Christmas at the Olsons

Katie in her new fairy costume.
I look like a fairy princess!
Tiny Angel

PIT--princess in training
Anders and his football regalia
Siri in the cousin potty pose

Serious Footballer Captain Olson

Anders riding the horse Smaland Prairie B&B

Katie getting a ride from Anders on a giraffe at Smaland Prairie Playing house in the bedroom at Smaland Prairie
Isaiah Swanson--Sara's son channeling some inner Daniel Boone
Katie and Isaiah really hit it off and enjoyed much playtime together.

Christmas 2007 at the Blomgren's

Girls love to giggle...with Jenna
Girls like to cuddle...with Kyle
Baby Trenton gazing at his Daddy

Family Photo in front ofMom and Dad's fireplace...nice and cozy
46th Christmas as a married couple!
Friends and partners in crime...Anders and Ryan
A new baby for Mommy...
Priceless...Mom, even the H2 floats! I tried it!

Winter Wonderland

Our mantel with our brand of advent calendar....
Anders putting the finishing touches on our Christmas Tree...
Daddy and daughter enjoying a quiet evening together...
Grandma Grace's Christmas party this is her 89th Christmas as she turned 88 in November.
Kathryn Grace has been getting her weekly photo taken for almost 100 weeks now!

We have been enjoying some great outside time and also transitioning to daycare/before school care with Karen going back to work full time. Katie loves going to Sheri's house every day and I think she is going through a major growth spurt as she is napping and eating sooo much better. Anders is enjoying playing in the gym before school and getting picked up by Dad every day.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Cousin weekend!

This was sitting number 2...everyone was still pretty happy to take photos

Getting a little more challenging by frame 8

and attentions lost by many of the group by frame 12

Jenna, Vance, Stuart and Ross...Kurt is a very proud Dad!


We had a blast seeing 14 of 16 cousins this weekend...all of the Blomgren's and baby Siri. I also was able to visit with my cousin Erika which was a fabulous surprise!



Above are some photos from the Blomgren cousin portrait session...the copywrite has been purchased from Sears. Thanks to all who participated!

We have much to give thanks for and hope all had a restful Thanksgiving. Brad has so far brought home two nice does for our freezer; yum!

Grandma Betty's Giftas

As many of you know, Betty Olson is a tremendous cook! I am sharing her famous Giftas recipe...



6 Nature Valley pecan crunch granola bars
2 oz. pecan pieces
5oz. Yoplait thick and creamy vanilla yogurt
6 oz. Craisins
16 oz. jellied cranberries
1 tub cool whip



1. Blend the granola bars in a food processor until crumbled and set aside for #7.

2. Grind Craisins to approximately 1/4 original size in food processor.

3. Blend 16 oz. jellied cranberries until consistncy of pie filling in food processor.

4. Whip together yogurt, craisins and cranberry blend.

5. Add pecan pieces.

6. Blend cool whip into mixture.

7. Layer 1/2 mixture and 1/2 granola crumbles.

8. Repeat number 7.



Lastly, enjoy with your Thanksgiving dinner :).



Enjoy the holiday with your loved ones!

Race weekend...

A little late, but here are some photos from the beautiful race weekend on Oct 12-14. Brad, Anders, Katie, Bud, Betty and myself went to Ashland, Wisconsin where I ran a half marathon...the second half of my full marathon for 2007. I ran the first half in June.

The second half was very scenic and ran it a bit faster than my first--I jogged it in 2 hours 9 minutes, which I was very pleased with. We camped at Copper Falls State Park, visited Madeline Island and enjoyed the gorgeous Fall colors.

Hiliarious Halloween Adventures...

Hello to all! Hope you had an amazing Halloween day and evening...we sure did! Grandma Betty and Grandpa Bud made their journey to River Falls to watch Anders lead his class in the Halloween parade, trick or treat and watch Katie wilt at the end of the evening in her Kelty backpack. Anders was a very convincing cowboy and Katie was a not so ferocious lion. Dorothy the Dinosaur pumpkin was a huge hit in Katie's estimation.

Enjoy the beautiful Fall weather and more to come...

days of our lives...

Here are some various events of our lives since the last update. We had a wind storm that had an issue with our hammock...branch won the fight as you can see from first photo.

Second photo is a priceless glimpse of two generations enjoying a little panfishing expedition.

Third photo was from a magical bonfire of an old stump at Bud and Betty's.

Fourth is Anders and buddies Jack, Luke and John on Luke and Anders' first day of school. John is a seasoned 1st grader and Jack has a few years to grow before he heads to school.

and lastly is a wonderful photo of an amazing artist--our cousin Dionne Swanson. We were honored to attend an event where she was the featured artist.

Love to all and don't forget to watch the Brady's and Horton's in their fight against the DiMeara's....

Ms. Katie Cat Corn...

Little lady has also had a wonderful summer. She has a brand new cousin named Trenton Anders Blomgren and has been enjoying doing "this little piggy goes to market" with him. She also loves playing with all of her cousins, her Grandmas and Grandpas, Anders, friend Libby and being a bit helper for Momma.

We have a little lady on our hands...watch out!