Where to Begin?

My Trip to NYC?
Nolan's Reading Accomplishments?
Lilly's Silly?
Carter's Birthday?
Valentine's Day?
Nolan's Day @ Powder Ridge?
The Snow Fort- Castle?
Family Olympics?
My Birthday?

The list keeps getting longer, and guess what?...I am perfectly okay with that! I've been enjoying books again, spending more time with my kids, training for an upcoming race, going on dates with my hubby, volunteering at church, helping my in-laws (dad~pack, mother-in-law~redecorate, grandma~clean, and mom who's had two surgeries in the past 6 weeks), and just plain ignoring my blog. Life is good! In fact, life has been grand! I will get back to it...because the list continues to grow, and that's a good thing. It means we're still making memories and still having fun. But for now, we're simply enjoying each day here at the Houghton house. :)

snowboarding buddies

Nolan is following in his father's footsteps, or should I say snow boots? Nolan dared the slopes at Powder Ridge today with his good friend Colin. They both received one on one instruction from a pro before the were sent down on their own. He did quite well for his first time and is eager to get back out there for another run. Mike was pretty excited about it too!

NYC!!!

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There is nothing quite like a girls' getaway! I have always wanted to go to New York, so when we started talking about the possibility of going, I was in 100%. We booked the tickets several months prior to going, so the anticipation grew as we planned our trip. We stayed several blocks off of Times Square in a hospitality house/hotel. It was perfect! We took in two Broadway shows (Wicked and The Lion King), toured the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, went to Top of the Rock, visited Little Italy, and ate at the first pizzeria in America. We also saw Ground Zero, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Empire State Building, and Grand Central Station. Riding the double decker bus, skyping my classroom from the Hershey Factory, singing and dancing at the Stardust Restaurant, and ice-skating at Rockefeller Plaza were also squeezed into our three day visit. We covered a lot of ground in three short days that's for sure. Memories....I Heart New York!

Purple Pride

We have become quite spirited around here...who wouldn't jump on the bandwagon when the Vikings are doing so well? Nolan received his jersey for Christmas from his Uncle David and Auntie MaryBeth, who are still MN Viking fans, even though they reside in Kicking Bird, Texas. I on the other hand, finally broke down and bought a jersey. It is about time I fit in with the rest of the fans in our state. Today, Nolan and I wore our jerseys to school, along with 90% of the student body with hopes that the Viking's can pull off one more win this Sunday.
We hosted a football party at our house last weekend and had a blast cheering for the home team. Chili, bbq's, and lots of appetizers were served to 25 guests all decked out in purple and gold. Mike set up a Bloody Mary bar that was quite impressive and we had everyone throw in money in hopes to win on the number board. (Mike walked away with prize money from the first quarter.)

Can they win one more? The Houghton's sure hope so...I need to wear this jersey more than a couple of times this season! Go VIKINGS!!!

A 70's Celebration

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Mike and I, along with many of our closest friends, went back in time to celebrate Charlie's 40th birthday. This 70's themed party was one of the funniest parties I've been to in a long time. Leisure suits, go-go boots, unbuttoned shirts, polyester pants, jumpsuits, and big hooped earrings...jello molds, ants on a log, candles burning in wine bottles, disco balls, hippie loving music, and TAB pop for everyone! Of course, Charlie is a great reason to celebrate, but doing it 70's style made it an exciting party for all of us who were born in the 1970's. Happy Birthday Charlie!

Welcome 2010!

There is no better way to ring in the new year than with some of your closest friends. Denell, Kevin, Mike and I have been together to celebrate this night for over 10 years. We actually got a little emotional about it tonight...reminiscing back to the days when we looked and felt so much younger! I didn't even have a digital camera back when we started this tradition, but it would be fun to post pictures from our very first New Year's to the present.

Things have certainly changed (for the better)! :)
Kim and Matt so graciously invited everyone over for a family-fun night.
There were 10 kids (6 years old- 11 months old) all having a ball under one roof.

The girls didn't waste a minute...dress up clothes, coloring,

mini plays, and lots of singing and dancing.

The boys didn't want anything to do with the girls upstairs...

they were busy fighting battles, race car driving,

and playing various sports on the Wii.

Time to ring in the New Year...

With all of the young kids, we decided 10:30 was the

perfect time to break out the hats and horns.

Wow! What a ruckus they made!

Happy New Year wishes to all of our family and friends!

The kids had a lot of fun celebrating with their friends...

Nolan has already picked up on the traditions of the holiday,

and told me that we'd have to actually wait until

midnight until we could officially say "Happy New Year's!"

Cheers!!!

Here's to a wonderful year!

May 2010 be filled with good health, happiness,

memorable moments, friendship, and loving families!

Being able to spend another year with such a

wonderful husband and father gives me

a lot to look forward to in the coming year.

Welcome 2010!

Resolution Time!

I am in the process of brainstorming and recording our family's 2010 goals. Stay tuned...

A Year in Review

I cannot believe we will be saying good-bye to another year tonight! How can it be 2010 when it feels like we just celebrated the start of 2009? The year has flown by...I can honestly say that it does go faster as we get older. Someone told me this would happen, and it is most certainly true. Maybe it's because we're so much busier (especially since the kids have come into the picture) or could it be that many exciting and challenging responsibilities have been added to our lives as we continue to grow older? Whatever the case may be, times flies by!

I took about an hour today to go back and look at everything our family has done over the year. Close to 150 journal entries were documented this year as evidence of the fun times we shared, the projects we completed, the challenges we faced, and the memories we made. Blogging is something I've enjoyed doing over the past two years, and hearing that my family members and close friends also enjoy keeping tabs on us, helps keep me on track (even when life seems to be spinning out of control). It's days like today, that I am so grateful for the hours I've spent journaling about the happenings in the Houghton house. There is no way I would be able to remember all the "little" things that took place in 2009 without it. What seemed "little" at the time, seem "big" to me today.

Both of the kids have grown and changed so much over the year. Many milestones were reached, celebrations were shared, and big changes took place in our home(s) this past year. We have so much to be thankful for! The year 2009 was wonderful...a year that (because of this blog) I/we can cherish forever! Happy New Year everyone...best wishes for a happy, healthy, fun, memorable,and rewarding 2010!

Bring It On!

Hello Winter...we're so glad you're here!
Hang on!
First attempt @ snowboarding...
hoping to enjoy the sport with his dad for years to come!

Looking good Carter!
Nice form Brandon...he was a natural!
Lilly was along for the ride...and enjoyed every minute of it (at Mike's expense). :)
Learning how to hang with the real pros...Bring it On!!!

The snow couldn't have come at a more perfect time! Thankfully, we didn't have to travel too far this holiday season, so in our opinion...the more the better! With a whole week off of school~ there is nothing better than fresh powder to play in.

Mike and Nolan have been working hard to build up a huge snow pile in the front of our yard. The blueprints for the ultimate snow fort have been made, complete with tunnels and trails throughout our entire yard. They are pretty excited about it and have begun the construction process... I can't wait to see it all come together! (I will be sure to post pictures of it when it's finished.)

Mike and I also dug out and dusted off our snowshoes this week. We both got out for a peaceful afternoon hike behind our house. The field and woods were a perfect escape and allowed us to mix-up our exercise routines a bit.

We also managed to spend a day sledding and snowboarding with our cousins at the biggest snow hill in Sartell. Brandon, Carter, and Nolan all received snowboards for Christmas, so it was fun for the three of them to hit the slopes. Lilly enjoyed being pulled in the sled and excitedly went down the hill with her daddy, auntie, brother, and myself. The boys enjoyed racing each other on various sleds and Mike and Jason got a workout carting everyone and everything up the hill for another run. We spent close to two hours at the hill and then made it back to our house for pizza and breadsticks. Our family has really enjoyed the first big snowfall of the year...we are hoping for more and can't wait to get back outside to play. Bring it on!

The Magic of Christmas

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