Ramsey's 9th Birthday Party

We now have a 9-year-old in the house!  Whaaaaaaaaaaa?!?!?  Next year, he'll be in the double digits. Yikes!

Ramsey wanted to have his birthday party at Allevity.  We invited quite a few kids (with their siblings and parents) and had the soiree a few days before his birthday.  Luckily, we didn't have another blizzard to deal with!

The theme was Roblox (Ramsey's favorite game/platform currently).  I found a cute custom cake topper on Etsy.  I made cupcakes and a layered cake, smashing some Roblox figures atop as decorations.

We ate pizza and visited for a while.   Then... time to sing the birthday song and have cake!

Randomly, the little boys, one by one, got up in front of everyone to "toast" Ramsey, give speeches, tell jokes, and sing songs they'd made up.  It was quite the spectacle and had us in stitches!  None of the girls got up... just the silly boys.

Then, Ramsey got to open up a ton of super cool presents.

He received lots of Nerf and Roblox gifts, Robux, an archery set, Super Goo, and more.  He was pretty stoked!

And, we took pics of each of the kiddos with the gifts they gave Ramsey (so we could remember afterwards, when it was time to send thank-you cards!).  Unfortunately, we missed one pic of Ramsey with one of his buddies... bummer.

I'm sure Ramsey didn't mean for this picture to look so funny.  Whoops!!

Then, it was a free-for-all for the kids in the play area.  They climbed the rock wall, zoomed around in bumper cars, played video games, air hockey, and there was a LOT of laser-tag gaming. 

While the kids played, some of us adults played as well.   And, the adults got to chat and have some laughs.  There were some parents that we didn't know very well, so it was great to get to know them.

It was certainly a terrific day.  Happy Birthday, Doodlebug!  You're an amazing little boy.

Vikings Play-Off Game

Connor and some of his buddies ventured to Minneapolis to the US Bank Stadium to see a Vikings play-off game.  The Vikes played in a Wild Card game against the Giants.

Connor hadn't been to the new stadium before, so it was quite the experience!

The singing of the national anthem was something to behold.

Even though the game ended with a Vikings loss (24-31), the boys had a smile afterwards, whilst posing for a shot with some of the cheerleaders.

Kings & Queens of the Hill

We've had SO MUCH SNOW this year.  It's been a real pain.  But, the kids at school love it, as they have some monster snow hills to climb and play on.   Here's the entire third grade class on one of the hills.  

Ramsey is about the 7th kid from the left, laying on his tummy, wearing a dark green coat and black facemask.  His transition shades are in full force!

Here's a pic of this morning's glory; a beautiful flocked tree in our yard.  It was cold and foggy out, but the frost is beautiful.

I Remember...

 Just a few days ago, my cousin sent me this snippit that she had from the local newspaper.  It must have been from around 1979 (no date found).   I thought it was interesting and wanted to post it so I have it in our blog book.

"Grandma Schroeder" or "Grandma Annie" (Anna-Lena Mary-Maude) was actually my Mom's great aunt.  Mom lived with her (and daughter Rosella and Rosella's husband) a few years after her father came back from WWII. Grandpa had shellshock/PTSD and his nightly nightmare outbursts scared Mom when she was small.   Grandma Annie's house was her security.

Grandma Schroeder was an amazing and wonderful woman.  She was selfless and caring and she'd seen a LOT in her life.  I remember staying with her when I was small.  Every night we'd say the COMPLETE rosary.  And, she made amazing old-fashioned crunchy sugar cookies.

She was born on May 5th, 1890. The census may say 1981, but I heard she lied about her age while she was being courted.  So, who knows?!?  :-)   She died in the late 1980s.  I thought the article was very enlightening and it brought back many wonderful memories of a very cherished soul.

New Year's Day Chess Matches

 It was too cold and nasty to do much outside. Also, the football games were displeasing today.  So... we just hung out as a family!  Ramsey wanted to brush up on his chess skills.

Dad won this game and I won the next, but Ramsey can certainly hold his own.

Vikes/Packs - New Year's Game

The first Vikings/Packers game of the season was trimphant for the Vikes (23 to 7).  The Vikes have had a rough go of it lately (to say the least).

Eric thought that dressing Jango up in Vikings gear would help bring them out of the slump!

Turns out, it was all for naught.  The Packers beat our Vikes 41-17.   

Even Jango was hid his head in shame for them!

Not a great way for the Vikings to start out the new year.  Ugh

Ramsey Says - 2022

As Ramsey gets older, he still says things that put us in stitches.  But, we're getting a bit lax on actually writing them down.   That said, here's the captured quotes from 2022!

3/12/22 - After church, we went to Walmart.  Ramsey did NOT want to be there.   I wanted to browse just a little bit.

Ramsey: "C'Mon Mom, EYES ON THE PRIZE!"

3/15/22 - Watching the news, some clips of Biden's speeches were being played (with incoherent verbiage).

Ramsey: "Oh Biden... you've really outdone yourself THIS time!"  (*sigh*)

3/17/22 - St. Patty's Day.  In the midst of trying to take Ramsey's picture...

Ramsey: "Mom, stop begging to take my picture.  It's like YOU'RE the child and I'M the adult!"

4/30/22 - Ramsey had just watched a YouTube game video that really freaked him out.

Ramsey: "Mom, I hate being scared.  My only vulnerability... is my fear!"

5/10/22 - Truck ride to town (Eric, Kara, Ramsey)

Ramsey, gaming in the back seat:  "I wish I had some war games on my Kindle."     

Me: "They're too violent for you right now.  You'll have to wait a few more years."

Ramsey: "But, I can handle blood!"

Me: "Um, after you watched the Sparta video, you couldn't sleep for a week!"

Ramsey: "Ya, but I'm a lot OLDER now!"

Me: "That was a month ago."

5/13/22 - Tucking Ramsey in at Night.

Ramsey: "Mommy, I don't like you when you fart in my room."

Me: "Ramsey, I always love you... when you're good, when you're not-so-good, when you fart..."

Ramsey: "Would you still love me if I kicked you in the nuts?"

You can imagine the rest of that conversation.   ("First of all, we don't say that!!".....)

8/17/22 - Eric had gotten sun-burned and his arms were peeling. 

Eric: "Ramsey, when I'm done molting, do you think a better-looking man will be unveiled?"

Ramsey: "Probably not, it'll probably be worse."

9/20/22 - Eric and Ramsey were watching TV.  A commercial about cashing in life insurance policies came on.   

Eric (teasing Ramsey): "I cashed in your life insurance policy and got $4.00."

Ramsey: "Dad, can I have the money?"

Eric: "No, I spent it on cigarettes."

Ramsey:  "You're a drug addict!!!"

9/23/22 -Backstory: Ramsey had gotten into his first playground brawl at school (Ramsey called it a "fist fight"!).  He was sticking up for another child who was being bullied (proud of him for doing this!).  As he was explaining what was happening, he said, while trying to hit back to protect himself, "My punches were ineffective!"  He also noted, "I took that beating for Gabe!"

And no, no bloodshed and no black eyes were created in that process.  ;-) 

We will, however, start more seriously considering Taekwando lessons!!!

9/25/22 -On the way to Sunday School...

Ramsey: "Mom, I want to be a grandpa someday.  When I'm old, I want to live at an assisted living place.  And, I'll sit and play Roblox... and I'll go into chat... and I'll yell at kids."  (he laughs)  "And, I'll point my finger and say, 'GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!!"

12/12/22 - The school has sent out notices already that there will be no school tomorrow (BIG storms coming through for the remainder of the week)

Eric: "Ramsey, you can play your game tomorrow.  There's no school."

Ramsey: "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!  I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that.  I know my education is critical."