Carter's Wrestling Tournament - Mondovi

Carter did a nice job wrestling today at the Mondovi tournament. He is very excited to share that he took 1st place! This is a first time for Carter.

The boy he wrestled in the first round was from Eau Claire (AAE). This was a match full of excitement and surprises! The boy started crying soon into the wrestling match, and became more angry as they continued to wrestle.The boy was doing some "ultimate fighting", as Carter got kicked at and shoved in the stomach at the end of the match.

The boy was quite mad by the time they were done wrestling.

Carter ended up winning with a final score of 8-2. Carter told me that the boy did tell him he was sorry when Carter went to shake his hand after the match. I was glad to hear this.

Carter's second opponent was his good buddy, Wyatt Topper. It was kind-of funny.......when I took Carter to get weighed-in this morning, Wyatt was also getting weighed-in. He was right before Carter. When Carter saw that him and Wyatt both weighed 50 pounds, he told me......."Mom, I hope I don't have to wrestle Wyatt. He's really good!"
When the charts came out, wouldn't you know it....Carter & Wyatt are wrestling each other!

Here they are wrestling, and it was a really good match.

The match went into overtime as they were tied at 6-6.

This is a cute picture of the boys! They were smiling at each other the whole time. Carter won the match 8-6. Carter's last round was a bye.

Thanks Grandma Deb & Grandpa Ken for coming to watch Carter wrestle.

Carter with his first place trophy....

Carter and Wyatt with their trophies. Wyatt took 3rd place.

Happy Birthday, Tara!

I can now say....Happy Birthday to my "sister-in-law"! We love having you in the family!! We hope you have a wonderful day!! Love, Chad, Nicole, Carter & Bradley.

Winter Camp

I was able to experience Winter Camp for the cub scouts with Carter. With Chad having the flu, I quickly packed a bag Friday night and headed up north to Haugen, Wisconsin to Fort Rice. Here is the Fort that we stayed in. It was completely fenced in with four towers at each corner.

Friday night was stories & singing by the campfire and, of course, roasting hot dogs & marshmellows to make S'mores. The boys were all wound up Friday night, getting all the beds in place to where they wanted to sleep. All the boys and the dads slept upstairs in the bunkbeds. The moms slept downstairs and I "roomed" with Ann Oberding and another mom that I met that night, "Mini". Two other rooms were filled with moms and some of their teenage kids. Here is Logan & Carter playing around on a mattress.....

Carter wants the top bunk. Cody is trying to give Carter rabbit ears, but seems to be too far away....

Boys, flashlights, and bedtime stories....

Saturday brought us a cold, but sunny day. We went hiking and saw more of the tribal area where the boys have summer camp. Ann Oberding's oldest son was along (who is a teenager) and kindly showed the boys around the area and explained what they do during summer camp. The boys identified different trees, leaves, and foot prints in the snow (deer, cats, etc.). They also discussed weather on the hike.

Lots of sledding going on Saturday during the day. I am not sure if the moms & dads had more fun or the kids!! We went out about three times on Saturday to do some sledding. Carter is the one going down the hill.

Bringing the sled back up for some more.

Carter is at the bottom of the hill....

The boys also did some "tree/bark rubbings" around the Fort. Carter found about every type of "tree" or "wood" that was in our area to do some rubbing.

Saturday night was board games and some indoor soccer. Here, Wil, Tyler & Carter kick the ball around....

Mason comes in for some soccer time. You can see a peek of my room here. The one with the "pink" paint. The other door that is open leads to the upstairs.

By Saturday night, the boys were wiped out and they all fell asleep by 8:00. No bedtime stories or giggles this night!!

Sunday was breakfast time together, cleaning up the Fort, and packing up our things. Carter wanted to get a couple of pictures of Fort Rice. The snow started to fall that morning and by the time we left, there were about 2 inches of snow on the ground. It was beautiful!

These are the towers around the Fort that the boys stay in during summer camp. They have the choice of the towers or tepees.

This was the campfire from Friday night......

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Bill

Happy Birthday to Dad, Grandpa, and Bill on January 2nd.

Bill has sure been good to us over the years, helping with our house projects and problems, and even doing some babysitting with our boys. Bradley loves to see Grandpa "in action", with his big dump-truck and back-hoe.

Thanks for keeping us plowed-out this winter with all the snow! We have been able to get out of the driveway every morning, with many thanks to you!!

Happy Birthday! We love you! We hope you have a great day!!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Ross

We want to wish Ross a Happy Birthday, on December 30th.

Ross, one of the nicest guys that I know......how does the saying go????......he would take the shirt off his back for you..........this is how I think of Ross. He has been there for us in more ways than one....whether it be our kids, our house, the TV, or the computer......he drops everything to come over to help.

I can recall a few late night visits when the carbon monoxide alarm went off; or a few early mornings when a mouse would be scratching in the basement drop ceiling; or maybe the time when the TV was not working......or my computer was acting up.......or the many times when he stops in to pick up Toby. Whatever the problem may be, Ross is there! What a great guy!! Thanks, Uncle Ross. Maybe some of you can recall a time when Ross came to your rescue................it would be fun to read about it if you care to share it in the comments. Happy Birthday Ross!