Merry Christmas!

What lucky grandparents are we? We were able to spend an entire weekend with Benjamin doing all sorts of fun holiday activities! It started on Saturday morning, after Benjamin ran a 1 mile reindeer run, we took custody and didn't stop until Sunday afternoon!

Stop #1 - the St Paul Ice Fishing show - it was a blast, tons of fishing equipment, games for kids and even Santa Claus - we think Benjamin added this snowmobile to his list!




Stop 2 - Holidazzle Parade - good thing Grandma bought the "warm seats" - it was pretty cold outside but we were toasty inside the tent sipping hot chocolate enjoying the lighted floats and costumes! Benjamin was soooo excited about the parade he could barely contain himself!



Stop 3 - Breakfast with Santa - this has become a family tradition, having breakfast with Santa at the local Macy's. They have a small intimate breakfast with fun activities for the kids and of course, Santa. This year, he pulled up a chair and joined us at the table. Benjamin was thrilled and had a nice conversation with him and was able pass along his list!



Last Stop - cutting down a live Christmas tree - since moving to MN we have started a new tradition of cutting down a live tree for the basement. We went to the local tree farm and found a beauty this year! We brought it home and enjoyed the Bears game while decorating it.



It was a wonderful time filled with old traditions and some new ones! Next, we are off to Chicago for Christmas and then back to MN for Christmas with the Schmitts on New Years!

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Thanksgiving 2009

It was a whirlwind Thanksgiving weekend with the Schmitts this year! They came up Wednesday night, while Jessica & Mike went to see a concert, we watched the adorable "Santa Buddies" movie with Benjamin. On Thursday morning, Mike was supposed to run a Turkey trot but after getting home in the wee hours of the morning, wasn't quite up to it so the 5 of us spent some quality time together before the big meal - which, if I must say for myself, was fantastic! After gorging ourselves, we all went for a nice long walk around the neighborhood, checking out the cold lake water and early Christmas decorations! On Friday, we ran some errands, ate leftovers and then went to Excelsior for a "Lantern Parade" it was charming - Excelsior is a cute little town on Lake Minnetonka with small shops and restaurants. The parade started at the end of the town, went down Main St with Father Christmas leading the children in song, arriving at the town tree and overseeing the tree lighting. There is also a Christkindlsmarkt in town with some kiosks of food and crafts. On Saturday the Schmitts headed home to do some Christmas decorating, while Ed and I put the outside lights on.

Next weekend, we get Benjamin again - this time we are taking him to the Ice Fishing Show, The Holidazzle parade and then on Sunday, Breakfast with Santa and out to chop down the live tree for the basement.....whew...

Halloween 2009

Despite the windy and cold weather, we still had a wonderful Halloween! The Schmitts came on Friday night and Benjamin showed off his adorable Robot costume - Mom's creativity really work on this one! Jessica and Mike had a 1/2 marathon on Saturday morning so we had custody of Benjamin - we took advantage of our new Zoo membership and went to the Minnesota Zoo HallZOOween event. His robot costume was a big hit, people loved it and commented that it was the best one there! The zoo really did a nice job with this, there were trick and treating sessions with candy and little trinkets, special musical shows, etc. We spend a terrific afternoon there! Then we took Benjamin over the Uncle Andy & Aunt Jennifer's to meet up with mom and dad, from there they went on to a Halloween party and we went home to set up for trick and treaters. We get so excited about having actual trick and treaters, in the townhouse, no one ever came by - we usually bought at least one bag of candy and ended up eating it ourselves, but here we get TONS of kids, this year we bought 8 bags of candy and ended up digging into Benjamin's Fruit Rollups!
Headed to Vegas next week! Woo-Hoo!

No pics, just a little update!

I lied, there are new pics from our fishing excursion, some fall colors and a spectacular sunset!
And a shot of the back of the house from the lake!





After being smacked in the face with snow last weekend, we've been kinda busy etting ready for winter - but with Andrews style as usual - we were pulling out vegetable plants, etc when Ed decided to light a fire in the new chiminea for the new patio, next thing we know, we are sitting there enjoying Irish coffee and making smores! It was 32 degrees and only 2pm and not much got done the rest of the day!

On Thursday after work, we drove down to Rochester and took Benjamin for dinner at Whistle Binkies and to see "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs" - very cute movie and we all had a wonderful "date", times like that confirm that we made the right decision moving to Minnesota!

Twin Cities Marathon

Lucky for us there was a small break in the rain for Sunday's Twin Cities Marathon. The day started early as we met up with Jessica & Benjamin and staked our place near the starting line - it was perfect for running! With Jessica's planning, we were able to encourage Mike 3 other times during the course of the race, meeting up with various other Schmitts along the way. After the race, we all met up at a local pub for some well deserved refreshments. No worries, Ed and I managed to avoid any Bear score and went home and watched the whole terrific win - without commercials!

Twice as nice!

We took "On the road with Ed and Chris" literally the past few weekends! Ed and I drove to Chicago 2 weekends in a row and have vowed not to do that for quite a while!



Chicago Part 1

Our journey first took us to Chez Schmitt where we enjoyed some time with Benjamin and shared a take out Chinese dinner. Bright and early the next morning we drove into Chicago for the U2 concert but before that, we cruised over to Kelly's to help celebrate Aunt Arlenes 80th birthday! The concert was fantastic, everything was perfect, the seats, weather, Snow Patrol and of course, my boys,U2!

Chicago Part 2

Once again, we began our journey at Chez Schmitt - this time, we all went to Whistle Binkies to celebrate our anniversary and had a fantastic time! I had ordered an entree that usually comes covered with feta cheese and when I asked the waitress for "no cheese" Benjamin piped in "she's allergic" - cracked us up! Then grandpa showed him how to get the waitresses attention and he ordered another milk for himself! Once again, we started out bright and early for the drive to Chicago for our dear friends Theresa and Daves long awaited wedding! It was a beautiful warm fall day, perfect for a wedding. This time we were lucky enough to be staying with more dear friends, Carol and Jim. Their hospitality was above and beyond. The ceremony was held at St Peter and Paul in Naperville, an old fashioned beautiful church. Theresa was beautiful and glowing! Dave wore a tux similar to Bogie in Casablanca which was so appropriate since they are both movie buffs. The entire wedding had a movie theme! Even the centerpieces were glass bowls with a single candle and filled with raisinettes!Everyone had a terrific time and it was nice to see friends we haven't seen in a while. Saturday, we went to a car show in Berwyn with the Ewerts, Jim was gracious enough to drive us by the old homestead on Maple - how I loved that house!

We are planning on hanging around MN for most of the remainder of the year, Mike is running the Twin Cities Marathon in a few weeks and we are looking forward to taking advantage of the football package we pay for and watching the Bears!

Lot's of stuff going on...

The last few weeks have been very busy - first we started a big household project, having a concrete patio put in on the lower level (out from the basement) where Ed fell and broke his leg. We hired a local contractor who took on the entire project, landscaping and concrete both. It's compng out better than we ever expected..see some pics of the progress (start at the bottom and work up - I'm too lazy to move them)

We also had some guests from IL this weekend, Mary and Val came up for a wedding and hung around with us for the weekend, we had a blast, took them to some of our fav restaurants and spend lots of time on the boat, fishing and sightseeing. They are welcome here anytime!



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A day at the zoo

While Jessica and Mike were involved in some race activities this weekend, we had custody of Benjamin. We all went to the Minnesota Zoo - we had a great day! It was such fun that we joined the zoo so we can go back time and time again! Join us sometime!

Another busy summer weekend

Whew - it was a busy one! Friday night, Ed & I went on the Fireman's Fund outing on the Betsey Northrup paddleboat down the Mississippi River - it was a nice time, Ed even won an IPOD! Saturday morning, bright and early, we joined Jessica, Benjamin, Jen, AJ and baby John to cheer on Mike and Joe during the Turtleman Triathlon - naturally, we hadn't gotten a drop of rain all summer so there was a torrential downpour causing the race to be canceled...Joe and Mike still finished (such troopers)! We took Benjamin for the rest of the weekend - since the weather was iffy, we hung around the house watching some movies and having pizza - good thing since a tornado blew thru Mound - no damage here but the power went out and it was kinda scary.

Sunday morning, we took Benjamin out on the boat for a little fishing and all three of us caught some nice bass - Benjamin was soooo cute, he saw his bobber go down and reeled in the fish all by himself, even after it jumped! After some R&R, we went for a little "sun on the beach" at a little local beach, Benjamin had fun trying to drain the lake and flood the beach!

Mommy and Daddy returned and after a wonderful dinner, they headed off into the sunset - whew..............

Kelly & Mikes Wedding

What a whirlwind week - actually I think it was only 5 days! Jessica and I arrived in sunny Honolulu on Sunday afternoon, after checking into the wonderful Hilton Hawaiian Village and sharing a sushi lunch, we headed out to the beach, the water was warm and wonderful, we then met up with Roland and Cicely for some tropical drinks. On Monday, we explored the shopping and shared some drinks with the "Birds", Mom and Aunt Arlene. Monday night, we were exhausted and just hung around the hotel. If you have never been to the Hilton Hawaiian Village, it's a huge area consisting of about 5 hotel towers, shops, restaurants, pools, etc. You really never have to leave, it has it all! Tuesday, we, along with Roland & Cicely, rented a convertible and drove to the North Shore, where we enjoyed some fab shrimp, wonderful beaches, a little rain and of course, a few drinks (getting the theme?)...Wednesday was the day we were waiting for, after spending the morning with the "Birds", we got all gussied up and headed to the Moana Surfrider for the wedding of Kelly and Mike. The setting was beautiful, overlooking Waikiki Beach - the ceremony was touching with Kelly being very emotional - after the vows, we all were treated to a wonderful buffet dinner which included prime rib, sashimi, sushi, seafood and an assortment of tasty salads and side dishes, we then danced the night away, taking on a few uninvited guests that were enjoying the music from their balconies and the beach!

It was a wonderful adventure and I really enjoyed spending some quality time with Jessica and I hope she had a good time as well!

Little Drummer boy 001

Little Drummer boy 001
Originally uploaded by beatlebugs2001

Benjamins 4th Birthday!

We finally make good on our threat - we gave Benjamin a drum set for his birthday! More on that later - The special day started with a kids party at the "House of Bounce" in Rochester - this place is a chiropractor's dream! It's a huge space filled large inflated bouncing things. While Grandma and Grandpa safely watched from the sidelines, Benjamin and his friends (and his parents) enjoyed some time on the "rides" and then shared cupcakes in the party room. Then it was back to the Schmitts for a small family BBQ with some yummy greek chicken, cupcakes and more gifts! For years we have been teasing Jessica and Mike about getting Benjamin a drum set, but to be honest, he has such a passion for music, we felt it was time to expand his talents into the percussion family. We scoured the internet for a suitable drum set, one that was more than a toy and could take the punishment of a 4 yr old as well as grow along with him. We found a fabulous one at Vintage Drums - a beautiful blue set (to match his eyes). Check out the pics and video - he's a natural - watch out Brad!!! There are more videos on our Flickr link...

Fathers Day 2009

Okay, it was my fault, I asked Ed how he wanted to spend Fathers Day and he said he wanted to get out on the lake at 4am! After he assured me that he wasn't kidding, we compromised on 5. Sure enough, we arrived at the boat slip at 5am on the dot! The weather was warm and muggy, but it was so peaceful being alone on the lake, the water was calm and like glass - we didn't catch a behemoth fish but we did catch a few smaller ones. We even enjoyed a Fathers Day "brunch" of bagels and coffee. It was lovely and we can't wait to get out there early again!

Yo-Yo-Yo!

This past weekend was a busy one, first we (Gimpy - otherwise known as Ed story later, Jessica and I) drove down to Chicago to start the Barnhart wedding celebrations with a wonderful shower thrown by Big Red, Kelly received some fab goodies from some fab people! From there some of the girls made a deposit at Hollywood casino and then settled into the Murphy abode before starting the next leg of our journey. On Sunday, the Andrews and Bayolas packed their covered wagons and headed north. We arrived in Mound Sunday night, appears the Bayolas bring cold rainy weather everywhere they go....we had 3 weeks of sunny, 80 degree days, lo and behold, when we arrived it was 50 and raining.
Monday was spend at the Mall of America where Joe and Jordan enjoyed the amusement park, Lego store and American Girl! After a failed attempt to start a bon fire, we roasted hotdogs and smores on the old gas bbq - oh well, the best laid plans.
But our best time was spend Tuesday on the boat, the weather wasn't great but it was dry and less windy. There was some friendly fishing sibling competition - which Jordan won by catching 4 fish to Joes 3 but Joe was happy as Uncle Ed let him drive the boat! It was so relaxing, the lake was quiet and calm - even Jeanne grabbed a pole and gave it a shot!
We shared a farewell dinner at our fab, the Narrows and then sent the Bayolas into the dark night as Jeanne insisted on driving back to Chicago at night to avoid traffic and construction.
We have already started to count the days til their visit next year!

"Ma'am, did you know you were being attacked by a flamingo?"

It was a fabulous weekend with Judy, Carol and Jim. We managed to stick to our itinerary of food, wine, gambling, wine, music, wine, games, wine, naps and more wine!

Mr and Mrs Dennis Ryan

It was a beautiful day in Milwaukee on Saturday as family and friends gathered to witness the wedding of Erin and Dennis. The ceremony was wonderful, the party spectacular! It was great to see old friends that we hadn't seen in over 20 yrs and to have the entire Murphy clan under together for a happy occasion! You will notice some more creative photos on flickr, those were taken by Benjamin, he's got quite a good eye!

Spring has sprung

Update: April 13th 6:42pm - Hennepin County Sheriff declares it "ICE-OUT" - boat is coming out of storage tomorrow - watch out fishies!

Been a while...

Not much has been going on - we are waiting for the rest of the lake to defrost and the waterpatrol to declare it "ice-out"! Then we can get the boat out of storage and start our fabulous 2nd Minnesota summer (yes, it's been almost a year)! But first, we do have some serious business to take care of - Erin and Dennis' wedding - yes, the whole fam-damily will be gathering in beautiful Milwaukee to celebrate the happy couple - they are coming from as far away as Florida and California! It will be nice to see everyone for a happy occasion...if you were smart, you'd stay away from Brookfield WI on April 18th!
Check out some new pics of Benjamin and then wander over to the Familie Schmitt blog for a hysterical video!

What a beautful bride she will make....

The clan gathered this weekend to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Erin and Dennis with a shower at a centrally located Kenosha restaurant. Seeing that Erin and Dennis both have some Irish blood in them and it's close to St Pattys day, we decided to go with a Celtic theme. Jessica made beautiful celtic invitations with matching menus and irish wedding sayings for the flowers. Small celtic candle holders were the choice for favors. Everyone had a fab time and were extremely generous! After the shower, the girls (including some "older" ladies) went to a unusual restaurant in Milwaukee called the "SafeHouse" when we got there, we were asked to give the password to enter, naturally, we didn't know it so we had to get on one knee and sing "For she's a jolly good fella" to Erin, then spank her on the butt - voila - the door opened! After dinner, the bridal party went off for some unmentionable fun while the older folks went back to the hotel. You will need to check out Jessica' blog for details on that part of the evening!

Now the next step is for us all to find our dresses for the wedding!

When in Rome....

We finally gave in to peer pressure and took the plunge - so to speak...we drove the car onto the lake - very eerie but it was a good thing we did it then since it's been over 40 for the past few days!

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