Saturday, December 29, 2012

COYOTE Reunion

Over break we also got a chance to spend some time with Kevin Mellem.  He attended USD with us but is living in Boston now. We don't get to see him very often so we all arranged to meet at Chae's - one of our favorite restaurants in Vermillion. 
 
 
We also went to the Dome to let the kids run around and burn off some energy on the basketball courts where Andy & Eddie played in college.
 




Charlie came along to see Kevin and run through his favorite ditches...it all came back to him and he ran for miles. 
We had a great time catching up with great friends and recalling our college days. Vermillion was good to us and will remain one of our favorite places to visit.


Friday, December 28, 2012

A Van Beek Christmas

After our Christmas morning, we headed to Sheldon to celebrate with the Van Beek side.  Marie was thrilled with her pretend kitty from Grandma Nel and notice she is still wearing her Snow White Dress.
 

Not every grandkid could be with us on Christmas Day but here are 7 of the 11.  Both kids were exhausted from not only the South Dakota trip but also from all the play time at Grandma Nel's house.
 


Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was spent exactly how it should be...
 
we ran downstairs to find our presents from Santa.

ate pancakes

cuddled on the couch
 


and finally opened up presents that Mom & Dad have been waiting months for us to see! 
 
The new ball pit is a huge success so far and we are excited to play in it this winter.
 
 
Marie did in fact receive a Snow White dress from Santa and she wore it all day long. Bennett received a toy dragon which his sister requested for him. 


Preparing for Santa

Santa has been in the majority of our conversations this Christmas season. Marie is full of questions and asked for 2 very specific things from Santa - a snow white dress and a pretend kitty. She has not strayed from these items at all.
 

So on Christmas Eve, Andy & Marie prepared a plate of cookies, carrots, and glass of milk for the big guy. They opened up our fireplace and even wrote a letter which says: 
 
It was fun to see her run to bed in anticipation for Santa's visit!

A South Dakota Christmas-Part 2

On Sunday we woke up to a chilly and dark cabin due to a power outage throughout the area. Thanks to flashlights and our phones, we managed to eat some breakfast and then get bundled up to play outside in the snow.
 

Tackling each other, burying each other, and making snow angels were among the favorite things to do. 
 
In the afternoon, while Bennett hung out by the fire with Grammy & Papa, Marie, Katie, Liz, Andy,  & I went tubing at a local ski and tubing resort. Andrew and Nathan spent the afternoon skiing.


Marie was a little nervous to begin with, but she got over her fears quickly and became a champ at tubing. She didn't like the snow hitting her face on the way down but she felt like such a big girl.
 


 
After our afternoon of fun, we decided to do one more hike to a special spot discovered by Andy & Papa. We hiked down to a waterfall that was freezing.



Once again snow angels were a hit - Bennett had some help making his snow angel.

It was a beautiful spot for pictures and a fun adventure. Marie loved hiking and especially liked being the leader of the group. Bennett even joined in and was all smiles.
 
After our hike, we headed back to the cabin for a warm meal. Papa even read us all a book which put Charlie boy right to sleep. 
 
Our Sunday was a full day but so much fun. Andy & I headed back home with the kids on Monday so we could be in our own beds on Christmas Eve. Our South Dakota Christmas was short but very memorable.  We hope to do it again!

Thursday, December 27, 2012

A South Dakota Christmas - Part 1

The whole Mueting family traveled out to Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota for Christmas this year.  We traveled part way Friday night to Chamberlain, SD where we stayed overnight. It was nice to break up the trip with the kiddos and we also got to swim on Saturday morning.
 
 
On Saturday we took our time driving the rest of the way.  We ate brunch at Al's Oasis where Marie took her turn on a saddle.
 Our next stop was Wall Drug where we posed for some pictures, ate salt water taffy, and Marie purchased a pony in a purse with her own money. She was pretty proud of that pony and it has been with her ever since.
 
 
When we finally arrived in Spearfish, we opened presents, let Charlie explore the canyon, and enjoyed some much needed relaxation.
 
 
 Marie loves playing with her aunts and uncles and would hardly let them out of her sight for 1 minute.  



 
Marie and Bennett were both having so much fun opening presents and playing with them in the cabin.  Marie was even running her own beauty salon.

 
After a successful first day, we headed to bed and looked forward to the next day's adventures!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Bennett at 6 months

Where does the time go?  I can't believe that our Bennett boy is 6 months old! 
He has just started sleeping through the night again - thank goodness!
Mommy and Daddy finally said goodbye to rocking him to sleep...something we should have done long ago but Bennett is the best at cuddling and it is hard to give that up.
 
 
He is eating baby food now and seems to really like everything we give him. He weighs a whopping 22 lbs!  We switched him to the bigger car seat now and he seems much more comfortable in it. 
 
 
As always, he prefers time on his back vs. time on his tummy. He can roll over he just chooses not to...he is perfectly content to hang out and let Marie bring toys to him vs. trying to get things himself. 
 
He loves to play with his toes and pull his socks off. He is teething and chews on anything and everything...including Charlie, Marie, Mommy, and Daddy.
 
 
He loves to giggle and is so curious about noises. When he hears Marie walk into the room he will twist his body all around to try to find her.

Bennett is a happy, content, and fun-loving little guy who we love to pieces. 
Here's to another 6 months big boy!