Mi Vida Ocupada: My Busy Life!

Bebe's Birthday Bash

My niece Bianca turned three years old last week so we had a little family birthday party for her at Brian & Michelle's house.

I took plenty of photos while practicing with my camera, you ready for them all??!!

The birthday girl

 

 

Bianca posing with Uncle Jeff and Grandpa Jim in their new "Chile" t-shirts......( Jeff and my dad literally got home from South America the night before the party)

One of Bianca's big presents was a new bike! Big sister Annika helping with helmet

Speaking of Annika.....

 

 

 

Uncle Jeff is so silly....

 

I can't forget the little dude! (who at this moment was in the mood for a photo apparently because he made this face and got all up in my camera!!

 

Last but not least, some pics of the cakes!!

 

 

 
 

Michelle has more photos from the party on her blog so go check them out :)

PS On an unrelated note..... sweetsauer.com will be moving to a new server and platform this weekend so make sure you subscribe using this feed otherwise you will not continue to receive my blog updates!

Family Foosball Tourney XXIII ~ 2010

Twenty three years ago is when the very first Sauer Family Foosball Tourney was established and it is a BFD in my family!  A little history about the tourney: My dad's side of the family had always gotten together the first weekend in January to celebrate the famous birthday of my dad, his sister and his brother and it just so happens that in 1987 the annual birthday party took place at our house.  My brothers Brian, Jeff and I had gotten a rinky-dink little foosball table for Christmas that year so a few people started playing foosball.  I am not sure who I can credit for the idea of creating a  bracket system tournament, but I am pretty sure it is my dad.  He became the Commissioner of Foosball and has kept records of who has won over the years.  Partners are paired up by a random drawing and each year one person from the winning team gets to take home the coveted Toilet Bowl Trophy.  Every year the reigning Champs must re-paint the trophy for the new winners.  This trophy has 23 layers of paint and history! See recaps of Foosball 2006    2008   2009

Here is 2010 Trophy:

Here are some photos of this year's action.  At the very end I have a video of the Championship game.  Proof that things can get a little crazy and wild when you have a Toilet Bowl Trophy at stake!

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

We start them young in the Sauer family! Players are eligible once they are tall enough to see over the table.  Bennett has a few years yet!

   

My aunt Mary who is NO DOUBT the most enthusiastic player in the family (see video at bottom) Watch out when the sweat band comes on! LOL

 


 

Look at this pout!

More Foosball Fun Next Year!

Pizza Time!

My dad's birthday was on Dec 30th and if you have been reading this blog over the years, you may remember that my dad has a very unique and special (almost famous) birthday.  Every year we celebrate together (usually more than once!) and we usually have pizza.  This year we met at Davanni's Pizza (after my bros took our dad to see Avatar earlier in the afternoon) for a quick dinner (review to come soon).  I had just gotten my new camera so I brought it with to test it out.

My niece Bianca

 

My nephew Bennett.  I know this isn't the greatest picture (sorry Michelle!) but I just LOVE that with the SLR only part of the photo is in focus with a blurred background.  Kick ass!!! This is with the 18-55mm kit lens, using flash. 

 

And there ya have it, my first pics with my new camera :)

Christmas Eve Fondue with the Fam

Christmas Eve fondue is one of my family's favorite traditions....

This is our set-up

 

Marinated Meats (and its hard not to notice all the other traditional fryer-foods like mozzarella sticks, tater tots, jalapeno poppers, etc that my brothers have incorporated into the dinner over the years)

 

Spear meats with fondue fork and place in hot oil! (The kids sit at a separate table and it will be a few years yet before they are able to fondue their own foods)

 

The process is lengthy and the kids were impatient waiting for the adults to finish so they could open presents! Here are a few other photos from the night

 

 



The kids had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed all the gifts they got.  We got the kids each two sets of nice warm, soft Carter's PJs and I think they really liked them... they wore them home that night :)

 

They even enjoyed Chocolate fondue in their Pjs!

 

PS I wasn't sure if our Christmas Eve get together was even going to happen this year since local meteorologists were predicting the "Storm of the Century" with 30 inches or so to fall over Christmas.  We ended up getting only 8" and the roads were fairly clear and drivable (although slippery)on Christmas Eve but still bad on Christmas Day.  I hope weather didn't postpone Christmas for others, I know weather was bad all over this year!

Home for the Holidays

Last Sunday I went to a holiday party at my aunt Carol's house.  Her daughter Andrea (my cousin) graduated from college this past year and moved to Tucson, AZ to work as an RN at University Medical Center.  Andrea will be in AZ working over the Holidays but was only able to come back to MN for a short time last weekend, so her mom hosted a party with some family and a few friends.

 

Me, Michelle, Aunt Carol, my mom.  Boo that this photo is blurry!! I hate it when that happens :( 

 

My nieces were parked at this chocolate fountain 98% of the time.  Bianca ate about a million mini marshmallows!

Annika was more into the chocolate :)  (photo courtesy of Carol)

My aunt's house was festively decorated

 

Carol has a huge santa collection, here are just a few (I took a photo of some of her  Santa's a few years ago when I was staying with the kids)

Gotta love the Elvis ornament!

It was nice to see Andrea for a short while and always nice to spend time with family :)

Pre-Thanksgiving Family Dinner

Last weekend my family got together for dinner at my parents' house since we would not all be together on Thanksgiving this year.  We had a grilled ham, roasted red potatoes with butter, dill and parmesan (my favorite), salad and dinner rolls, with pumpkin cheesecake made by Michelle for dessert.  My dad let me borrow his camera again for

Here is a pic of Michelle, Amanda and me.  I always wanted sisters and they're the closet thing I'll ever get :) We will all really miss Amanda when she moves out of state around Christmas.  Her job is putting her on a new assignment for the next two years.  I hope that time goes fast.

 

Bennett and Bianca both got their hair cut earlier that day and were looking pretty cute trying on Grandma's mardi gras beads

 

 

That's all I got!

Birthday Brunch for My Mamacita......

This past Sunday the whole family met up at Running Aces Harness Park for brunch to help my mom celebrate her birthday.  Here it is 3 days later and I am still full from all the food I ate! Just kidding, but I really was full for at least 24 hrs afterward!

It was a semi-nice November day, nice enough for Jeffrey to show up in his flip-flops.  I have many photos of Jeff "posing" like this one, someday soon I will have to devote a post strictly to these photos ;)

 

A few photos from brunch:

 

 

 

 

These are the last photos I took before returning my dad's camera back to him.  (so sad to be without again)

Glad you had a nice birthday mom and I hope you're having fun in AZ!

The Sweetest Kiss.....

My niece Bianca kissing Grandpa, taken at Jeff's house last Sunday.

 

So cute, I had to share!

Farvapalooza.....

A few weeks ago the Minnesota Vikings played the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. This rivalry has always been a BFD, but never more so than now, with ex-packer star Brett Favre playing quarterback for the Vikes!!

In honor of this big game, my brother Jeff decided  to a throw a football party termed "Farvapalooza".  (He loves to name his parties...remember Porkapalooza from last summer?) What a hit both the game and party were! Jeff made 28 lbs of pork shoulder, which he smoked and then pulled to make sandwiches.  Great stuff!  There were around 30 people at the party and every last bite of the pork disappeared before the end of the evening!

One of the coolest new things that Jeff has bought this past summer (and this boy loves toys and gadgets!) is an outdoor movie theater.  Giant Blow-up screen, hi-def mounted projector (removable) and mounted outdoor speakers!  This photo was taken before it got dark out, so you can't see the images on the screen as clearly, but you can see the giant screen itself.

 

Here is a better view of the screen when it started to get dark out.  Gotta love how the broadcasters always use Madden Football game to do their pre-game predictions, etc!

My dad and his brother Joe also showed up for the football party

You like my new purple hat? I got it in Duluth on my trip to the North Shore, thought it would be good to wear on Viking game days!

 

And apparently this hat makes me look younger because a few of Jeff's friends (pictured below) mistakenly thought I was Jeff's YOUNGER sister!! That made me feel great because I am actually 4 years older than Jeff! They are now my new best friends! lol.  I thought they were so cute, she is a Vikings fan and he is a Packers fan.  They wore their respective jerseys and also brought along their Vikings/Packers reversible blanket!!

 

Jeff was jealous of my cool new hat and decided to steal it from me for a minute.... (notice he is wearing Twins gear instead of Vikings??!! The following day was the Twins best game of the year!)  Another classic Jeff pose.....

Jeff's parties are always a good time and the best news is that the Vikings beat the snot out of the Packers to bring them 4-0 and we have won the past two games since.

Vikings are now 6-0 baby!!!

Birthday Shindig.....

On Friday night my brother Brian threw a party at their house for Michelle's 30th birthday.  It was fun but pretty relaxed.  Anyone who knows Michelle knows that she loves wine (especially red) and it seems just about everyone brought a bottle of something or another!

Here are a few other photos from the night....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you had a great birthday, Michelle!!

Little Readers....

My parents had a little brunch this past Sunday and I got to spend a little bit of time with my nieces.  It is amazing to me how smart they are and how quickly they catch on to things.  They are smarter every time I see them!

The girls had fun reading their books and they looked so cute while doing so!

 

That's all for now.... I just wanted to brag for a minute about how cute and smart they are ;)

The Long Forgotten Colorado Post #2

I am just home from another out-of-town adventure but I can't post about that until I finish blogging about my trip to Colorado two months ago.  By now you have probably read about the first half of my Colorado trip (back in early August!) so I better get on the horn and tell you about the 2nd half of our trip.....

After staying two nights in the Westminster/Boulder area, my immediate family drove two hours up into the Rocky Mountains to stay at the vacation home of a friend-of-the-family.  It was an awesome place, big enough for all of us to sleep comfortably (and then some!).

 

Our mountain cabin was at 10,000+ altitude.  It took some time adjusting to the altitude and several of us (myself included) got dizzy and nauseous.  It was about 5 minutes after we arrived at the cabin that I fatally dropped my camera.  No wonder I felt so sick! The combo of the altitude and breaking my baby was enough to really do a number on me, but I am a trooper and toughed it out.  That night we kind of took it easy and just hung out at the cabin and grilled steaks for dinner.  A friend of my brother Jeff lives in Denver and came up to hang out with us Sunday night too.  The group of us enjoyed some wine and a beautiful night out in the hot tub after the kids went to bed.  I am told that everyone who has a home in the mountains up there has a hot tub and I can see why.  Such a cool way to enjoy the evening.....

 

When we got up on Monday morning my mom made omelets for everyone (and she makes the best omelets!) then all of the adults (with the exception of my mom who stayed back to babysit Annika, Bianca and Bennett) went to Hoosier's Pass to do some mountain hiking.  It was at this place that I did my Colorado video blog.

It is so incredibly beautiful and peaceful in the mountains.  You have to experience it for yourself to truly understand the feeling.  Doesn't this look like a post card?  We hiked for a couple of hours up into the mountains.

 

 

A few with us in them....

 

After hiking for a few hours we went back to the cabin and had sandwiches for lunch.  Later Monday afternoon Jeff, his friend Bill, Amanda, and I all drove into Breckenridge while the rest of the group stayed at the cabin with the napping kids.  We had ice cream and cookies from Clint's Bakery and took advantage of the free wi-fi for a few hours. 

The rest of the group met us a few hours later but unfortunately it had started to rain in Breckenridge, so walking through town was not very appealing.  We decided to change our plans from having pizza in town to heading back to the cabin to make fajitas for dinner instead. I love fajitas  and Jeff makes really good ones ;) Later that night we sat in the hot tub again for awhile and then played cards.

Tuesday morning Jeff and Amanda talked me into going hiking with them again that day.  We went back to Hoosier's pass but hiked up the opposite side of the mountain.  Pretty high up there in the Continental Divide!

Jeff took this panoramic shot.  Click on it to make it bigger, it is quite spectacular!

 

Another panoramic shot

Other beautiful shots

We kept seeing these various piles of rocks along the mountain path....

 

Had fun making optical illusions with the distant mountain peaks....

 

A few posed pics....

 

 

After our hike we went back to the cabin, met the others and then we all drove into a nearby town for a picnic.  They had this cute but tiny old church

 

After the picnic we went back to the cabin where we played horseshoes for a few hours while the kids took naps.  We had a lot of fun!

  

 

Once the kids were up we all drove into Breckenridge since the weather was better than the previous day.  Breckenridge is a cute town. 

We had wanted to ride the gondola but it was closed that day.  Good thing we found other ways to amuse ourselves! We saw a license plate that read "BigButt" so Amanda and I posed by it...

 

The kids had fun playing at the little park in Breckenridge (photos by Michelle Sauer)

 

We walked around for a few hours and then ate dinner at Fatty's Pizzeria.

We enjoyed a mellow evening back at the cabin, watching movies and hanging out.  We got up early the next day, had breakfast, packed and cleaned up and then headed out of town.  A couple of family photos at the cabin before we left....

 

It was a very cool trip and I am thankful that my family helped make it possible for me to be there.  This was our first family trip in over 16 years, which made it even more special. Thanks for everything, guys!

The Long Forgotten Colorado Post #1

It was almost two months ago that I went to Colorado with my family for my cousin Katie's anniversary party and I almost forgot to blog about it!! (I may have forgotten to blog about it but  I did post the slideshows my dad created. )  Quick refresher on my trip:  I went to Colorado immediately after working in Austin, TX for three weeks.  The first night in Colorado was spent enjoying happy hour at Que Bueno and going out with Jeff, Heidi and Tony.  The second day we went to a nice picnic with other family and out-of-towners  and then took a walk down Pearl Street in Boulder Colorado. So now I'll continue where I left off...  

After shopping on Pearl Street for an hour or so, we all went back to our hotel to relax and get ready for the upcoming anniversary party.  The party was a dessert reception so a bunch of out family went and had an early dinner on the rooftop patio at the Lazy Dog before heading to the party.  This place had great food, I did a  mini- review for the Twin Cities Restaurant Blog.

After dinner we headed to a Contemporary museum in Boulder for the anniversary party, which was a dessert reception.  Katie and EZ. got married on August 1, 2008 and decided to wait until this year to have a reception for their first anniversary. 

Lots of yummy treats in little nooks and crannies around the space....

My mom and dad....

Michelle and Brian ...

A shot with a few of the girl cousins.....

Jeff and Amanda (there are at least two hundred pics of these two while in Colorado!)

After the party ended, several of us young, cool cousins all went out to Pearl Street.  We had a lot of fun! This was the first time that this particular group of cousins had ever gone out together before and we were all in Colorado celebrating, so it was even more cool.  It reminded me of the fun times Katie and I used to have when we were roommates at SCSU where we both did our undergrads.  It would've been great if Brian and Michelle could've joined us but they had to take the kids back to the hotel for bed. 

Beautiful and Educated Sauer girls ~ Heidi (P.A.), Me (M.A.) and Katie (PhD)-

Cousin Stevie and Jeff

We took cabs back to the hotel at the end of the evening and got a few hours of sleep before going out to breakfast at Perkins and then driving into the Mountains for Part 2 of our Colorado vacation.  Stay tuned for the next installment of my Colorado trip coming soon ;)

Early Fall Colors!

Back in August I started noticing that the trees had already started turning colors here.  Doesn't this seem too soon? I can't remember another year when they started changing so early! This maple tree next door to my parents' house is already at its peak.

My parents had us all up this past Sunday for boating and a barbeque.  This was the first time I had been up to their house all summer since Father's Day.  Of course I had to take some photos of my nieces and nephew before returning my dad's camera back to him.....

For as long as she has been around, Miss Bianca LOVES to wear sunglasses.  Little stinker knows she is adorable! (And doesn't her mama look beautiful in this pic too?)

Bennett was totally out of his element on the boat.  Unlike his usual busy self, he just sat there immobile, chilling on the boat!

This "I don't know what to do" look on his face is priceless!

Bennett DID help grandpa drive the boat for awhile

and so did Beebs

Me and Jeff

I was teasing Jeff about his baby "mustache" and made him pose for a close-up.  What a funny guy, this king of the Funny Video Search.  (Have you checked it out yet?) He is also "pretty much the only guy in the entire world who knows how to ______" (Only Jeff can fill in that blank with the special technological things he is able to do! LOL) PS Does teasing your baby brother ever get old????!!!

After a delicious meal of smoked turkey, twice baked potatoes, corn on the cob, salad and grandma's homemade apple pie, we took the girls down to the boat to do some fishing.

How cute are they?

Annika with one of her fish....

My grandparents were up for dinner as well and I guess I forgot to take pictures with them.  Hopefully I will see them again before they head home to AZ in a few weeks.

It was a great day at the lake, I hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend also!

Great MN Get Together

Last weekend was a lot of fun while having family in town visiting from Chicago.  It has kind of been a tradition for them to come to MN at the end of the summer and for us all to go out to the State Fair, so that's what we did last Friday night.  I still had my dad's camera so I was able to take some photos.

My favorite thing about the Fair is the Food! Isn't it for everyone!?? LOL.  IMO (in my opinion) it is always best to share food at the Fair, that way you can try small bites of a lot of different things.  This time at the Fair I sampled bites of:

• Fried Ravioli
• Cheese Curds
• Fried Green Tomatoes & Corn Fritters with honey butter
• Bacon-wrapped turkey tenderloin
  
• Italian Gelato
• Scotch Egg
• Roasted Corn
  
• London Broil
• Corn Dog
• Sweet Martha's Cookies

My favorite food?  Cheese curds, of course!!

 

We walked around a lot and I took some random photos here and there

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the size of this Oinker.....

 

It was a lot of fun and I'm glad most of the family could make it up this year! (D & K, wish you could've come too!)

Family Vacation in Colorado

Its been quite the summer of traveling for me, as I am sure you have noticed.  After spending three weeks in Austin, TX for a project I was hired to work on, I flew back home for approx. 12 hrs before hopping on another plane headed to Denver for my cousin Katie's wedding anniversary party/family vacation.  This was the first family vacation I had been able to go on since my 16th birthday (many, many moons ago!) and I am glad I was able to go.

For the first few days we stayed at the Westin in Westminster (a far cry from my hotel in Austin!), which is between Denver and Boulder.  Between all of us we took a ton of photos, but here are some of my favorites from the hotel area....

 

 

 

 We walked around and explored the area which included a Happy Hour stop at Que Bueno for margaritas and appetizers.

 

Some of my other aunts, uncles and cousins on the Sauer side of the family also came to Colorado for Katie's party and some of them even stayed at the Westin.

Later that evening Jeff and I wandered over to Bar Louie with our cousin Heidi and her boyfriend Tony.  There was a 20-year HS reunion going on, it was great hearing all the songs that I listened to in 6th grade! LOL

Congrats & Adios, Andrea!

One of my cousins who just graduated from college is starting a new adventure in her life.  She has accepted a position as a nurse in Tucson, AZ and is moving out there sometime this week.  To celebrate her graduation and to wish her well, her mom (my mom's sister Carol) threw her a party/pig roast.  Pictures from the celebration:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graduation Parties Galore!

I have mentioned many times that I have a big family on both my mom and dad's sides.  Nearly 40 first cousins, many whom are married with kids now!  With that many cousins there is bound to be a graduation here and there, right? Guess how many cousins I had graduate this year?  5 from HS and two from College.  Wow!

Last weekend I attended a couple of the graduation parties. Here are the photos from Natalie's party:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Father's Day 2009

Spent Father's Day with my family up at my parents' house.  We had been planning to do some boating but it was very overcast and slightly windy, but we did get down to the marina for a little while.  The girls were trying to catch minnows in the little net my dad bought them for that purpose.

I don't think they caught many minnows but Annika was quite pleased with herself that she caught a "butterfly" in Grandma's garden (Made of wire! lol)

 Bennett trying to keep up with his big sis... this kid is always on the move and boy does he move quick!

Did you notice Bennett's adorable curls? When he would stop for a split second I had to get his pic no matter who had him! (Lots of Bennett pics today)

 

 

I have said it before, but my niece Bianca is the funniest little kid! She is talking so good and she has the cutest little voice and how she says things.  She is also the queen of funny faces. Here I caught a genuine smile and I just love it

For dinner we had Smoked Ham, cheesy hashbrowns, grilled veggies, baked beans, corn and dinner rolls.  Don't these grilled veggies look amazing? They were!

My Gram & Gramp also came to dinner.  The past year since their 60th Anniversary party went so dang fast! They celebrate their 61st in less than 2 weeks.

I hope everyone had a lovely Father's Day too!

Out on the lake...Finally!

This past Sunday my parents had us all up for a day of boating and dinner.  This was the first time I had been out on the lake all year!  It was a very windy day so the boating portion was very short-lived, although we hung out at the dock/marina for a few hours to do a little fishing.  The community marina where my parents live is the hottest fishing spot on Lake Chisago.  Check out all of the anglers we could see very close to us:

This was our biggest catch of the day, a 3 lb large-mouth bass

My nieces did some fishing with their daddy (my brother Brian) and Grandpa

Grandpa and Bianca

Bianca and Brian

Annika and the fish she caught

 

Oh, and we saw a couple of loons out on the lake very close to the boat (wish you could see how red their eyes are but for some reason you can't tell in this photo)

 

My weekends are going to be very busy this summer, so I hope I have a chance to get back on the lake soon!

Porkapalooza 2009

I ate so much this weekend that I think I might just be permanently full.
Uggg!
My brother Jeff threw his 3rd Annual Birthday BBQ (remember his 1st BBQ or 2nd BBQ? Last year during his bbq a deadly tornado touched down in Hugo, the city I live in).  This year the feast was appropriately nicknamed Porkapalooza with the main features being Ribs and Pulled Pork sandwiches.  Jeff got a new smoker to do them up just right....

Ribs anyone?

There was enough meat by itself to feed a small army, and in addition to that, I would say 95% of the guests brought a side dish, appetizer or dessert to share.  The amount of food was incredible!! The 10 ft island in Jeff's kitchen was packed full.  Here is what was left after 40 or so people ate:

Jeff had a nice number of both friends and family at the party, here are some of the family pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the awesome BBQ Jeff! Looking forwward to more in the future!

36 Years Ago.....

I wanted to quickly say Happy Anniversary to my parents who celebrated 36 years of marriage today.  I don't think they read this blog but I wanted to recognize this special date anyway :)
Here are my parents on their wedding day (5-19-73)
 

 

Mom and Dad,

I love you! Thanks for always loving and being so good to each other :)

Mother's Day 2009

And I now resume to my normal blogging!!
(Thanks for hanging with me through the many posts of photos from the Photo Hunt!)

Mother's Day was a very nice day, honoring the wonderful women who raised us.  I started this wonderful day with my in-laws at a Japanese restaurant.  Yay for sushi! (I can't believe I did not take any pictures at the restaurant so I will have to just throw in this gorgeous photo of sushi from my archives :)

 

Later in the afternoon we went up to my parents' house for dinner and some fishing.

The lake is so relaxing!

 

The girls did a little fishing with Grandpa and Daddy.  (Annika is obsessed with nightcrawlers and thinks they're fun to play with.  Gross! Michelle has more pics of the kids on her blog)

Me and my momma

 

The Sauer girls

 

Michelle and Bennett

 

Brian, Michelle and the kids (Bianca, Bennett and Annika)

 

I hope all of you had a nice Mother's Day too!

My Little Bro's Big 3-0

Saturday was a special day, as my little brother Brian turned 30!!
He got a nice BBQ smoker for his birthday and had some friends and family over to enjoy some food and help celebrate this milestone. 

 

 

  

We had turkey, beef brisket, sausages, ribs and I also brought over some bacon-wrapped turkey tenderloin skewers and steak. It was like an awesome meat buffet! ( Did I mention that my gas grill died on Friday night right before I was about to throw the meat on the grill? I brought everything over to Brian's on Saturday to cook there instead).

 

I love Brian & Michelle's backyard- it's almost like being in the wilderness!

It was a nice time and I am glad Brian had a great birthday!

A Hippity Hoppity Easter

It was a pretty nice day on Easter this year (in fact we've had about 7-8 days straight of sunny weather!).  Spent some time with the in-laws for a nice early dinner before heading over to my uncle's house later in the afternoon.  It was nice to see some of my cousins I haven't seen in awhile (and their kids!) and also my nieces and nephew. 
My dad and Annika

The kids had a blast playing on the giant trampoline. 

 

Bianca's hair was going wild with static electricity!!! Poor kid bonked her head last week and had to get a bunch of stitches.
 
One of my cousins has identical twin boys (4 years old).  DOUBLE TROUBLE, no doubt!

Just look at these little turkeys trying to get a nice family photo! lol

My cousin Nick turned 21 on Easter Day.  Ahh, to be young again!

Jeff and Amanda

Brian and Michelle

 

My mom and dad

Brian and Bennett

Some of my aunts, uncles and cousins

(Ooops-  no postable pics of me this year )

And that was our lovely 2009 Easter celebration  ;)

Birthday Party for Bennett

It was a beautiful day yesterday (and today is even better!) for Bennett's birthday party.  I was only able to attend for a little while, but I was actively taking photos the entire time ;)
The Birthday Boy with his new ball

Michelle and Bennett
Brian and Annika

My mom and Bianca- I was going to crop this until I noticed Annika in the background on the left and the reflection of Michelle and Bennett in the microwave on the right!

 

Jeff and Amanda

 

Me and my mama

Erin and Stew

My dad and Bennett

 

Michelle's grandpa and Tucker

Rick (Michelle's dad) and Annika (do you like her Tinkerbell wings and costume?! she was a lucky girl to get this gift from somebody on her brother's bday!)

Jodi (Michelle's mom) and Bennett

 

I wasn't able to stay for dinner or cake, so hopefully Michelle will be posting some of those photos on her blog later ;)

Fajita Night with the Fam :)

Had dinner at my parents' house last night to see them one last time before they head to Florida for the next several weeks.  They'll be gone next week during my actual birthday so we celebrated a little early.... Fajitas in my honor.  My camera is finally working again after buying a brand-new battery so we got a few photos (my dad took most of them with my camera).
Me with my nieces, Annika and Bianca
Bianca in my face saying "CHEESE".  Love it!! So funny

Me with Michelle and Bennett
Brian and Bennett
After our lovely fajita dinner we had a German chocolate cake- the girls helped me blow out the candles
Now if only I'd be able to get away from work so that I could spend my actual birthday with them in Florida one of these years ;)

Bianca's Birthday Bash

Brian and Michelle threw a party for Bianca's birthday this past Sunday.  They had family, friends and neighbors so it was a semi-big gathering.  Lots of little kids :)

I have to say, Bianca is one of my favorite kids ever.  Seriously! She is so cute and has such spunk and personality.  The faces she makes have always cracked me up and now that she is talking, she is pretty charming ;)
Knowing that my brother and Michelle are taking the kids to Florida in a few weeks, I got the girls each a pair of cool shades.  I also got Bianca some Snow White dress up shoes and a My Little Pony.  She loved those glasses!

One of the things I love about Beebs is that she is a girl after my own heart: she loves to eat and she isn't too picky! We had a variety of delicious dips and salsas and then a Mexican buffet for dinner.  Bianca wasn't sure how to eat the burrito when it was rolled up so she just unwrapped it and ate it with her fork.  lol
Bianca loves cake probably as much as her mother.  (Cake is Michelle's #1 food in case you didn't know! lol).  This look on her face cracks me up!!!!! Who knows what she is thinking!!??
Look how big Bennett is getting, he is only about six weeks shy of turning one.  Time flies!

Michelle has a cool slideshow on her blog if you want to see more pics!

Taking it back to the OLD school......

My dad recently found this old-time photo that our family had taken about 20 years ago at the old Paul Bunyan Land in Brainerd, MN (which sadly has closed), so he scanned it and sent it to me and my little brothers.
Since I have been too busy to blog anything else lately, I thought I would share :)

Don't we look tough and intimidating!!??? LOL

Vikings & Foosball- Better luck next year!

I know its already old news, but despite the fact that I (along with my niece Bianca below) and thousands of other Vikes fans got all decked out in Purple Pride this past Sunday for the first round of the NFL playoffs, the $%&$*()&* Vikings lost to the Eagles.  Not really a surprise since they are so good at letting us down year after stinking year, but it is nice to have hope sometimes.  Better luck next year!

Sunday was also the 22nd Annual Sauer Family Foosball Tournament.  We have the tourney every year at the celebration of my dad, aunt and uncle's Famous Birthday. 
Guess who I was randomly paired with this year? Michelle! And we did NOT make it to the championship round like I did last year.  Oh no we didn't.  In fact, our team was shut out this year :(

Better luck next year!
This is the winning team in action.  My cousin Collin is really good, he has won the trophy 6 times now!!

The prize is the coveted Toilet Bowl Trophy, which the winner proudly displays in their home for the year of their Championship.  Each year it is repainted  by the previous year's winners.  Here is the 2009 design:

It was a fun time and I think it is so cool that our family has such a unique tradition!

Family Christmas.....

Christmas was a busy day, many places to be a people to see!
One of my stops was the Sauer Family Christmas at my aunt & uncle's house (which happened to be just two miles from my house!)
Me and many of my girl cousins

Me with my nieces

Me with my cousin Katie

And I attempted to take a family photo for Brian & Michelle (the girls were obviously being stinkers!)

Bianca is such a funny girl!

Uncle Jeff and Bennett

Christmas Eve.....

I went up to my parent's house on Christmas Eve for our traditional Fondue dinner.  Dinner was great but what was the most fun about Christmas this year was watching the kids enjoy it.  This was my nephew Bennett's first Christmas :)

Jeff got the girls each a cool play-tent and spent the time setting them up.  Annika's was a Princess Castle and Bianca's was a Garden Tent (or something like that)

Bianca and Grandma sitting in her tent
This one cracks me up....Bennett was ticked about posing for this pic with uncle Jeff!

 

 

 

My brothers chipped in and bought me a new external HD for Christmas.  500GB. Score!  I have since backed everything up from my computer and encourage you all to do the same.  Better safe than sorry! 

Thanksgiving......

Spent Thanksgiving Day in St Cloud with my dad's side of the family (well a 1/3 of them anyway- we have a HUGE family!)

Michelle and I enjoying wine while overlooking the action in the kitchen.....


Brian and Bennett

Jeff and Amanda

My mom and Annika

Heidi and I

The food I ate.....

One of our family traditions is to take a walk around the block after dinner.  Work off some of the calories in time for dessert! This was an apple crumb pie, unbelievably delish!

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday!

Dinner for mom's bday

Had dinner up at my parents' house on Saturday night to celebrate my mom's bday.  Some photos from the night:

Sunday Dinner with the Fam (and my NEW senior pictures!)

My parents had us all up on Sunday night for one of our monthly dinners (and to recognize Michelle's birthday which is tomorrow!)

Can you believe Bennett is 7 months old already???

It was unseasonably warm that day (almost 80') and the colors on the trees were sooooo beautiful!!  I love this little bench overlooking the lake

Michelle and I were practicing taking photos (aka goofing around) and she took some casual portraits of me- Senior Picture Style!!!!  I thought about it and I have been out of school for so long, that I could've started at Kindergarten and made it all the way up to Senior Year for a second time by now!! LOL

 

Thanks, Michelle...these are great!

Vikings Good-Luck Charms :)

We had family brunch at my parents' house this past Sunday just before the Vikings game and Annika, Bianca and Bennett were all dressed up in Vikings gear. (Bennett was the only one who would cooperate for this photo!) The Vikings actually pulled it off and won their first game this year!

More pictures from brunch:

Labor Day at the Lake....

Some photos from Sunday up at my parents' house.....

Michelle and Bianca

Patio/garden in the back of the house (overlooking the lake)

Salad that my Gram made with many bright and colorful fruits....

 

Look who turned 3 today!

My niece,  Annika Leigh!

 I can hardly believe how fast the time went! Some of you may remember how excited I was on the day she was born because that is the day I became an Auntie.  My SIL Michelle also details an account of Annika's birth on her blog today.

Every year I have made a collage for Annika, celebrating the past year of her life.  First year, second year, and now her third year......

Brian and Michelle had a party for Annika at their house yesterday and the girls had a great time and enjoyed their new gifts. (It is Bianca's half-birthday today, they are exactly 18 months apart)

Annika and her daddy

The girls both got baby dolls, which they loved so much!

 Bianca is totally in love with her new Elmo

Me with Bennett

Oh, he makes the cutest smiles!

A huge thanks goes out to my dad for letting me borrow his awesome camera! Its been killing me not to have my own for all the random Kodak Moments.

The 60th was a hit!

Words almost can't explain the emotions of having everyone together to celebrate my Gram & Gramps 60th Anniversary.  My camera broke again but I was able to get some pictures from my dad and also from  my cousin Dan....

 

My Gram and Gramp with 7 of their children..... (Don't you hate it when there are a million papparazzi around so no one knows where to look??!!

My Gram and Gramp with 18 of their grandchildren (I am #1).....

Me with my Aunt/Godmother Patti

Cousins Dave, Andrea and Cassie....

Tyler, Segen, Brian and Bennett

Part of the Tucson crew... (Michael, Matt, Patti & Rudy)

My cousin Casey and his girlfriend...

Aunt Connie and cousin Genevieve

My mom and Annika....

We socialized for a couple of hours before dinner and then after a yummy dinner we had our "entertainment" portion of the program, with my brother Jeff as the MC.  He gave a great speech (I will replace this shaky, crappy-quality video with the hi-def version after I get it from my dad)

The speech is kind of a tearjerker toward the end and if that wasn't enough sentimentality, next came my 49-minute-long video which included the interview/slideshow that I worked on all of last week (and months before that, scanning photos!). Definitely a tear-jerker! Everyone loved it and they definitely appreciated that I made them all copies of the DVD to keep.
Other than being a very hot, muggy day, the party was a hit and I can't imagine not being there to spend the special day with all of my mom's side of the family :)

Aboard the Andiamo.....

On Saturday night we met up with a few of my cousins, aunts and uncles for a dinner cruise on The Andiamo Riverboat on the St Croix River.  It was pretty hot out!

These are my a couple of my cousins from Tucson, Dan and Michael...

The cruise included a buffet dinner (decent, but nothing special) and a jazz trio for entertainment.  Here is a pictoral run-down of the evening:

My aunts Connie (my mom's sister) and Chris....

Jazz trio playing "La Bamba"

 

Michael and Bennett (how cute is he in that hat?!)

 

Baby Bonks trying to be a papparazzi (like the rest of the fam!)

 

Me and Tyler

Watching the band....

 

The above picture cracks me up.....my dad is always recording something!! LOL  He is making good use of his new HDD camcorder!  Here he was recording the jazz band's original impromptu  song that they made up in honor of my grandparent's 60th anniversary.  Its called "Lenorby" because my grandparent's names are Lenore and Norby.  It was pretty cute! When I can get the footage from my dad I am going to upload it.

After the boat cruise was over, Brian and Michelle had most of the group back to their place where we enjoyed a fire (in their outdoor fireplace that is so totally cute!)  Later when there were just a few of us left, we rocked out on the Rockband game.  I haven't played a single video game in the past 20 years until last night and I enjoyed it! Even though I am the self-proclaimed worst-singer-in-the-world, I enjoyed the singing part the most!!!

4th of July Party at the Lake

What a beautiful 4th of July we had this year!
The weather was great and I got to see many of my aunts, uncles and cousins.  We have a lot of papparazzi in our family, so the amount of pictures I took were just a sampling....

 

Croquet anyone?? (Insert British accent!)

Here is Bennett (almost 4 mos.) with his 2nd cousin Grace (6 weeks)

 

Looking forward to seeing more of my family this weekend!

Happy 80th Birthday, Gram!!

Here is my Gram when she was a young woman..... (Yes, my mom looks a lot like her!)

Since I scanned so many photos of my grandparents for their upcoming anniversary, thought I'd share a few of them over the years....

 

 

 

My Newly-Graduated Cousins!!

I have two beautiful young cousins who graduated this year.  (Katie on my dad's side and Cassie on my mom's side). I missed Katie's graduation party last weekend because I was out of town, so I stole this photo of her and her brother Mike from her Facebook!
Congrats Katie!

Cassie also graduated this year. 
Cassie and Katie have never met, as they are not related, but they are both going to the same University this fall! I hope they meet and get to know each other :)
Of course her graduation party last night was a good opportunity of me to take some photos of the family. 
Here is Cass with Gramp & Gramp

Cassie's parents, Bob (my mom's younger brother) and Chris...

Me and my aunt Carol (my mom's youngest sister)....

My parents with Annika and Bennett (I think this one is so cute!)

Carol with two of her daughters and a cute little weiner dog!

I can't wait until next weekend when everyone is in town for Gram & Gramp's 60th anniversary!!! I am so excited to see everyone, especially all of my Arizona and Chicago family!!!

Memorial Day BBQ....

So while the tornado was touching down near my house, I was having a nice time over at Jeff's house.  He had another BBQ party this weekend....a much larger crowd of both family and friends. 
Jeff has become quite the grill master....


The day was super hot and muggy prior to the storms.....check out the ultra curls on Ms. A....

Bianca with her mama...

Wine?

Any wine drinkers out there?
I am not much of a drinker (however margaritas are my weakness).  My family however, loves to drink wine.  As do many of my girlfriends.  I am starting to learn just a little about wine, but I am pretty much ignorant about the differences (other than color!).  I think I prefer the sweeter stuff....
Anyway, I went out with my mom, dad, gram and gramp a few nights ago to a fabulous Italian restaurant called Bella.  I am writing a review and will post it when done. They have great happy-hour-wine-specials.
Here we are enjoying our wine!

I am calling out all the winos.....what is your favorite wine???

Birthday BBQ....

Jeff had the fam over to his house on Sunday for a birthday BBQ.  It was a nice day, yet kind of cool and breezy.  We hung out in his back yard (and also watched the last half of the Celtics vs Cavs game 7).  Photos....
The birthday boy and his scotch. (YUCK.  My dad, gramps and Jeff all drink this nasty crap on the rocks with a twist of lemon)

Can you believe how big Bennett is getting?

Michelle relaxing with her wine ;)

Me with Gram and Gramp .  A HUGE thank you to Jessica for editing this picture and fixing the awful shadow on my face!

And Ms. Bianca.  This kid is hilarious!!! She seriously makes the cutest, funniest faces you'll ever see, I need to video her because I couldn't capture them all otherwise! Annika is pretty dramatic as well :)

Glad you had a nice birthday, Jeff!

35 Years strong!

Happy 35th Anniversary to my parents today!

Party for Bennett's Baptism :)

My nephew was baptized yesterday :)

I took a ton of photos at the church, but used Brian and Michelle's camera, so hopefully Michelle will post photos on her blog when she gets around to it.... she is finding life with three kids taking up all of her time and being the top priority, so we may not see her posting as much on her blog.

I did however, take quite a few pictures at the after-party.....

Can you believe how big Bennett is getting? He is two months old today!

My Gram and Gramp just came back from AZ (They have a summer home here in MN).  This was their first time meeting Bennett.  You would never know from this picture that just a few hours prior, my Gram was at the funeral of her sister :(

Me and Brian....

Molly and Michelle

Ms. Bianca  and then Annika with Erin and Stew

Sunday Brunch.....

My parents had all of us up yesterday for Sunday brunch.  I swear, my mom makes the best omelets! Its hard to believe you can eat yummy low-carb meals like that everyday and lose weight (as long as you don't eat too many other carbs throughout the day, that is).
Anyway, I tried to get a few pictures of the kids, but they like to move around way too much for Auntie Kristi to get the best photos.
Here is Annika wearing one of Grandma's Mardi Gras masks (she has had these since we were kids!) Can you see Annka's pretty curly red hair behind the feathers?!

Annika's favorite place is sitting with Grandma

And Bianca.  This girl is too funny!   Love her to death! And of course Baby Bennett.  What a big boy! He is almost 9 lbs now, just turned one month old on the 11th.  Here he is snuggled with uncle Jeff.....Jeff was wearing a Goonies t-shirt, so here is Bennett giving Sloth the peace sign! LOL

I hear the weather here in MN is supposed to warm up this week ....let's hope its true!

Easter Brunch....

This morning I went  to Brian and Michelle's house for brunch....they had both our family and Michelle's family over to celebrate Easter.  This was my first time really being able to see my new nephew, Bennett.  Oh, he is just the cutest & sweetest little guy!

We all contributed to make one huge, delicious breakfast buffet.  Holy moly, I swear I am still stuffed! Oh, and did I mention the mimosa we had starting at 10:30am? So good!

I took a ton of awesome pictures, but I want to post just this one so Michelle can post some on her blog too! (Her kids are so cute I can never resist taking a zillion pictures of them)

Me with my "little" brothers

 

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend!