And we're off...

Yesterday morning Mark and the Twinners went to the Apple store in the mall and purchased an Ipad we have been saving gift cards for since Christmas LAST year. It will be in our carry on tomorrow.
The kids signed their passports last night in their kindergarten handwriting.
The auto office reply is on Mark and my work e mail accounts.
Three suitcases are packed and zipped, and will be checked lugguge.
There are two life jackets inside and shovels for the beach.
I opted NOT to count how many pairs of sandals I brought.
The kids each have three pairs of sandals.
I didn't pay attention to how many Mark packed....
We have been to the bank for $1 and $5 bills for tips.
We have swimsuits, shorts and the appropriate attire to dine out at any restaurant at ourresort.
We have my Dad lined up to shuttle the four of us to MSP at 6:45 AM this morning.
The kids will take their first plane ride ever.

Don't expect to see an update here for a week or so. On what is most likely the COLDEST day of the year here, we are fleaing Minnesota for an all inclusive, family friendly resort (with a Kids Club) in Mexico!

Last spring Mark declared we should each get to pick something very special to honor our 40th birthday. Mark turns 40 in April, and he knew EXACTLY what his pick would be. It is also our 10th wedding annivesary this April.

So way back in May (or something like that) I contacted a travel agent I know from the MetroNorth Chamber events I attend, then Mark took over the details. We booked this long awaited vacation some time last summer... and the day has arrived.

And now, it is the coldest week in Minnesota, and we are gone and VERY EXCITED!
See ya later ya'all!

New Year's Eve 2012

For the past few years, we have had rather uneventful New Year's Eve's. They could be described as lackluster. Days before the big night, we find ourselves with out plans, and most friends engaged elsewhere.

This year we decided to take matters into our own hands. Before Christmas we cast out a kid and adult friendly party invitation to a BUNCH of friends, hoping a few would take the bate.

Indeed, many declined, but plenty enough opted to join us.

And so we had a full (enough) house from sundown to sun up and beyond!

There was sparkling grape juice and a 9 pm countdown for the younger set.

Jammies and Noisemaker = Happy Little Party People

Poppers!

A box of fireworks from Target.

There was dancing in the kitchen before retiring the school age children to sleeping bags in the basement with a RedBox movie. The diaper crew (made up of Gavin Hentges and Charlie Melberg) were tucked into their respective Pack 'n Plays.

...and then there were the adults.

Dan and Gretchen.

Mike and his girlfriend Ashley.

Mike and Me.

Gretchen campaigned for a 11:40 p.m. count down. She was shot down! (but in bed by 12:08). I discovered in the morning we never actually opened the champagne for Midnight. All my lovely trumpet champagne flutes from Crate and Barrel were untouched and clean on the buffet. (OOOoooopppppps!)

General silliness ensued into the wee hours of the night.

(don't forget Mark and Doris)

Rachel was our photographer, and so I don't have a picture of her and Brett, but they were along for the ride, since little man Charlie didn't drive himself.

When the crew roused in the morning

...OR...

When the kids roused the adults to consciousness,

 it was time for breakfast.

The menu included

-french toast bake (prepped in a drunken state that makes me surprised I didn't cut my finger off slicing the frozen french bread and that I somehow poured in the correct amount of half and half)

-fruit

-pre-cooked microwave bacon (because those big Kirkland Hormel brand bags from Costco ROCK and feed a crew with no fuzz and no muss!)

-orange juice (or diet Mountian Dew, or a cold regular Coke, or a gallon of coffee)

-An Advil or three for everyone over the age of 21.

John joined up with us and his lovely wife Doris and cute son Gavin for the first meal of the New Year, after his night shift on the Heart floor at Mercy .

We had a grand time hosting friends, but it turns out we must be OLD, because we are not as fond of parties that don't have an endpoint as we were in our younger years!

Happy New Year's to All.

May it be filled with joy and blessings (like our dear friends pictured above) in the 364 days and ahead!

The Blog Post Dump

I am BACK in the blog world with a DUMP of post dated holiday posts this evening

...soon to be caught up after I post on New Year's and Mark's Costa Rica trip!

The FINAL Christmas Post - Thompson Family Christmas

Our calendar filling holiday gatherings wrapped up the Sunday after Christmas, when we hosted Mark's family for a Swedish meatball dinner.

Round 4 of gift opening.

I was back in good health, but didn't end up in a photograph.

Take a look at Dean's sledding injury! Face meets icy sledding slope.

Grandpa and Grandma

Bothers and sister from oldest to youngst.

THE END!

Christmas at HOME!

Christmas morning everyone slept late, snug in our own beds at home. Dean was the first to get up sometime after 8:30. He went to the tree and immediately noticed new gifts were underneath. Then he become VERY upset, you see he noticed two packages he believed to be fishing poles. The Twinners had been requesting fishing poles from Santa since the first time they were presented the question many weeks back. And now, here they were, and he was ANGRY. He kept saying he didn't want TWO fishing poles.

"TWO?" I questioned?

"YES, I don't want two!"

"What if one is for your sister?" I said.

"She won't want two either!"

"But I thought you each wanted a pole? and you think there are two under the tree" now thoroughly confused!

"Well I don't want TWO! I know that is a fishing pole. Why would you get me one if Santa is going to bring it?"

Somehow -

...after seeing Santa the night before,

...after assuring him I would put the the reindeer food on the patio and a cookie out for Santa when we arrived home after 11 pm,

...and URGING him to GO TO BED IMMEDIATELY so Santa could visit...

Well...

somehow the boy DIDN'T QUITE understand Santa had COME!

When he FINALLY put two and two together, there was a squeal of delight.

Dean waited patiently for his sister to wake up.  In the mean time, I popped 4 Advil, put the french toast bake in the oven, and hopped in the shower. I had woke up dripping in sweat, perhaps breaking my high fever for a bit. I have no idea when my throat has been that sore and painful.

Then the action happened.

Favorite gifts (besides the fishing poles) included a jacket for Emma the dolly for Marly and a remote control car for Dean.

Don't I look like death warmed over below.

Marly took the photo of us unwrapping the red, clay bowls the kids made for us in Kindergarten. Mine is in my office at work now, and I love it.

We spent the day playing with new toys and games (plus a solid nap for me) before leaving our wrapping paper and present bombed living room for a matinee at the theater. We returned home for a fire and snuggled up to watch Home Alone.

 It was a lovely day with just the four of us.

Christmas Eve - The missing post

The Thomberg's remain an epic fail on the holiday photo front. Somehow we forgot to bring the camera out to Christmas Eve.

Like every year, we headed west for the 4:30 candle light Christmas Eve service at First Lutheran, with  dinner following with cousins, aunts and uncles at Jan and Sheldon's.

Santa made a special stop in his travels to visit the kids and drop off a gift.
After that, the Thomberg's headed back to the metro, because I was chilled to the bone, shacking like a leaf, and ached to the core as sickness set in.

Despite my ill health, family filled our hearts to the brim, and make it all worth while.

Hopefully, this post will be updated at a later time with photos forwarded from Michelle.

Christmas with the Melberg's

Photos of our evening at Brett and Rachel's celebrating Christmas with my family on Sunday the eve of Christmas Eve appear to be limited to gift opening!

For the sake of prosterity, I will post anyway for historical purposes!

 No photos are available of me, Mark, Brett, Chris, or Chris's son Alex.

No photos are availble of the special ordered, thick cut, porterhoue steaks Brett grilled, or the delicious creme brulee Rachel made for dessert.

 No photos are available of the kids out on the lake or sledding down the hill by the house Monday morning of Christmas Eve, after the Twinner's and I spent the night.

The ONLY photos taken are of the kids, the wrapping paper, and their gifts, which included among other things, a multitude of Angry Birds and Hello Kitty items.

Not pictured - any adult with a gift.

Madeline's Christmas

Not two weeks before Christmas, Mark said, "Hey... I still want to take the kids' to some sort of play or show for the Holiday.

I went on line to the Stages Theater in Hopkins.
CHECK - There were tickets still available to 'Madeline's Christmas' the Saturday before the holiday.
AND - I had a Happenings Coupon for buy one get one free - SCORE.

I dialed up the ticket line and we were set.

The week before, I went to Half Price Books and picked up every paperback 'Madeline' book title on the shelf. I wanted Marly and Dean to be familiar with the "twelve little girls in a line" before we went.

Saturday arrived, we headed to Hopkins, had dinner at the bar and grill across the street, and enjoyed our first ever holiday theater production as a family. It was an outstanding way to kick off all or our holiday fun and family activities in the week to follow.

After the show, we got to meet all the actors in the lobby, and the girls signed the kid's playbill.

Dean's first comment as he approached the 12 little girl actresses, in matching attire and stage make up - "Dad...that's CREEPY!"

Then he started to get into it, and by the time he got to girl 4 or 5, he was grinning and flirting a bit.

NEVER MIND Dean's closed eyes.... I don't have a better photo.