December 2012

The holiday season has arrived and we are immersed in the joys and beauty of this special time of year. With Christmas upon us, we are ever so thankful for our families and friends and appreciate all of the special times in which we gather together. We celebrated Christmas with our families a little early this year and the magical moments will be forever treasured!

Today we enjoyed Tommy's Kindergarten Christmas mass at school. The spirit of the season was definitely conveyed during this precious and moving ceremony :)

Two of the most anticipated events in December involve basketball games and playing in the snow. The kids were elated to have the first big snow fall on a Sunday where the kids were able to play together, shovel and build snowmen!

Tim took Charlie and Tommy to their first Gopher basketball game of the season this month, too!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

November 2012

Happy Holidays! I truly love the holidays and all of the festivities that accompany this magical time of year. Family, friends, food, and fun are the words that best describe the weeks we are currently embracing :)

We enjoyed Thanksgiving celebrations in Northfield and in Des Moines with family members from near and far!

Happy Birthday, Tommy!

Happy Birthday to our dear Tommy! Tommy turned 6 last month and we had a grand celebration shared with cousins and family, as well as a fun party with his little Kindergarten buddies!

Halloween is always a fun holiday that the kids (and rock band dads!) thoroughly enjoy! Candy and costumes...Need I say more?!?!?!

Welcome Fall!

September was a wonderful month full of change. Charlie and Tommy started school and absolutely love learning and spending the day with friends. Andy, Luke and Ellie started a "multiples" ECFE class and have a couple different play groups during the week. We have adjusted well to our new routine and our days are fun-filled and busy. Charlie is in first grade this year and is also involved in soccer twice a week. He is a true energy machine that is speedy, tenacious, eager and always such a pleasant little fella :)

Tommy is in Kindergarten and is happy to experience the joys of school! Recess, gym, learning to read and riding the bus are some highlights of his day. He is making some good little buddies and is always excited to start his day :)

Ellie continues to sparkle as our princess every single day! She must wear a tutu and accessorize with her high heels, tiara, pink princess purse, necklaces and her two lovies and two babies always in tow! Ellie sleeps with her "entourage" and crashes hard after a long day of play!

Lukie is a charmer and loves playing with his big trucks and guys. He is a little jokester that completely adores his two older brothers!

Andy Man is a wild spirit with a heart of gold. He is speedy on his Skuut bike, loves playing with choo-choo trains and balls and is a big fan of cuddling with dad and mom!

This last picture displays the silhouettes of Charlie and Tommy playing football in the yard with dad while our little guys are biking in the driveway. A perfect illustration of the the Auge boys hard at play!

August!

Where in the world does the time go? I really cannot believe that summer is over and school begins next week. We have had a fun, action-packed summer and now it is time to get back on a schedule and the boys are ready to begin the new school year. Charlie and Tommy are especially excited to ride the bus together and spend the day with friends! This month I took the kids to Iowa to visit my family. My brother and his family from Denver were also there, along with my sister and her family from Omaha! It was a blast getting all twelve cousins together, going to the Iowa State Fair together, enjoying time at parks, in the backyard, riding on the plethera of bikes, trikes and other toys available at Grandma and Grandpa's, making smores, playing ball, washing cars, and playing games!

It has been fun seeing our extended Auge family this month, too! A family party and dinner with cousins has been the perfect way to wrap up our summer. We have continued to fill our days with park visits, zoo excursions and fun-filled evenings at Valleyfair! We have also encountered a challenge the Auge household this month. All three littles have started climbing out of their cribs during the night and during naps. I guess our babies have moved onto the next phase...Andy, Luke and Ellie are now active, healthy, independent, TODDLERS and doing just what toddlers are suppose to do. Our sports change with the seasons and we welcome soccer and football (a.k.a. - Fall)!!!

Happy Birthday, Charlie!!!

Where does the time go? It is so hard to believe that Charlie is SEVEN!! He is such a special boy and he has truly blessed our lives with his love, smiles, humor, thoughtfulness, sweetness and sportiness! Charlie's birthday was celebrated throughout the weekend with a party with his buddies at Playworks, lunch out at his favorite new restaurant with Grandma Sheila, Papa Bill and Tommy, a delightful pizza and cake party with both sets of Grandparents at our home and Charlie's last evening baseball game with his number one super fans cheering him on! This game was even more remarkable with Tim by his side for an inning, as players were able to play with a parent to mark the last game of the season!

Happy Birthday, Charlie Man! It has been a joyous July with family, friends and various celebrations. We observed the Fourth of July holiday in Northfield with Tim's family and enjoyed getting together with the extended Auge Family. Besides trying to beat the heat and stay cool, we have kept busy splashing in our pool, attending baseball games for Charlie and Tommy, playing outside, picking vegetables from our little garden, and playing with our dearest friends. Grandma and Grandpa arrived from Iowa to watch the kids while Tim and I also enjoyed an action-packed weekend. We had a blast riding through Shakopee via the Pedal Pub with friends and attended Tim's cousin's wedding the following afternoon. We shared a lot of laughs and made precious memories!

With four brothers, Ellie is sharing in their love for ball!

Tommy was also able to play an inning with Daddy during his last game, too!

Ellie and Charlie listening to Papa Bill tell stories :)

June 2012

It has been a very special month of memorable gatherings with family and friends. Charlie graduated from Kindergarten this month and we are so proud of our big guy. He thoroughly enjoyed this school year and has made some great friends! We kicked the summer off with a get-together at our home with seven of Charlie's school buddies and their families :) Charlie and Tommy have started ball for the summer and Andy, Luke and Ellie have fun watching their big brothers play the game. Charlie was born with ball in his blood and is in his glory now that the games have begun for the Green Dragon Warriors! Tommy likes t-ball this summer and is having a blast hitting the ball and running the bases with his team; Golden Rainbow Thunderfish (I just love the names 5 and 6 year olds come up with)!

Other highlights this month include trips to Valleyfair, days at the zoo, splashing in our new pool, playing with neighbors and enjoying time at the neighborhood parks.

July birthdays were celebrated in Northfield this month for Charlie and his cousin, Anthony. It was a fun weekend with the Auge family that included a graduation party, a Baptism for two cousins and the birthday party!

Grandma Sheila and Papa Bill came to visit us this month and we rented a pontoon on Prior Lake! This was the first boat ride for both of the boys and they even drove the boat!

Charlie and Tommy spent a few days in Des Moines with Grandma Sheila and Papa Bill and had a blast at the golf range, the park and the swimming pool! We also took a family vacation to Omaha to see Aunt Lori, Uncle Joe and cousins Andrew, Matthew and Zachary. Even though our stay was short, it was action-packed and we look forward to seeing them again soon!

May

It has been a special month with numerous family gatherings, a trip to Iowa for Mother's Day, Tommy's preschool graduation, Tim's birthday, Charlie starting baseball and Tommy losing his first tooth! The boys are really looking forward to a summer filled with near ball and t ball, fun-filled visits to Valleyfair, afternoons at the pool, and just time to relax and enjoy the great outdoors! This month the kids helped me plant my flowers and vegetables in our garden. There were many helping hands to dig in the dirt, water the flowers, and sprinkle and bury our seeds :)

It is always nice to get out of town and head south to Iowa for the weekend! Everyone benefits from a change of scenery and a place to play and totally relax. The kids spent a lot of time outside playing on trikes, bikes, and scooters, as well as shooting hoops and playing baseball in the yard!

We had a great time with my college friend who came to visit last weekend with her family. Our kids really had fun spending time with their buddies and we enjoyed their stay tremendously. It was nice to also get some "girl time" with those of us who were around during the holiday weekend, as well as spending a morning together at the park with the kids!

I have to post a picture of my toothless boy! He lost his FIRST tooth on Daddy's birthday while eating corn on the cob...and swallowed the tooth! No worries - the Tooth Fairy still came to our home that evening and knew exactly where to place her gift!

Andy, Luke and Ellie are at the precious age of two and I love it! They are really talking a ton and have such distinct and lovable personalities. Ellie continues to nurture her babies and is my sidekick during the day; whether we are baking, cooking, cleaning or changing diapers! She also likes to neb her babies while she is getting her nightly neb - a true caretaker.

Andy and Luke play hard and love the outdoors. Here is a photo of the boys no more than five minutes after getting buckled into their car seats after leaving a party!

Tim's birthday is a very special day for all of us. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband who is my best friend and a wonderful father to our fab five. He makes me smile and laugh every single day :) Here is a shot of Tim with a piece of his birthday DQ cake!