Enjoying some quiet time with family!

If I can figure out how to upload photos on this ...I will...but for now it I will just write about life here in Denmark. This weekend we spent most of, ok, all of our time with my family at their beautiful home in Herning. We had 2 lovely little cousins to play with Tobias is 5 years old and Andrea is 2 (and full of spunk!) We went to the swimming hall yesterday where Gabe and Jerry both jumped off a 5 meter platform! IT was NUTS!!! Gabe's face was priceless. You could not have paid me to do what he did! So his Uncle Michael did just that...paid him 20 Kroner to jump! Then later last night..we played cards, as we do often when we are together, and Michel did a double or nothing...and lost again..so Michael 0 Gabe 2! And his is now 40 Kroner richer! Which will buy him a very nice Ice cream cone or 3 or 4 of them!
We went on a couple nice walks today around their home which is beautiful wooded areas and there are picnic tables in little nooks and small playgrounds hidden in there too! Tonight for dinner we went to my little brothers home where he and his girlfriend Gry made the most amazing meal...FRIKEDILLA! It was SOOOO good! Mette and Gabe both ate a TON and so did Jerry and I to be fair. Homemade potato salad, pasta salad...everything was wonderful and their home is so very nice! They look out over a nice lake with great walking-running paths. You can see my host parents home for their deck. Nice and close to each other!
Tomorrow we are off to an adventure with my host dad to Germany! It is known as a "Beer Run" to get cheap beer just across the borader. My mom Ann said we have to have the "BIG SAUSAGES" too! It will be a little over 2 hours to drive there and then 2 hours back home but when everyone else is working we have all day to play!
It has been a great vacation so far and we still have over 2 weeks to go!

Danmark at its finest!!!

Here I sit....at my host mom's desk in the beautiful Herning Denmark! We arrived in this amazing country on Tuesday afternoon....fight was ok and they only lost one of our bags! We have it back now and we stayed at a nice little hotel just outside of Copenhagen for two nights. We saw many beautiful things in Copenhagen like the Queens castle, the harbor, walking streets, tivoli, and had many wonderful things to eat. We were very happy to take the 3 hour train ride yesterday to come stay with my family here! Jerry and Gabe went to a FCMitjutland soccer game last night and Mette and I stayed home and enjoyed an amazing and eventful dinner. Only one child needed a trip to the ER for the removal of a toy cannon ball she shoved up her nose! No problem she was back in about an hour ready to keep playing. Even with the language difference Mette and Gabe are able to play and have a wonderful time with their cousions here! Today, my good friend Betina is having a baby and we hope to see them soon! Other than that we are planning on hanging out and enjoying the company, great food, great beer and wine, and LOTS of laughs at my danish that is coming back after 16 years and my host mom Ann's english which she is quite good at but never wants to use! For now this has been an amazing trip already and we still have 2 1-2 weeks to go!!!

We're leaving on a jet plane.......

Oh vacation is coming soon!!! We are so very excited to begin this wonderful family vacation that is MUCH needed for everyone! We can't wait to bum around Copenhagen for a few days and then off to Herning to be with my wonderful family there! Be looking for fun updates (as I will try to do this from Denmark). Only a few last minute things to do and then we will be on a flight to Iceland...then Copenhagen Denmark!

Birthday pictures and Let summer vacation begin.....

It has been about 2 weeks since we ended classes with kids and life has yet to really slow down for the Severson clan! We have been very busy with swimming lessons for Mette and basketball camp for Gabe! We are looking forward to a little break in the action starting next week! As of now, I only have one day that is busy...they rest I get to be home and hanging out! Sleeping in....as much as Mette will let me, going for many bike rides...now that Mette can ride a 2 wheeler she is ALWAYS up for a bike ride, shooting hoops with Gabe....It is not going to be much longer that I will be able to beat him in horse- not only is his shooting improving but he is almost as tall as I am!
Speaking of getting taller....and growing up- Here are a few pictures of the kids from their birthdays

We have enjoyed some time with family a few weekends ago (Memorial Weekend) up at the lake with my parents and close friends. Here are some good ones from that weekend too!

We also had the preschool graduation of Miss Mette....she will be off to Kindergarten next year!!! Hard to believe that our baby is this old already...here are some pictures from her big day!

We also said "goodbye" to dance for the summer. Mette had her performance of a life time last weekend... oh lord can she dance! Our dear friend Anne took many wonderful pictures and they will make an appearance later...but for now - here are a few Jerry and I took from that day....

There is so many exciting things yet to come for our family and we are looking forward to every minute of our summer time together....and we can't wait for 3 weeks in Denmark with the most wonderful family anyone could ever ask for!!!

2 down 2 to go!

There is less than a 6 weeks span for all of the Severson's to have their birthdays! Mette and Gabe have had wonderful birthday parties! Both filled with lots of family and friends, presents, cake, presents, great grilled food complements of daddy Severson, presents, lots of laughs, presents, and a little chaos and we would not want it any other way! We have had a great time celebrating two amazing kids that are now 5 and 12 years old. Next on the schedule is a quiet day at home for Mother's Day! I am VERY excited about this! I need a day of rest to recover from the parties. I am looking forward to cuddling my kiddos and having breakfast in bed.....let's see what happens! I will try to post more soon with pictures of the parties! Happy birthday to the Severson kids...we are so blessed to have such wonderful children...now if I could just get time to slow down a little and they would stop growing up so fast!

End of "Spring Break"

Well....all good things have to come to an end....our "spring break" is now reaching its end and we have done many fun things this last week.
~ Spent time with our wonderful neighbor Erin and my god daughter Vivi
~ Went to a hotel and swam with Nana, then shopping and build a bear!!
~ Had friends and their families over for a little get together that was full of good food and laughter
~Took a couple naps!
~Played countless games of Monopoly Deal with my son....we are about even with wins and losses
~Watched a few movies with popcorn, m&m's and jr. mints
~Worked out EVERY day!
~Cleaned my house...it was feeling pretty neglected
~Had a sleep over for Mette with Ellie (Ellie's first one! she did GREAT!)
....and many more fun memories from this week...now it is back to the grind stone...tomorrow night brings Jerry and I to our first Parent Meeting for Kindergarten for miss Mette (she REALLY is growing up WAY too fast!) I have parent teacher conferences the next two weeks! We will be busy but we always seem to be!

Sunday at home!!!

Today has turned into a great day at home! We have gutted 2 rooms in our home so far....taking out countless bags to the garbage can...which I might add is full along with the recycle bin..which is also full! We had a late lunch and Jerry will be dazzling us with grilled pork chops and chicken wings later this evening! Gabe and Mette have been playing with the kids who live next door and are having a blast...until they had to walk home! They were almost blown away with the gusty winds we have!! Poor Gabe took a nasty fall and has a pretty big raspberry on his butt! :-) He saved his sister from falling...what a good big brother! We are looking forward to having a week off from work and school! Spring break in February was really not my idea of good timing as "spring" is still far away (especially with the huge snow storm that is moving towards us - they say we might get a foot of snow- I will believe that when I see it!). No matter what time of year, having a week off from work is ALWAYS a good thing! We have only a couple things planned other than staying home and being complete loafs! It's gonna be AWESOME!!!! I hope everyone has as wonderful of a Sunday as we have had so far!

Updates...sleeping, eating, playing....busy family!

It is not often for the Severson family to have a more laid back, not running all over heck weekend but this weekend is looking good!! EVERYONE slept through the night last night....this is NOT a normal occurrence in the Severson home! Our youngest has battled with going to bed, staying in bed, and sleeping for a LONG time now! She must be growing as she is beginning to eat us out of house and home...which also means she is SO TIRED all the time! She has only gotten up once in the night for the last couple nights and last night...NOTHING! It was BEAUTIFUL! She has been very pleasant and happy this morning too...even eating eggs with ham..."I LOVE HAM" she said when I put it on her plate. Let's hope this is the beginning of a new trend for her! Lord knows we needed it BAD!
As for Gabe...this also meant he did not get awakened by her which makes him easier to be around too! You know the pre teen stage...REALLY is all I have to say! Thank god we will only have one kid going through it at a time! He has been pretty grumpy and on edge lately but he too has been sleeping more and also eating us out of house and home! Example...he ate more than his dad did for breakfast! 3 helpings of eggs, toast, all the grapes in the house, countless glasses of juice, apple turnover....he has NEVER eaten more than Jerry- no one has! ;-)
Gabe has his last tourney for the season in Basketball tomorrow! It is in Becker- could not be closer if we tried! We are very excited to watch him play one last time! I know they have been working so hard lately and are on a 6 game winning streak! (2 first place trophies too!) My parents will be joining us and my aunt and uncle too! They love to watch Gabe play ball!
Jerry and I are going to get to see our newest family member later today- our niece Elin. She was a preemie and came home this past Monday. We will drop off some lunch for the new parents and maybe even get a little peak at her! We will not stay long as I know they are tired...remember that feeling of bringing home your first child....your emotions are on a non stop roller coaster...you are tired, hungry, tired, happy, tired, need a shower, tired, need to brush your teeth, tired.....see the repeating tired! I know they are doing well and loving her up! We can't wait until she is a little bigger so we can cuddle her too! Our kids can't wait to meet their new cousin- we have to wait until she is bigger and stronger and that is not easy for Mette (Gabe gets it!).
We will enjoy a family movie night on our new system downstairs- for those who have seen it...know it is pretty cool and LOUD! (just ask Clair A. she was not a fan during the super bowl when it got too loud!) Popcorn, M&M's, Jr. Mints, blankets, pillows, a new blue ray movie...we will be set!
I hope everyone else has an equally amazing weekend and enjoys their families and the WARMER WEATHER!

Great weekend!

The Severson family had a great weekend! It was one of the rare ones that you have some things to do...and you also get to spend some LONG OVER DUE time at home! On Saturday, Gabe had a basketball tourney in Monticello and his team played AWESOME! They took 1st place!! We were very proud! Gabe plays his heart out and we understand why he is so tired when all is said and done! We spent the morning and most of the afternoon with his God father Matt and his wife Tam. We had not seen them in WAY too long! It was great they were able to come see him play. Gabe loves when Matt is around! Saturday night, Jer and I went to his work Christmas party that was moved due to weather back in December! We had dinner in St. Cloud...it was AMAZING! We were home early enough to tuck Gabe into bed...Mette was already passed out! Then today, we slept in...at least for the Severson family it was sleeping in! I didn't hear Mette until almost 7:30! Best thing EVER! Then we cleaned up the house...organized some big messes...and had our neighbors Ryan and Erin over for dinner with their daughter Vivi! Great food and friends...now on to being complete slugs on the sofa for the rest of the night...watching TV on the newest addition to our home! Should be wonderful! I hope everyone else had equally as good of a weekend as we did!