are you ready for some football?

Our experience watching Monday night football live in the US Bank Stadium was completely impressive.

Grandma Betty, Uncle Bruce, Aunt Julie and cousin Isaiah joined us for the events driving to our house and then we left together in our van and Bruce and Julie's Outback. We parked just off Hamline Avenue, ate a  Noodles and Company and then boarded the light rail--destination US Bank Stadium!

We arrived at the stadium along with a rush of other fans. I had forgotten to tell Betty she needed to leave her purse at home so we had an added experience of having Brad go back and check her bag while we waited just outside the stadium. Some Vikings staff that saw Osten offered him a cup of hot chocolate, to stand near their warming house and also a fancy "first game button". Brad arrived and we were all able to filter into the stadium with the 67,000+ other fans.

We found our way to our seats in section 313 row 17 and were treated to some professional entertainment. There is a lot more going on to the game than what you see on TV. My last Vikings game was in 1997, and it was noticeably more of a production with the technological advancements. The SKOL drumline was fun, the Cheerleaders were energetic and gorgeous, the noise levels were impressive, the horn, the fireworks and the responsiveness of the crowd was amazing.

The game itself was a little disappointing--the Vikings only had 7 first downs the entire game and their time of possession was half of what the Packers had. Aaron Rodgers threw some nice passes including an interception, but their offense was just clicking like the Vikings weren't. It did get a little old hearing the Packer fans cheering, but I never did get angry. We still had a smile on our face was we exited the field.

Osten did confess on the way back to the light rail that he was sad the Vikings lost. I know how he feels and hopefully in our next game, we will see a well oiled machine that puts one in the victory column. Anders predicts that we will be 2-0 versus the Packers next year.

The light rail back to our vehicle was pretty packed and we had one moment that a man who looked like he was pretty high jumped on the train and scared Isaiah, but we did get back to our car about 11:45pm and made it home safely to River Falls about 45 minutes later.

All in all, I'm very happy with our family Christmas gift...we were prepared for the score and had a wonderful experience. Yes, we are ready for some football!

anticipation

In about an hour, we will be departing for the much anticipated Minnesota Vikings/Green Bay Packers football game. The anticipation is pretty high and expectations are pretty low...we know the Vikings will be in the playoffs, so not really sure if they will be in finest form, but we are just really excited to go to US Bank Stadium and feel the excitement.

This morning, Osten hung out with his neighborhood buddy, Mr. Wil--the ultimate Packer fan. I love their friendship and their allegiance to their teams...I hope they will stay in touch for many years to come.

this guy is 47!

My best friend and partner in crime, Bradley Cole Olson is 47 years old today. We started the day with waking for coffee and a small breakfast. We are planning and winter hike today at Kinnikinnic State park and I hope I can make a special meal for the love of my life.

Happy birthday to an amazing husband and Dad!

shortest day & longest night

Yesterday Anders departed for the Eau Claire pool at 6:45am to start his day diving at 9:30. With our very late night, Brad and I didn't arise until it was too late to see Anders dive. Therefore, we focused on getting prepared to see his swim meet at 12:30. We left River Falls at about 10am, dined at Taco Bell and got really good seats for the meet.

We managed to see Anders swim for three events--he placed fourth of four in his diving so earned points for the team. He swam the 200 Medley relay (they placed 8th), the 200 Freestyle relay and the 100 Breaststroke.

These are the results from the diving and Medley relay I got the photos as I was walking laps during a three hour pause in this swimming:

Here are some more photos I got during the day:

He was in lane four for his 100 breaststroke so overall placed 9th with a time of 1:12.51. I think he would love to get down to 1:04 this season so will need to continue to work on conditioning.


After the meet, we found him eating some snacks in the dining area and then Osten, Brad and I went out for dinner at Hu Hot, a Mongolian grill near the Oakwood Mall--it was really yummy and we were all able to make our own delicious dinner combination with fresh ingredients.

Then, it was time to see episode nine of Star Wars...what a thrill! We sat in super comfy seats in the front row and saw the tale unfold. I really enjoyed the show, did shed some tears and enjoyed the evening with Brad and Osten.

After all was said and done, we drove home in the longest night of the year and came home to a clean place that Katie had worked on throughout the day--her bathroom was sparkling, the upstairs floors swept and the fire was still glowing in the grate.

Great way to spend Winter Solstice.

putting the classroom to bed for the year and Bailey's Party!

The 2019 school year is complete. On Friday, we took time to prepare for a  long winter's nap and made sure the room as ready for no inhabitants for just over a week's time. We scurried and hurried to send home calendars, books, cards and ornaments. Earlier in the week, our costumed carolers came to entertain and wow us with their vocal beauty.

It was a busy day, at the time chaotic, but now that I've had some time to reflect, quite lovely.

Here are some photos:

and here are Bailey's party photos:

Peace and joy all around--and this is what we found when we arrived home about 1am:

loving brother and sister asleep on the couch ;)

coming to a table near you

Part of our Wood Lake Geekend was making art projects. This was a joint effort with me purchasing the plates, Ibby bringing the paint pens and Molly inspiring us. Here are our plates:

Molly's special occasion plate

Molly's Merry Christmas plate

My giving plate

My giving dish

Ibby's Merry Christmas plate

Ibby's celebrate plate

impeached

Today, history was made. The third time ever a president of the United States has been impeached. President Trump was charged with "high crimes and misdemeanors" in connection with Ukraine pressure campaign. What will the outcome be? We will have to stay tuned, but it is a momentous occasion that is for certain. 

plans for the day

Today is going to be a great day! I didn't hit snooze this morning and managed to get to Anytime and also mailed a Christmas card to Brad's cousin Kate and her family in Dubai.

Planning geometry lessons with Alphas and Betas today--we are going to work with metal insets and make some tags to hang on family Christmas trees along with photos of the children. Throughout the years, that has always been a favorite of mine. Along with the tags, we will be identifying the names of the shapes and categorizing them into groups.

Tonight after school, I will speed home and we will head to Chippewa Falls to see Anders swim.

In typical Olson style, we arrived late and missed Anders first two events but caught his second two events which were the final two swims of the evening.

His 200 Medley relay where he swam the breaststroke: (first leg backstroke, second breaststroke, third butterfly and fourth freestyle)
placed 2nd RFHS-WI A 1:56.67
1) Baar, Connor 2) Olson, Anders
3) Larsen, Seth 4) Martin, Zach
33.57 31.41 26.11 25.58

His 100IM
placed 3rd Olson, Anders RFHS-WI 2:36.19 (first leg butterfly, second backstroke, third breaststroke and fourth freestyle)
32.07 41.14 42.74 40.24

His 100 Breaststroke:
placed 3rd Olson, Anders RFHS-WI 1:13.68
33.87 39.81

His 400 Freestyle relay:
placed 2nd RFHS-WI A 4:20.60
1) Derks, Darin 2) Richardt, Jacob
3) Cernohous, Cooper 4) Olson, Anders
29.21 1:02.78 31.02 1:04.83
30.58 1:06.32 29.93 1:06.67

Anders wasn't that happy with his scores, but he is coming off being pretty sick this past week. I hope he can return to full health and feel successful in the pool soon. We are so proud of all his hard work.

just another manic Monday

Monday's are a busy day. I had a tough time rolling out of bed, so I skipped my typical workout and hit the snooze button several times.

Yummy coffee, some time to snuggle with Osten on the couch looking at the beautiful Christmas Village, Nativity set and Christmas tree and then it was time to jump in the Prius to a day three at school. A meeting before school, lessons with first graders, to Aldi to buy lunch supplies and snack for tutoring, an observation by a school psychologist, bus duty, tutoring, working on getting 2020 calendar done so students can work on this week and then scooting to Osten's basketball practice.

I was running low on time, so I called Brad to see if he could drop Osten at practice to find the location had changed so met Brad and Osten at Westside. Practice was really fun--I just love coaching with Marci. Osten is a really good hustler when trying to get open for the ball.

As soon as practice was done, Osten and I drove to the high school to watch and hear Anders and the high school choirs singing. It was a lovely presentation. Then we drove home and had a yummy dinner of venison stir fry.

Talking with Brad, he had an even busier day...Wow, it was a manic Monday!

Here are some photos of Anders concert:

 

This is the 11-12 auditioned choir--Anders is in back row center

the combined choir all 9-12

wrapping it up

On Sunday, we woke and made beautiful bracelets and decorated holiday cookie plates. Then we watched the classic Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. The movie was better the first time we watched, but it was still entertaining.

Then it was time to get back home. Katie and I drove home together, unpacked and I drove to my friend Kristie and Michelle's house to attend our friend, Abby's Christmas concert at her church. It was a really fun concert and it meant a lot to her that we attended. The music was pretty outstanding, I will definitely come back if she invites me again.

The weekend was a great way to start the busy week before the holidays!

on the shores of Big Wood Lake

After a wonderful week of school and life, Katie and I drove up north together to start Geekend--a meeting of Ibby, Molly and myself at Molly and Brent's cabin on Big Wood Lake.

I dropped Katie off at Grandma and Grandpa's house and then continued down Northshore Drive to the other Casa de Olson. I was greeted by a calm and tranquil Molly who had just enjoyed a luxurious massage by Sarah, a friend of Ibby's. Ibby was getting a massage at 7:45 when I arrived. I brought all my gear into the house and then shortly thereafter was treated to THE best massage I've ever received. Sarah worked her magic and I felt completely well and in balance when I was finished.

After that, we watched the movie Friday the 13th and then read some poetry together.

Off to bed and dreamland for the three of us.

The morning had a gentle start. Ibby and I went into town to get some last ingredients for our cookie baking extravaganza. We got back to the cabin and Molly was awake and ready to go. First I introduced the ladies to the card game Dominion and then we started our cookie baking and ended up making ginger snaps, white chocolate puff corn, monster cookies, biscotti and tasty baby belly buttons.

In between marathon baking we ate lunch of a meat and cheese tray and veggies. Brent and the boys stopped by the house (Anders, Osten, Ivan and Ike) to build snow forts and make a small sledding hill. It was nice to see the boys for a bit. I also went for a short walk on the lake to Bud and Betty's house and back again to the cabin. I took some fun pictures of the sunset as I was walking.

Off to dinner at Bud and Betty's house where we had wild rice hotdish and strawberry rhubarb pie. Back to the cabin again where we played a game of making bracelets and watching the movie Moonrise Kingdom. We watched the movie in memory to our dear Kimberly who loved the movie dearly. I feel like her spirit is here with us this weekend and we pay tribute to her memory.

Now it's time for bed and another morning of Geekend is all planned out for Sunday morning.