiving. All 4 cousins watched a movie in Grandma's bed. It was so cute--for about 8 minutes!

Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!

Here's some pictures of the Halloween troublemakers...

Riley as Mater's Crew Chief

Brooke as Belle (Beauty and the Beast!)

Scary Pumpkins that the kids and dad carved together.

Guess which one is Riley's?

Before heading out on a cool night of Trick Or Treating!
Yes, there are costumes under the jackets.

Feasting on the treasures!

Brooke's Birthday

Brooke turned 5 yesterday. We had a little family party for her last Saturday. Here she is with her cake. It had the Disney Princesses on, of course. She was a little under the weather for it but still managed to open her presents and eat some cake.

On Brooke's real birthday we went to her school Halloween party and then came home and smiley face pizza for lunch! She opened her presents from us. We gave her a kids digital camera which has been having fun with ever since. She also got the Barbie and the Three Musketeers movie she has been wanting. That night we went out for dinner at Applebee's with Bob and Loree. The crew there came over and sang to Brooke. Both kids thought that was a little loud and covered their ears. She had an ice cream sundae for a treat there. It was a good day!

Any Given Sunday

Ever have one of those days when you just really don't do anything and it feels so good! That was us last Sunday. Brooke was a little under the weather so she spend the day on the couch. We watched kids shows, football and then just hung out. Below is Riley talking on the Blue Tooth to Grandpa Milty with his cool shades on from Grandma Carol.

Vicki's Birthday

I turned 39 on Sunday. I am not getting any older than this--it stops here! :) Eric and the kids gave me a cake plate that I have been lusting after and apparently a very entertaining card. They baked brownies for me and we had pizza for dinner. Yummy!

Picking Pumpkins

We grew some pumpkins in our backyard this summer. We were surprised how the grew so fast and so big! The overtook the rest of the garden. The kids picked them over the weekend--luckily a couple of them survived the early freeze we had--and now they are displayed on the front porch. Brooke's face in the last photo proves it was a worthy endeavor.

Pix from Asia!

Here's some pictures from my most recent trip to Japan and Singapore.

Pix #1 - Mt Fuji - Japan (look very closely) behind the mountain ridge.

Pix #2 - Wakeboarding by East Coast (Singapore). No boat!

Pix #3 - Steve and I cruising the streets of Chinatown (Singapore)

Pix #4 - Eric and the Dawn Riders (Singapore Cycling Club!)

Pix #5 - Me with the Tokyo skyline at 250M (750 feet!) on top of Tokyo Tower

Pix #6 - Friday night in Shibuya! (Tokyo)

Pix #7 - Shabu Shabu dinner with friends!

Pix #8 - Shabu Shabu (my favorite); thin slices of beef filet, noodles and vegetables. Its awesome!

Circus

We all went to the circus on Friday. It was pretty entertaining. The first photo is of the acrobats. The did "Five Men High" although the photo only shows four. One more person was sprung into the air and landed on the top guy's shoulders.

Here are some clowns--you guessed it--clowning around!

The elephants put on a great show.

This guy was my personal favorite. He did a little skit with what we thought were stuffed animals but there turned out to be a cute little dog in an elephant costume. He was so good!