Our fun and memorable trip back to Minnesota!

first night back in MN... welcome back!

TOOOOOOOOBS!

kisses from little ella

SISTERS!

yep- this is ella saying "cheese" for the picture- but i call it her proud face... she does it better than i do it!

ella helping us open presents at the seversons : )

meg "proud-facing" and holding up the outfit we got ella for xmas.

sporting my new coat that was very appreciated and necessary in MN!

what a memorable night... about 7hrs in the car there and back- BUT we made it to jo's long branch to wish whitney good luck on her trip to italy!

BIG-GAWWWWWWWWWWK!

potty parties are the best!
enjoying the warmth of the hot tub while braving the temps of minnesota (yes, we are huge weather wimps now... well, at least i am)

xmas with the Potters- so great to play with the kids again!

my little princess sophie and i

visiting the grandparents in little falls... so much snow up there!

what a great morning this was visiting our old friends at the edina towers!

erik and ella with her proud face! i have taught her so well!

kyra and meg at b-dubs (or b-w-w as al likes to say) : )

erik and joey... i think he is trying to show the brooklyn park bad-a$$ side of him

jana doing what she has wanted to do since 4th grade... and doing it well!

erik doing a science experiment about glaciers and erosion - we took good notes!

jana's class playing silent ball... needless to say i was the first one out because i couldn't follow simple directions

she loves me


yep i married him

hairy and i doing the dishes... our style

emily pb and erik... good lookin couple

kyra and jim... GREAT lookin couple!

fun with the best buy gang at HT's place- man i miss you guys!

Random

out to eat at a fancy (for us) restaurant called M5 ... cheers!

yes this picture is sideways, but its okay. this is erik pouting because hes packing hats and coats and gloves for minnesnowta... BUT we are so excited to see everyone- yea!

and this is me packing... or NOT packing... instead, being a "proud faced" (for those of you who know the skype proud face) dora the explorer. after erik saw me like this, he said we need a few minutes of "separate time" - i have no clue what he means?! : )

Love to all and see you in a few days!

Merry Christmas to us: 65 degrees and sunny!

Merry Christmas Eve! We had a very nice evening- got off of work a little early, made a nice chicken/rice/veggie dinner, enjoyed a great church service, opened some presents, drank some wine, watched a little bit of "Bad Santa" (haha) and skyped with the families!

Yes, he is actually wearing the ornaments in his ears

My sassy pose with Grandma Severson's sassy kitty kat purse : )

So funny... so if you really want to understand this picture/present you will have to watch this SNL skit: http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/calculator/866362/

Erik is obsessed! Needless to say, he enjoyed getting a calculator for Christmas!

Yes I have a slight obsession with candles- but it doesn't count when I get them as gifts!! : ) This one from Erik had an "ocean" scent... he made a great choice!

Merry Christmas Day! It was truly 65 degrees and sunny today... one of our nicest overall days here so far! Yea for having someone else to take our picture too! We made Christmas brunch for our friends (see next pic) but nothing compares to their cooking- they are great!

These are our Charlotte friends, Chris and Maureen... originally from MN/ND! We have a lot in common in that sense, so it's really fun! We are actually both visiting home in the next week or two and will both be in MN at the same time just a few hours away... small world!

I met Maureen through work and we have all gotten along great ever sense. However, they are moving to Germany for a year or two for Chris's work- we may just have an excuse to visit Europe!

We kept our windows/patio door open all day : ) - it made us happy!

We took a really long walk in the afternoon... this is me celebrating the warmth (in the new outfit Erik gave me for Christmas).

Although it was tough being away from family and friends this Christmas, we really enjoyed each other's company and doing our own thing... okay, the weather helped A LOT too! We can't wait to see everyone in January! Love to all and Merry Christmas!

Pawleys Island Weekend Getaway

Hello Pawleys Island beach... we missed you!Out to eat at Frank's! We ate outside... IN DECEMBER : )

A little no-blood love for Auntie Mary

Showing their love and wonderful Severson noses

We went to Brookgreen Gardens to an event called "Nights of One Thousand Candles" - although our camera did not capture it's true beauty... it was really gorgeous and amazing to see!

So this was one of the coolest (although it's a very dark picture) ... it is a lit-up crescent moon next to a palm tree (just like the South Carolina flag- see below)


Erik liked this statue the best... he wouldn't hug it though!??!

The beautiful decorations of Mary and Kev's house (there are lights on the front palms and wreathes on the gate as well)

We found Santa (with a fishing pole) on our way to the beach- ho ho ho!

The one thing I don't like about the beach... I am destined to get stung one of these days- then I will probably get over my weird obsession/fright of jellyfish. Erik already said he'd pee on my sting.

Erik being Shawn Johnson on the "balance beam"

On Dasher On Dancer On Prancer On Vixen.... On Comet On Cupid On Donner On Blixen.... But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all.... Kyra the red-nosed reindeer

Hi Lukey! Man did he love running the beach!

Luke AND (especially) Erik in their glory- playing on the beach with each other!

He is such a good picture poser! We are buds.

Erik trying out his romantical side (thanks for the idea Dad) : )

Luke's thoughts: "Mama Mary, please save me from Kyra and Erik. They run me wild on the beach and I cannot take it anymore! Hold me, protect me!"

Pawleys.... We will see you again soon!

McDowell Nature Center

It was nice last weekend, so we decided to explore a nature center/park a few miles away from us. Nothing too fancy, but great hiking and fresh air!

It sure would be rough to be these people living in a gorgeous home on the water with boats...

Just a little view of some of the trail walking we did by Lake Wylie

This is where we are going this weekend... Pawleys Island!!! : )

It will be a great little weekend getaway to visit Mary and Kev... and to walk on the beach! I'm sure we'll have a few pics-