Days with the Dorans

 After the Turkey Trot, (and showers of course), we were on our way north to Grandma's for Thanksgiving dinner.  We alternate each year between our families.  This year, my folks had dinner with Great-Nan (who thankfully had a great day since she doesn't always lately) and Eve S.  We were the first to arrive at Grandma's and the kids were so excited to see her.  No one slept in the car (except me) and they were quick to give her hugs and play with her awesome toys! Sadly Christie wasn't there this year.  She is in the midst of a divorce and the boys were with their dad.  We missed seeing them for sure but they did get to talk to her on the phone which was nice.  The kids LOVED that the Doran cousins were coming though! The food was all WONDERFUL!  I know I have mentioned that Jeff's mom is a wonderful cook.  My favorite this year was the stuffing.  I think I could have eaten the whole plate.  In fact- I took littl...

 So after Joey's awesome running experience last summer, I asked him if he'd be interested in running the Turkey Trot.  My brother tore his Achilles, so wasn't going to be running the 10K so my dad said he'd run with Joey.  Of course Joe hadn't been running in a while so he hopped on the treadmill twice before the race (too cold and dark to run outside) and I crossed my fingers he'd be OK and have fun! We didn't have to be there as early as year's past.  We left at 6:15.  Our race didn't start until 8:30 though.  Joe must have told me a million times how bored he was.  I reminded him it was a great place to people watch!  He did get a kick out of some of the costumes but also told me there was no way he'd ever where a costume while he ran (we'll see...). It was hard to know how to dress Joe.  It wasn't as cold as past year's, but it was still in the 20s!  And this was my BABY running so I wanted to make sure that he was goo...

 So it just occurred to me that I didn't really write a post for Ali's soccer this year!  I know I mentioned that her team got first place and that she had a great year but it wasn't until her coaches delivered her trophy (how cool is that?) that I realized I needed to get typing! Ali is a fun player to watch.  She learned so much about playing position and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to score or assist.  It was also fun because we've gotten to know some of the girls and we got to see everyone improve.  I loved when Al would score!  She'd smile, slap her friends high-five and keep going. I was just so proud of her! She got a couple game balls this year (that she is so proud of and keeps next to her newest trophy) and she's excited to play winter and spring soccer with this same team.  She's decided to take a year off of softball since it was kind of boring last year (not a lot of action since they went to fas...

 Last weekend we had what Ali called the "Ultimate GNO" (GNO standing for "Girls Night Out") and she was right!  We went to Lansing for Dance Masters where she took classes with some great teachers.  We drove again with Amber and her mom, Julia but this year we didn't drive back and forth but stayed overnight in the hotel! It was so much fun!  After classes, the girls immediately wanted to get changed into their bathing-suits and hit the pool!  They had a great time and it was so strange to me to see these girls with their hair down.  I'm so used to always seeing it pulled back in a bun.  It was fun to see them with their "hair down" (literally and figuratively).  They had a blast!  At one point, they all held hands and jumped in the pool.  It was so sweet (but of course our cameras weren't at the ready...). After swimming, we got changed and headed out for dinner.  It was fun for the girls but also fun for us adults! ...

Before you get confused... None of my sisters-in-law are pregnant (that I know of) but my best friend is!!!  I say I am going to be an Auntie because Auntie Jodi is an amazing Auntie to my kids and now I get to return the favor!  This is very special because this baby (gender unknown) is Auntie Jodi and Randy's Rainbow.  I am not a crier but I do cry just thinking about how happy I am that this IS happening and I can't wait to meet this little blessing due on Valentine's Day!  I can't imagine a better date as this baby has no idea how loved he/she already is!! We were so excited to help Auntie Jodi register for her baby shower (well... I was... Ali got a little tired after a- short- while).  It was such fun and I had flashbacks to when we were doing this (also together) when I was pregnant with Andrew and Jonasen.  Of course some of the things have changed in the last 11 years, but the old standbys remain! I had to take a picture of this car-seat...

I can't believe I forgot to post about this!!!  I was thinking I needed to update some things and found these pictures on my phone.  These were actually taken before Halloween.  Grandma Doran always sends these wonderful packages in the mail!  Whenever we get a box, the kids know exactly who it's from and what is inside!! Well... we know it from Grandma and that it is bound to contain some of her homemade pieces of heaven and also some super fun things for the kids.  They love everything but the anticipation and the surprise of what is in the box is always the best! Thanks Grandma, for always being wonderful and amazing and creating these special moments for us! See you soon!!!

This is my Great-Uncle Erling.  He is my Grandpa Jonasen's younger brother.  I heard a lot about him growing up from my grandpa, but I didn't meet him in person until probably about 8 years ago when he came for a visit with his son.  It was really neat seeing he and my Grandpa together and a bit sad too knowing it was probably the last time they would see each other.  At the time my Grandpa was in his 90s and Erling in his upper 80s.  He was a great man (just like my amazing Grandpa Jonasen).   My mom sent me an article that one of her cousins posted on FB. I've heard part of this story but to have it in writing is really cool.  It was printed in the Duluth News Tribune and you can read it HERE. For purposes of my blog (that I turn into a book), I am going to copy and paste the article here because it is simply fascinating!  It was written by Stephanie Hemphill. I should add (before you start reading), that there is no typo in the art...