Robots!

I just had to share this, I think these are so adorable! Giant Robot Large wall decals by Blik
Blik is a company that makes artwork for you walls, kind of like stickers, but they are removable and won't damage the walls, how fun!
The kids are into robots so this would be perfect for them. Also, we are considering buying bunk beds and moving the boys into the bigger bedroom as this will free up space for a guest/playroom.

Fish of a lifetime through the ice!

Hey peoples - Kyle here. I don't usually update the blog, but I have some news that motivated me to whup up a post. Ice fishing is one of my favorites pastimes, and the fishing this winter has been terrific! I've caught enough perch and walleye to provide several yummy fish suppers for us.

On Wednesday (12/23) I took the day off work to fish all day. I got out to Pike Bay at about 9:15, and set up camp on one of my favorite spots, going after perch and walleyes in about 22 feet of water. I caught a half-dozen real nice perch right off the bat, then they quit biting completely for a couple minutes.

I reeled up to make sure the minnow was still on my perch-color Jigging Rapala, then sent it back down. After a couple quick jigs, something hit the lure, and hit it hard! I immediately thought it was a northern pike, since there are some good sized pike in that lake. I had only 6-pound line on my medium-light action ice rod, so I knew I had to be careful.

I loosened the drag and let the fish run. WOW did it run! It was peeling line off like crazy, and after about 5-6 minutes, I was running out of line on the reel. I tightened the drag just a touch, and started pulling back as hard as I dared with the light line I had. Luckily the fish was starting to tire a little bit, and after about 5 more minutes (and several more powerful runs), I was able to get the fish up far enough that I could see the outline of the through the ice.

I almost wet myself.

It was BY FAR the biggest fish I had ever hooked, and probably the biggest fish I had ever seen with my own eyes. Now that I had seen the size, I really got nervous, because I knew how hard it was going to be to get it up through the ice.

After several minutes more, I finally got the fish up under the hole, and saw that it was in fact a trophy muskie, but there was a problem: the lure was in the back corner of its mouth, so when I lifted the rod, the fish just rolled instead of coming up into the hole! I put a glove on my left hand and reached down through the 14" of ice to try to grab a gill cover and hoist it up.

Of course as soon as I touched the fish, it was off on another run, taking several yards of line (again) and going out of sight.

We repeated this dance four more times, until I was finally able to completely exhaust the monster, reach down, and lift it up through the ice. I flopped it down on the ice, and nearly screamed! It was a monster muskie, and I grabbed my measuring tape and measured it at 50 -1/4" - a trophy by any standard.

I grabbed my cell phone to take a picture, buy my phone had got so wet that the pics looked like those blurry alleged Bigfoot pictures that nutters send to the National Enquirer. I was NOT going to let this fish go without photographic evidence, or nobody would have believed me, so I sprinted over to a nearby fish house, and banged on the door. The guy who answered was a business partner of a friend of mine, and he had a camera in his car. He was kind enough to come over to my portable, and take a few nice pics for me.

Woweeeeeee!

A, B, C

2

Happy 2nd Birthday Jack!

Blowing out the candles

Sharing a secret from cousin Lauren

Jack LOVES bowling so I attempted this bowling ball and pin cake.
It was left on the oven so the frosting melted but he loved it anyway!

PRESENTS!

A little help from Aunt Cindy

Jack and Grandma Kathy share the same birthday!

Gram, Lauren, Wes and Jack!
So cute!

Birds!

I have recently started some sewing projects (me? Me! The one who nearly failed Home Ec. in high school!). Maybe it's because I love color and love to look at all the different fabrics and prints. I came across these adorable bird softies and I'm thinking its about time to pull the sewing machine out and give it a try!

Are they not just the cutest little things?!


In other news, Kyle and I have signed up for a weight loss challenge. The winner will get about $350 CASH!!
So far it has been going great! We are in week 3 of a 28 week program and so far (drum roll...)

I've lost 9 lbs
AND
Kyle has lost an amazing 16 lbs!!

It has been tough not eating the things we love (bread, pasta, pizza) but these sacrifices need to be made for us to get healthy AND be an example to the kids.

Happy Halloween

Ninja Wes

A ninja and a tiger

My sweet little Tigger!

My Kindergarten Ninja

The views of the lake have been beautiful, I love the look of the mist coming off the lake surface.

Wes is enjoying Kindergarten. He gets to learn silly songs and do some really fun art projects.

It finally warmed up enough to enjoy some much needed outside time. The boys enjoyed playing 'secret agent ninja'. It was funny to see Jack running around saying 'ninja'. He is learning so many words, his favorite is still 'no' and 'i don't know' but it is nice that he can communicate when he isn't feeling well or needs something.
Wes continues to amaze me in the things he knows. The Alaskan pipeline is being run through town and the construction workers are finishing up laying the pipe. I was telling Wes about it as we drove by and he says 'yep, I know. We need it because sometimes we don't have enough or the right oil here so we have to get it from far away.'

Ninja Wes
I'm not sure if he can ever stop talking and be quiet enough to ever become one!

Jack

Can you guess my favorite fruit?

Blackberries!
Or as Jack says backbeawees!

I show him a plant and he picks it clean in no time flat : )

If you give a boy some ice cream...

How to make your brother sick

1. Convince him this will be a great idea and get him into position.

2. Start the winding process.

3. Wind him up even farther then he should. Give an extra twist for good measure.

4. Get ready to let go and watch the fun.

5. Watch him helplessly spin out of control and think it is the funniest thing you've ever seen.

*Disclaimer - no child was hurt or became physically ill during this process.

First Day of School

Wes had his very first day of Kindergarten yesterday! He was so brave and did a great job!
He played red light, green light and had story time and practiced his letters and numbers.

I found a dirty Sasquatch waiting for the bus.

The bus missed our stop and continued on to drop off the other kids.
Poor Wes told them to stop when he saw us waiting for him and began crying. They came back and dropped him off safe and sound but it gave him quite a scare!

He jumped off the bus straight into daddy's arms!

Daddy's Little Helper

Lauren Grace Erickson

Congrats to Kevin & Kristen on their new beautiful baby!
I love my new niece!

Favorite Word

The Question and a Wish

I was putting Wes to bed last night and I told him that he will have a new cousin by Friday. He looked a little puzzled and asked why Kristen didn't have a baby in her tummy last year but this year she does. Then he asked how she got the baby in her tummy.
I told him that when two people love each other very very much they make a wish and get a baby. He told me he loved me but didn't get what he wished for - I had to tell him it was only for mommy's and daddy's. He thought about it for awhile and told me that he loves me and knows what he would wish for...a lifetime supply of zucchini bread!

What's in your head

I was driving in the car yesterday with the kids, listening to a CD of mixed songs off of Kyle's itunes. A song had just finished and I skipped ahead a few tracks. Jack started screaming and yelling 'no, no, no, no, nooooooo!'
I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I thought about it and went back to the song that had just ended and he immediately calmed down.

He's a big Cranberries fan I guess.


Wes stated a few days before this that he really like this song also.

Next Time

I took Wes to Bemidji to shop for new school clothes and shoes, I can't believe he will be starting Kindergarten this year! We decided to take a break and he, of course, wanted pancakes. We stopped at Country Kitchen and both ordered pancakes and bacon.

The waitress asked me if I wanted to have the bill split up. Seriously. He's 5. I thought she would smile like it was a joke but she didn't.

I asked Wes if he was going to pay for me. He said he would but forgot his money at home and would pay next time. : )

Chris & Juanita

This past Saturday some good friends of our got married
It was a beautiful day!

Instead of the traditional wedding march, they decided to sing to each other while she walked down the isle. It was so awesome!

Congratulations Chris & Juanita!