Adolphson Pride

Last Sunday, we went to the Women's Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Gophers basketball game (at the Williams arena) to watch Carl's cousin, Kamille Wahlin play. We had such a fun time! I swear, every Adolphson across the state was there to cheer on Kamille. We all met at Applebee's before the game and basically took up the entire restaurant.

Kamille started the game at guard (as a freshmen!!!!) and played an awesome game! She had 8 points (2 three-pointers) and many assists and rebounds. It was pretty amazing watching a family member playing at such a high caliber of basketball (Division 1 - Big 10). . . we all knew she was an unbelievable athlete, but we were all still impressed by her skill and composure.

Family wasn't the only people to come out and support her. Her Crookston (probably around 40-50 people) fans rented a charter bus and drove up especially for the game! Talk about support from your home town!

Even though the Hawkeyes lost in the final minutes by only a few points, the game was amazing and we were all extremely proud of Kamille!! :)

Side note - Carl and Joice got to go down to the locker room before and after the game (we've got connections). Jocie got her favorite Hawkeyes to sign the poster she made, and Carl got to sit in Tubby Smith's desk :)

And the winner is . . .

Jocie entered a coloring contest. The contest was in affiliation with a play that is happening in Buffalo, MN ("Your a Good Man Charlie Brown"). Turns out that her picture was chosen out of the 3500 entries as the 4th grade winner! She won tickets to the play and a gift certificate to Buffalo Books!

Way to go Joc :)

Nice!

So....Carl and I went to go get our taxes done the other day. We were both sitting in the accountant's office, talking about our schools, and our day with students. I started talking about the current unit I was teaching, when Carl reached over and started to brush off my shirt. I looked down and YEP I had the crumbs from my most recent snack all over my shirt!!! How embarrassing! They were everywhere! Not only do I feel large, but the evidence of my "large-ness" in plain sight for all to see.

Did I mention that our accountant is the School Board President . . . Nice :)

I like to move it, move it

Wow . . . this little bugger sure can move! It's amazing how much this baby is swimming around. It's been awhile since I was pregnant with Ella, but I am pretty sure that this is my most active baby yet. So much in fact, that the massive flutters sometimes takes my breath away . . . not that it hurts, but just because it feels like such a BIG shift in there! Every time the Doctor checks the heart rate (145-150 beats per minute), she's always commenting on how active the baby is. Which is only leading me to one conclusion . . . this baby is probably a lot like it's sister Ella . . . and I am beginning to hope that this baby will start to take after her oldest sister Jocie. Jocelyn's demeanor is easier to deal with :)

Today is "Read My Shirt" day at school, and I'm wearing a shirt that says, "What's Kicking?" . . . how appropriate!

Side Note: How many of you think this baby is a girl because of the heart rate? I'm starting to lean that way. But I guess only time will tell :)

The Last Blast

Well . . . the last of the birthday festivities was this past Saturday. Because of Jocie's love with stuffed animals, she decided to have her "friend" birthday party at Build-a-Bear Workshop at the Mall of America.

Four of Jocie's friends joined us for the party. We loaded up the van with giggly fourth grade girls (and one three year old), and headed to the mall. Since we had 9 people total (including Nanny), we had to take two vehicles. I decided that it would only make sense to keep all the party girls together, so I nominated myself to drive separately with my mom (gee I'm smart...and vicious....since I totally threw Carl to the wolves...ha ha ha).

The party went off without a hitch. The store was absolutely packed. But luckily, since our party was scheduled, we didn't have to wait in line to stuff our animals. We got our own machine to use!! :) All the girls picked out their favorite animal, and an accessory or two, and made sure their animal was stuffed to their liking. After the party, we headed back to our house for cake and ice cream. It was a huge success!

A Decade

I can't believe it, but my little Jocie is turning 10 years old on January 22nd! I have pondered this for quite sometime and have come to the conclusion that I'm am in complete denial that she is coming up on this huge landmark of a birthday! It seems like only yesterday that she was asking me for apple juice in a sippy-cup while watching Elmo's world....or reading her a book while she sat on my lap sucking her thumb and twirling my hair!! (tear)

We started to celebrate her monumental day this past weekend. Her grandma and grandpa Adolphson stayed with us for the weekend. On Saturday night we all went to church. We were happy that Boppa and Grandma Barb happened to be staying in Eden Prairie for the weekend because they got to join us too! After church, we invited the aunts, uncles, and cousins (that were in the area) to join us for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings (birthday girl's choice). While at BWW, the manager got on the microphone and announced her birthday, made her stand on a chair while everyone sang Happy Birthday, and then run around the entire restaurant getting high-fives from people :) After the dinner extravaganza, we headed back to our house to have some cake and ice cream. All-in-all, it was a great time.

On Sunday, Jocie had a basketball tournament in Becker, where her team played in a total of three games. The first game was a tough one. The team we played had already been in over 15 tournaments (this was our first tourney due to a cancellation), so we basically got dominated :(
Jocie had the one and only basket of the whole game. The second game was great! I think the team really improved from the first game and played with a lot of intensity. We won that game 28 - 22 (Jocie had 8 points!). The last game was a nail-bitter! We were down right away 12-0, but Carl rallied the girls and ended up leading most of the second half. In the end, we lost by three points, but the girls really played well, and we were all very proud of what they had accomplished!

Back to the Grind

Well . . . the Christmas season (and vacation) is officially over :( We really enjoyed our two week break with a lot of family and friends. We stayed at home until Christmas afternoon, so we could enjoy our own "little family" Christmas on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. As always, the girls were thrilled with Santa's gifts, along with ALL the other gifts they received. We spent half of our break in Argyle and half in East Grand Forks.

We are know back to the grind. Back to school, daycare, driver's training, and basketball practices. It took some adjusting, but I think we are finally in the swing of things! We are very much looking forward to Jocie's up-and-coming 10th birthday! She has decided to have her "friend" birthday party at the Build-a-Bear workshop at the Mall of America. It's quite fitting, since she has always had a love for stuffed animals!

Hope all is well with you and yours!