Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Happenings

What's been happening at the Wadholm's? We have been enjoying Christmas this whole month with programs here and there and many parties. It's seems there is something to do or go to everyday....it's a good thing we love Christmas so much!

Here is a picture of the kids right before our church Christmas program. The kids all did a great job!

This picture is of Bryce as "Papa Snowman" for his school Christmas program. He was soooo cute, and he did a wonderful job with all the lines he had to say.

We are getting ready to go the the grandparents for Christmas tomorrow. Jenn's sister Amber is getting married on Saturday--so we will have a very busy weekend. We will also be traveling to see Rick's family at their new home in Garrison, ND. We can't wait to see all the family!

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Love, the Wadholm's

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Where has the time gone?

I can't believe December is already here! Where have the last few months gone? We have been busy getting ready for our Church Christmas program (tomorrow night), which has been lots of fun! We celebrated Thanksgiving at the Gunderson house--and ate lots of food and had a great time. The following Monday, we welcomed a new niece to our family, as Jenn's brother Jordan and his wife Amber had their first little one--a beautiful little girl named Katheryn Autumn.

Now today it is evident that December is here with Christmas right around the corner as it is SNOWING like crazy outside. We finally put our tree up yesterday, and now it seems so cozy in the house with the snow outside and all the colorful lights inside. However, the kids are not as patient with the thought of presents to come...how long do we have to wait???

I will hopefully have some pictures to post after our program tomorrow night. Love you all!

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Apples


We got a whole grocery bag full of apples from Jenn's parents' apple tree. So we went to work on peeling and cutting them up to freeze for future use. Abbi was a very big helper (especially eating the "ends"). I can almost taste and smell the apple pies and apple crisp that will be made out of these yummy apples! Mmmmmm.....

Friday, October 26, 2007

Fall time

We had a beautiful fall day yesterday--in the 60s. So we FINALLY went out and tackled all those leaves that have been invading our yard. We only did the front and one side of the house, but managed to fill up about 15 bags. WOW! The sad thing is that our back yard and the other side are much worse. Hopefully we'll get another nice day to get it all done before it....snows. Bryce was a great helper filling up the bags. Abbi and Cambria did their share by picking up all the sticks and branches to add to our fire pit. Here they are sitting on our back steps--so cute!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Beet Harvest

It's beet harvest time again, and Rick is busy driving truck. It seems like our whole lives get just a little "off" during harvest, which is why it has been so long since I posted last. Plus, we seemed to all get hit with some kind of bug going from one kid, to the next, and on to me--somehow Rick missed getting this bug. I told him it was because he has been gone for driving truck and hasn't had to deal with all the kid snot. HAHA!!! He is so blessed!
Anyway, I took Cambria out yesterday (while the other two were in school) to spend time with Daddy on the beet truck. Here is a picture of Rick's truck full of beets.
Then on to the piler. If you are not familiar with what is involved with harvesting beets (if you remember watching Sesame Street---way long ago--you might remember the song: "Beet-beet, sugar, beet-beet, sugar, beet- beet" and they showed the process then), then here is a summed up version. You pull up the beets from the field with a lifter (okay, don't laugh at me those of you who know all the technical terms/equipment--I'm just keeping it simple), and they are loaded into the truck. Then you bring your truck to the piler where you drive on a scale (they weigh your load), then you dump your beets--and the extra dirt from your field is separated from the beets, and then dumped back into your truck. They weigh the dirt that is dumped back in to know what the actual weight of the beets is. Then you do it all over again. In this picture, we are sitting at the piler waiting for our turn. You can see two trucks, one on either side. And look at that pile of beets!!
At the field, Cambria got to "help" drive the tractor with Kurt (our friend and church member who Rick works for) lifting the beets out of the field, while the beets are being loaded into the truck. She had so much fun! However, on the drive back to the piler, she fell asleep--maybe she had too much fun.
It's been a great harvest so far--with only a few more days to go (weather permitting). Speaking of weather, if it gets too warm or cold (usually around 60 or freezing), then they have to stop. Also if it's too wet from rain. We have had to stop for it being too warm and too wet so far this year.

Well, that is a summary of our life right now. It's all about the beets...

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Fall




It's been a few weeks since I last posted. We've definitely been getting into the swing of things now that school has started. Bryce and Abbi have been having a great year so far--both enjoying school very much. And Cambria is used to having mommy all to herself on school days, too! Rick has been enjoying his classes as well (and thankfully he is only away from home one day a week). He's has also had the opportunity to sub at the school a few times already. And soon beets will start....yep, FALL is here!
On the way home from Grand Forks the other day, we pulled over to take a few pictures of the beautiful fall colors on the trees. It's just gorgeous here with all the trees turning colors. I'm just not looking forward to all the raking that is sure to come!

Friday, September 07, 2007

Our new little nephew

We are SO HAPPY to finally announce that Jenn's sister Heidi had her baby! Jacob McClellan Shannon was born Sept. 5 at 3:53pm, weighing 8lbs 1oz, measuring 20 1/2 inches long. He is very handsome! You did a great job Eddy and Heidi! Congratulations!!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

The Zoo

On Monday we decided to have one last hoorah before school started. We took the kids up to the zoo in Winnepeg. It was a really nice zoo and park--we were really impressed. The kids had sooo much fun running from animal to animal, each one as exciting as the last. We saw many types of bears--the favorite being the Polar Bear.
We saw some two-humped camels (as well as the normal one-humped camels, but let's face it, we all love to look at the cool two-humped ones more).
We also saw some zebras, but they weren't too excited to see us. I was lucky to get this shot as they kept turning their backs on us.
And of course, we saw Abbi's favorite--the flamingos!!
There were so many other cool and exciting animals and birds (and snakes and bats). We had a really fun time and can't wait to go again next year.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

School Days


Today was the first day of school for the kids. It was Abbi's first day ever!! She was so excited to start kindergarten. It could not come fast enough for her. Bryce on the other hand was not ready to give up his summer break to have to go back to "work". It was really cute this morning as most of the kids on the block were gathered together outside waiting for the bus to come--most of which had been outside waiting for over half an hour--can you say EXCITED!

Montana

Jenn and the girls made a trip out to MT a couple of weeks ago to help her sister, Heidi out. Heidi was possibly having her baby and needed a little help with all the kids. First we went and stayed at a hotel (at that time she was advised to not leave town as the baby could possibly come in the next 24 hours), but after the baby decided it was NOT going to come, we went out to her house. Here are the kids having a sleep-over on the hotel floor.
Several trips to the hospital later, and still that baby decided it was NOT time. So we made good use of our time in waiting and enjoyed the nice summer weather. The kids had so much fun driving around on the 'gator'. Here is Abbi and Cambria taking a turn.
After a little over a week, it was time to head back home (still no baby...). We were really disappointed that we couldn't help out more, but it was still lots of fun to go visit Heidi, Eddy, Elizabeth, Erin, Hailey, and Ricky. But before we went, Cambria and Ricky thought they would be sneaky and get into the container of mandarin oranges--CAUGHT!!
Baby--are you coming? We're waiting....

Saturday, September 01, 2007

chalk creation


Here is Bryce showing off his life size robot. Doesn't he have a nice tan?

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Family Fun

What a fun time we had at the Gunderson house. There was a mostly full house (we were missing Jenn's sisters, Heidi and Amanda, and their families). We started the week with a trip to the Emergency Room (a pretty common occurrence for at least one of us when we are home). This time it was Cambria. She got her finger caught in a bike chain, but thankfully she had no broken bones or stitches.
Our niece Sarah had a "princess" birthday party--Happy Birthday! She's now 6 and going into first grade.We also had a baby shower for Jenn's sister-in-law, Amber--she is due in Nov. Usually we do baby showers after the baby is born, but with most of us home, we had to take the opportunity! We had a fun girls night out (okay, it was coffee and pie--but so much fun with no kids).
Jenn's little sister Amber also came home with some exciting news--she's getting married in December! Yay! We are so happy for her! ;0) Christmas is usually crazy at the Gunderson house, but this year I think it will top all other Christmases! We Wadholm's thrive on crazy, so this is right up our ally--ha ha!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Summer days...

We are having such a busy and fun summer, and it's sad to think it will all be coming to a close soon. Rick has been taking Hebrew the last 3 weeks, and this is his last week of class. He walks around in a daze--with all the Hebrew words and letters constantly going through his mind. It kind of makes it hard to have a real conversation. But, it will be over soon and things will return to normal. This week, Jenn and the kids will be traveling to ND to visit her family. Her sister Heather from WV (and hubby and kids) are visiting, so it will be lots of fun playing with cousins and stuff.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Fishin' with my dad


This past week we went down to Lake Geneva (our state A/G camp) and stayed at the pastor's cabins. The MN district provides beautiful cabins for the pastors to use free of charge once a year. I can't believe it took us this long to take advantage of this blessing! We had such a wonderful, relaxing time--and felt completely spoiled! We played and swam and watched movies, and played some more! Rick and Bryce enjoyed some time fishing together, too.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

A Picnic Lunch

Today was a gorgeous day, and so we decided to have a little picnic lunch outside on the lawn. We need to enjoy days like these since they are only here for such a short time!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Cambria and Friends



Cambria had lots of fun at the church picnic. Here she is with Adam and Chloe right before service. During service she picked some "flowers" with her friend Summer.

Sunday School Picnic


Last Sunday we had our annual Sunday School Picnic at the lake. I always love a lakeside service; enjoying the beautiful outdoors, everyone clustered together to hear the word, the gentle breeze carrying the music of worship. We were even able to have a baptism service this year with 4 getting baptized. It was a fun day with lots of games, food, and sunshine! Here is a picture of Bryce getting ready to be baptized and of us getting ready for our service.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Junior Teen Camp



I (Jenn) went to Jr. Teen camp in MN this last week as a counselor. I brought two girls from our church with me and had 6 others from another town. They were the best campers a counselor could ever hope for--especially after hearing some stories from other counselors! I had such a blast, and can't wait for next year (right Alexis?) Here are pictures of me with all my campers (Alexis, Boe, Amy, Paige, Chelsea, Ally, Melissa, Tina, me) and with me and the girls I brought down (Alexis and Boe). Now I just need to catch up on all that lost sleep....

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Happy Birthday Bryce


Today Bryce turned 8 years old. We had a really fun day! First we had cake and presents, then we went out to the lake for a few hours, then back home for some games and pizza! He is such a handsome guy--isn't he?

Saturday, July 14, 2007

We Love Camping!




2 full weeks of camps and we LOVE it!! First we went to Lake Geneva (MN Family Camp), but (gasp) Jenn Forgot the camera! No pictures to share from all the fun we had there--oops. This past week we were at FaHoCha Camp in ND. From our understanding it was the largest camp ever with 80 campers. The kids spent much of their time catching frogs (and a couple of snakes, too), plus swimming, playing in the game room, and on the playground. Many kids gave their hearts to Jesus--and that's the best part of camp! The first pic is of the kids helping with dishes (L to R: Jacen, Abbi, Bryce, Steven, and Darica--Jacen and Darica are the camp Manager's kids. Steven stays with our friends, the Hooge's). The second pic is of all the campers (and us, too). The bottom pic is of the sunset right before our campfire night--it was just gorgeous!

Monday, June 25, 2007

Time with Cousins



While we were at the ND Family Camp, the kids got to spend some time with cousins. Jenn's sister Heidi and her kids and nieces came to play. Grandma Patti treated the all the kids to ice cream after one of the evening services (Thanks Grandma Patti!!). Rick took Bryce and Abbi home and Jenn and Cambria stayed a few extra days to play. Here are the kids enjoying their treat (top), and some of the kids actually sitting still for a picture. The bottom picture from L to R: Ricky, Elizabeth, Hailey, Erin, and Cambria.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Inflatable Jousting


We were at the ND Family Camp this last weekend and enjoyed a fun Family Day! They set up an inflatable joust for the kids for one of the fun activities planned. Bryce was content to just watch, but the girls wanted a piece of the action. Abbi did a great job--tying her opponent. Then Cambria got in on the fun, too! (Abbi--top picture on the right)

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Kids Crusade

We had a team from North Central University up doing a kids crusade (vbs) at the church. They had a candyland theme, with excellent costumes (made by the girls on the team)! We took this picture on our last night with all the kids that attended. The picture turned out dark, but you can still see what an wonderful turnout we had! Many kids accepted Jesus into their lives, and that's the best part! I think the kids will be disappointed that it's over now, though. How fun to have church that's completed geared just for you. Although that is normal for many big churches, up here in the more "rural" areas that is a big treat.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Rick's big catch


While we were in Panama, Rick got to go fishing for peacock bass in the canal. Here is his big catch of the day. He had a really fun time fishing, with the beautiful scenic background, a siting of monkeys and even an alligator (and let's not forget the nice sunburn to remember it by). We were advised not to leave the gated port area because of muggings, etc (unless you were on an excursion booked through the cruise--which is what Rick did). Some taxi drivers would supposedly take tourists across Panama on a tour, only to drop them off on the other side and make them pay double to come back. Since we were forewarned of this, Jenn stayed at the port and did some shopping there instead. She enjoyed most of the scenic view from the ship. :0)

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Sunset over Panama

As we left Panama, the sun began to set. Here is one of the pictures we took of the beautiful sunset as we were leaving the port. The dots of light on the right are from a ship we passed.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Happy 5th B-day ABBI


Abbi turned 5 last Friday, but we celebrated today, and what a beautiful day to do it! Here she is, as cute as can be, with all her presents. Thank you to everyone who thought of Abbi on her special day.