12.11.12 Matthew Turns 8!!

Yes ... he is 8!  Can you believe it?  We certainly can't!  What a difference a year makes.  Whew!  I think Matthew grew 4 inches in the past year.  We needed a whole new wardrobe when school started earlier this year.  All of his pants and sleeves were too short!

He had such a fun birthday this year.  We started off with a kid party at Vertical Endeavors.  He had recently gone with his after school program, so we knew it would be a hit.  As usual, we had blizzard to contend with on the day of the party, but all 8 kids showed up!  Amazing!

We let the kids climb for two hours, and then reserved their party room for a half hour to eat cake and open presents.  For the first time, Matthew invited a girl to his party!  His beloved Ana.  She is adorable, and Matthew just adores her.  She was such a superstar for joining these crazy boys for an afternoon.

We also held a family celebration the following weekend with both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and baby Bruno (well, not such a baby anymore).  That was fun too.  Rocco taught Matthew a bunch of knock knock jokes during brunch, so I am sure he will be entertaining his class with them all week!

Happy birthday buddy!

Family Photos

As a belated gift for my Mom's birthday this year, we decided to do some professional family photos of the whole Hanson/Bonello gang.  They turned out great.  We booked a local photographer while we were up in Lutsen, and she did a fantastic job!  Here are a few of our favorites!

Lutsen - November 2012

For the second year in a row, we headed to Lutsen, MN over MEA weekend for some much needed R&R!  We stayed in one condo with my Mom, Rocco, Meg and Bruno.  The Pomroy's and the Martell's stayed just a couple of doors down.

Tom and Mindy were able to come up with their boys, so that was great.  It definitely helped to keep the kids entertained.  We built lots of fires, did lots of swimming, and even worked in a few hikes.  The resort had all kinds of fall contests going on while we were up there.  Matthew and Amy won both the coloring contest, and the pumpkin carving contest - AMAZING!  They got these cute little gift bags with play-doh and other stuff in them.

Our winning design?  Hello Kitty!  Check out the awesome pics below!

Halloween Cookies!

One of our favorite pastimes ... any time of the year - cookies!  Check out my little helpers and the awesome Halloween cookies we created!

Field Trip!

This year I got to tag along on Amy's first field trip.  All four kindergarten classes made their way to an apple orchard in Lakeville.  It was so cold, but the kids had a lot of fun.  They got to run through the maze, take a hayride, see how they make apple cider, and pick apples.

It was fun to spend some time with her class, and get to know some of the kids we hear so much about!

Soccer - Fall 2012

2012 marks the first year that Amy gets to join in the soccer fun!  You have to be 5-years old to play organized sports through Pearl Park.  Amy was on the black team and did an excellent job - she even scored a few goals!  She is a natural athlete, and this was a great opportunity for her to flex that muscle and meet a bunch of new kids from her school.

Matthew was on the maroon team for his third season of soccer.  It is amazing to see how much the kids have improved since last year.  They got really good at passing this year, and working together as a team.  Matthew scored a lot of goals, and we were so proud of him.

What cracks me up about fall sports is the huge variation in temperature.  In the beginning of the season you are on the sidelines in shorts and sweating to death ... and by the end, you are in full winter parkas praying for a cup of hot chocolate when it is over.  It is so funny!

The Porch

Our big project of the summer was putting a screen porch on the back of our house.  It is officially done - with the exception of the paint - and we are loving it!  We are so happy we did the vaulted ceiling.  It just makes it feel so much bigger.  I think there will be a lot of time spent on this porch.

Next up ... landscaping ...

Porch by day ...

Porch by night ....