The Dells!

As part of the Storm kids' Christmas gift this year we got them tickets to go to the Dells. I got some deals during Black Friday and we decided to head to the waterparks at the beginning of January. At the time of purchase, it seemed like perfect timing but then the Omicron variant of COVID started to show up e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e! Ugh. Ultimately, we decided to ignore the germs and head to the pool! We have been trapped at home for ages so were definitely ready for a fun weekend away! 

We left right after school on Friday and drove out to the beautiful Wisconsin Dells. We went to Mount Olympus that evening and, honestly, I would not recommend. This property is comprised of many little mom & pop hotels that Mout Olympus has acquired over the years. The rooms were not the quietest or the cleanest and the pool was miles away in a separate building. Not ideal. The kids did have a good time getting acclimated to water park life and it was not too crowded so that part was nice. :) Lucy and Roman spent hours on You Tube looking up slides and attractions in anticipation of our trip so they already knew the options at their fingertips.

We spent all day Saturday at a different water park - The Kalahari. This was a much nicer situation and worth the money. Here are some excited Storm children ready to swim and play!  

No better way to spend a January day!

Leo liked splashing around but was pretty unsure of the slide situation to start.

These two were pretty much joined at the hip and were best friends all day. They spent hours in double innertubes and loved all of the slides.

After a late night our littlest guy needed a nap on Saturday afternoon. I know that my days with a napping toddler in my arms are quickly coming to an end so I gladly held Leo during his snooze time. I don't know how he slept with all of the noise! Hah! 

Meanwhile the big kids were living their best lives with Dan. :) Don't you love the fist pump at the end? 

Once Leo was well rested, he was ready to try the slides! In no time, he was hooked and zipping down all kinds of slides.

The two L's did some slipping and sliding while Roman hung out with his Dad.

Roman kept saying that it was the best day ever. :)

After a day at the waterpark we headed to Buffalo Phil's for dinner. Gotta love it when a train brings you your food and drink. 

Also spotted at Buffalo Phil's were some elaborate Lego sets. Leave it to my son to find a KISS concert among the legos. LOL!

Overall, it was a great trip; everyone had the best time! So happy that our crew was able to visit. :)

 

First Days of 2022

We spent the first days of 2022 playing with our new toys. 

Leo got a bunch of new PlayDoh for his birthday so, of course, our big kids wanted in on the action as well. :) Roman saw this penguin example of the PlayDoh container and he promptly made one for himself. 

The black and white PlayDoh planted the seeds in his mind and the next project was to make the KISS guys! Haha! These kids are so clever!

While the kiddos worked on PlayDoh projects, I started taking down our holiday artwork. 

You know those people who put all of their Christmas decorations up on November 1? I am on the opposite end of the spectrum and I do not take my stuff down until mid January! LOL.

One of our favorites from this year ... Lucy the elf. :)

Roman got some sweet Aaron Rodgers socks over the holidays and he has been sporting them on a regular basis. Go Pack!

Leo kicked off a new year with his friends at day care. They love doing art projects and playing in the snow. 

The big kids enjoy being outside during the winter as well. We try to get to the Sam Davey skating rink regularly for time on the ice. We are grateful to have this skate spot at the school.

It looks like the middle of the night but these photos are probably from 600 in the evening. Gotta love January in Wisconsin! 

A L-o-n-g start to the New Year

Uggg ... we started off 2022 with a bang! 

Our family was driving back to Eau Claire on a bitterly cold New Years Day with a truck full of kids/holiday gifts/a puppy bundled in his kennel and we happened to hit a big old chunk of metal on the road and it ripped a hole in our tire. Of course it was hundred degrees below zero and we were in the middle of no where between Windom and Mankato. We pulled over and needed to remove Leo's care seat + all of the things from the back seat so that Dan could retrieve the appropriate tools underneath. Roman's face pretty much says it all! Hah!

We knew that we would be stopped for a while so we needed to take Ranger in the cab with us. We didn't want him to freeze to death. Adding a puppy to the mix made everyone warmer! :) The Doritos boosted everyone's spirits as well.

Dan froze his butt off and, unfortunately due to the age of the truck and the cold weather a bunch of the tire bolts fell off. So we needed to call a tow truck. Ai yi yi - It was a Saturday, a holiday, and we were in the middle of no where looking for a tow truck with a giant cab to hold 2 adults, 3 kids, and a dog ... we knew it was gonna be a long wait.

Fortunately the crew was pretty patient! 

Our biggest issue was that it was so very cold outside and no one wanted to leave our toasty truck, not even for bathroom breaks. Leo had been doing such a good job a potty training and wearing undies since Halloween time but he 100% refused to pee out of the truck. Hours were passing so I reluctantly put a diaper on the kiddo. *Spoiler Alert - Leo held it for h-o-u-r-s! All of the way to the repair shop in Mankato! Yay! 

Here is a close up of the metal chunk that ruined our drive back to Wisconsin! 

Our insurance road side assistance guy managed to find us an appropriate tow truck and this angel of a driver found us and got Dan's truck situated in back while we buckled the children in their seats and got the dog into the cab. Everyone napped and we made our way to Mankato! 

We arrived at the repair shop and all this little guy wanted was candy from the machine. After holding his tinkle forever, he deserved a treat! 

Speaking of treats, these dudes at the repair shop not only got us new tire bolts and a tire {on a Saturday evening/New Years Day Holiday}, they also gave the kids donuts from the break room. They were the best!

Whew! We got the truck fixed in record time, zipped through the drive thru and headed back to Wisconsin. Many hours and several hundred dollars later, we made it home safe and sound. Praise the Lord!

Once everyone stretched their legs, we decided to end the day in a good way ... by giving Leo the rest of his birthday gifts. :)

Roman was beyond thrilled to gift his little bro a bunch of KISS Little People. Haha! 

Always teaching the best things!! LOL!

Leo also got an old school Pound Puppy so Roman helped him complete the adoption certificate and hang it on their bedroom wall. :)

It was a l-o-n-g day but very grateful that we got home safely and stayed warm during the whole ordeal. 

One Last Christmas 2021 Post!

In addition to Leo's birthday celebrations, we spent time with cousins in downtown Sioux Falls during our Christmas break. We were hoping to go to an event at the Washington Pavilion but it was sold out so we needed to pivot. Good News - we still got a picture with the dinosaur out front! 

We ended up sending the littles home to Grandpa and Grandma's house and the big kids + Andrea and Kevin headed to Back to the Future at the old State Theater. What a beautiful theater! It was fun to take the kiddos to a classic movie! 

We always enjoy playing games during our Hoekman family time; Glen is an expect RackO player. ;)

Our November girlies got belated birthday gifts from Uncle Kevin and Autie Katie including these sweet jammies. 

While I was home I found this little treasure from Christmas 40 years ago. I think that I look like Leo in this picture. I loved that rocking horse! :)

Love celebrating the holidays with my littlest guy. 

I also found this gem from Christmas 30 years ago. My pink glasses and permed hair - classic 1991! Hah!

We celebrated Christmas on New Year's Eve this year. Here is the whole crew with Grammy and Grandpa. I think this might be one of the first times where no one is crying in the picture!

We had to have a goofy photo too! 

Here is the whole gang! We had a great meal, sang Christmas songs, played games, opened gifts and enjoyed the day together. Love this family of mine!

You can't have Christmas without some matching jammies, am I right!?!

Even the baby boys got a matching set.

Cheers to the New Year! We didn't quite make it to midnight but we raised a glass at 11:00 along with the NYC crowd on television. 

We have had a couple of doozies recently so here's to 2022! Hoping it is a Happy and Healthy one! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!