Christmas with the Family

We had a wonderful Christmas with our WHOLE family. My oldest sister, Lisa, and her family came from Florida and one of the twins, Julie, came up from Colorado. It was so much fun to have all 17 of us together!My niece, Ingrid, under the Christmas tree.
Jane, David, Betty, Steven and Julie all wearing their Plumbers Inc. sweatshirts from brother Dave.
Me and Dan in our Plumbers Inc. hats.

Jodi, Me, Liz, and Jane. SMILE!!
Steven and Elizabeth...so happy!
Jodi and my niece, Holly
Liz and Ingrid
Me and Julie

Freezing MN weather

Welcome back to freezing Minnesota temperatures!! Dan and Rick, our brother-in-law, had to unload a bunch of things from their trailer.

Sledding in MN

One of the best surprises about coming back to MN was that my sister and nieces and nephews drove up from Florida for my mom's birthday. These past few days have been so much fun hanging out and playing together. It had been over a year and a half since Dan and I had seen the kids.

Holly, who is now 9, climbed up in the tree and perched herself up there.
The line of sleds GO!!!
All four of the kids joined Holly in the tree, Brett, Eric and Ingrid.
Me and my favorite little squirts!!!

Overdue Update

It's been much to long since I have blogged...there is sooooooo much to catch you up on. I will do my best. First of all, pregnancy is going well, the baby is healthy and doing well. The more immediate news in that Dan and I moved to Fergus Falls, MN this past weekend. It was a big decision that weighed on us, but because of various circustances we ended up leaving New York. The biggest reason for leaving NY was that in November I lost my nannying job because the grandma of the kids was moving into the home to take over. After that happened, we found out that Dan's grandmother, who we were living with, was diagnoised with colon/rectal cancer. Since we would be undergoing chemo/radiation treatment, it would impossible for me to be there being pregnant and her being radio active. So....in the end, we decided it was best to move to MN, so I could be near my mother and family while being pregnant.

Here are some of the pictures from the last month...

Kenny, me and Dan at our early Christmas with Dan's sister and family.

Dan and his nephew, Ryan.

My last day of work as a nanny for Braden (the baby) and Max (3 years).

Our good friends, Jesse and Karessa Arbuckle, were married on Sat, Dec. 15th in Jamestown, ND. We had a wonderful time celebrating their marriage!

Dan and I at Arbuckle's wedding.

Pregnancy Update

I went to see my OB/GYN and she told us that I am about 6 weeks along. I am doing well. The due date is July 5th. I have been a bit upset in my stomach this past week and haven't been able to eat a whole lot, but I still haven't been sick! I am very thankful for that! Thanks for all the notes of congrats! We'll keep you updated!

BIG NEWS....

I'm pregnant!!!!!!




Hurray!!!!
Hurray!!!!
Hurray!!!!

Today, I taught a group of 12 church ladies how to cook 3 different Japanese meals. We made somen, gyoza and tonkatsu. It went really well! I set up three different cooking stations and the ladies chose where they wanted to go. At the end, we ate all three meals! It was so fun and everyone really enjoyed it.

On Saturday Dan and I decided to go down to the beach and have a picnic. We went to this great place called Captree Park and found a little secluded area and layed out our picnic. It was so romantic! Here are some of the pictures.

Coffee Time!

This past Friday night Dan's cousin, Laura, took Dan and I to this great coffee shop called The Cup in Wantagh, NY. It was great and we had such a nice time catching up!

The Apple Festival

I know it's been a LONG time since I have blogged anything, but that's because we haven't been doing anything except working, eating and sleeping. We are pretty much always exhusted and just now, do I find myself with some energy. It just so happened that this past weekend we were busy with lots of fun things too!! Great timing...

On Friday Dan and I decided to treat ourselves and go out by ourselves to the Olive Garden. We had a great time and it was so great to spend time just the two of us!

On Saturday a friend of ours took us up to the North Shore of Long Island to an Apple Festival that was raising funds for the deaf and hard of hearing. It was a fun new experience for Dan and I! They had everything from fresh apples to apple cider to pies! The most interesting thing was to be around LOTS of people who were communicating by sign language. It was a whole new experience for me.

Here is Dan and I eating bratworsts. Yummm....
This is the building that is now a school for the deaf and hard of hearing. It is an old renovated mansion! It was gorgeous!!
Stephanie and Dan tried out the grilled corn on the cob.

Oktoberfest

On Sunday afternoon we went to an Oktoberfest party. For those of you who are German, you probably know what the is, but I had never heard of Oktoberfest until 3 weeks ago. Oktoberfest
is a celebration of making beer in Germany because in the 1800's they could only make beer in the summer, so they made it and drank it within a month. Our friend Stephanie and her mother are German and had a huge party. Stephanie's mother is actually first generation to America.
The desserts....
Me and my German princess....
Dan and his nephew Ryan.

Kick-off Sunday BBQ

Today at Peace LB church we had rally Sunday and and all wore football jerseys to kick-off the new fall season. The pastor wore one too!! Dan and I were thrown into the mix of BBQ preparation and were so happy that they put us to work right away! The huge blow-up Giant and some church kids.
We had a great turn out for the service and BBQ. This picture was taken by me from behind the grill. Today was the first time I ever grilled burgers. It was great!!
All the food (salads, chips, etc.) were in the trunks of these vans.

BBQ Party!

Our nephew and godson, Kenny was in such a good mood during the afternnoon, so I got to snap a few good pictures!

Kenny was all smiles!
CUTE Kenny and Kristi
Dan, Jason, and Phil standing around the fire pit.
Me, Dan and all of his friends right after finding out that the couple at the end just got engaged!

Construction

This past weekend Dan drove me all the way out east to one of the million dollar houses that he worked on this week. And since I love construstion sites and dreaming about building my own home, Dan took me out to some of the beautiful homes on Long Island. He is currently doing construction with Gordon Stedjan out here and really enjoying it. This particular house is 10,000 sq. feet on the ocean in the backyard. MUST BE ROUGH, HUH!? It's had a 20x20 foot skylight that open from the roof to the main floor. It was unbelievable!! It also had two double-sided fireplaces, a home theater and an elevator. Phenomenal!!

Being a Nanny

For those of you who don't know, I am currently working as a nanny out here in NY. I am taking care of two boys, a 3 year old 4 month old. They are great and I am really learning a lot. Everyday I drive about 45 mins. to an hour in rush hour traffic to and from work. For those of you who have driven out here, you know how these CRAZY New Yorkers drive. It's been quite the adjustment!! But after two weeks of driving in it, I've learned quickly!

A Day at the Beach

After the party on Saturday, the family went to Robert Moses beach and spent the afternoon. This was the first time that we were able to see Kenny (Kristi's baby) at the beach. Grandpa Bob and Kenny sitting on the beach waiting for the waves.
Bob in the freezing cold water!! What a great face!!
Bob and Karen swimming in the huge waves.
I was getting swept by the waves and holding on to Dan for dear life. Me and my sweetheart!