Goodbye 2011....Hello 2012!

Dear Lerhol Family and Friends,  (long overdue post).

Wow…what a memorable couple of weeks for our “Nor-American” Christmas and New Year.  To be honest I am not even sure where to begin…it was action packed.   Torstein, Knut, Kristoffer and Hilde (from this point forward I will refer to them as “The Norwegians”) arrived in Minnesota on Tuesday 12/19 and stayed at the Swing’s (Deb, Vern, Kelsey and Kyle’s) house on the front-end of the trip and then moved over to HOTEL COLEHOUR on the back-end of their trip.  They were also able to see the Quanbeck-Barber family while they were here too.    

 For the blog…I guess I will touch on a few of the more notable events while they were here:

Christmas Night

As noted in my previous blog…we do Christmas BIG around here.  With Scott and my family combined we have nearly 50 people, so to say our Christmas celebration was EPIC this year is no exaggeration.  Fortunately, everyone “pitches in” and brings food and they also help with the set-up and clean-up too, so it really is enjoyable for us too.  We are additonally lucky that both of our families get along. :)

One of my very favorite things about getting older is watching the “next generation” of our family mature, get married and have kids of their own.  I am very proud of the young adults they have all become.  We missed Billy and Ben, but it was extra special to have my nephew Blake (2 time Iraq veteran) and his darling wife Jill (soon to be college graduate) in town from Hawaii.  (I know what you are thinking…what would make someone come to Minnesota from Hawaii in the winter…we like to think we  all have something to do with that.) 

The “Norwegians” spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with their family here in the US and then joined us after dinner on Christmas Day....just in time for the “post-holiday” celebration.  The “Norwegians” fit in just perfectly.  They joined us in playing some games, darts, pool and listening to some fun dance music.  Our garage was converted into a nightclub with flashing disco lights and a fog machine.  Everyone was having so much fun dancing and doing the limbo, singing, etc...

Go Sondre Go!

This is Scott doing his signature dance move! 

Everyone really enjoyed meeting the “Norwegian’s”.  I think Torstein particularly enjoyed chatting with my brother-in-law Brad (Scott’s brother) about politics and government and Ross (my sister Amy’s husband) just because Ross is really hilarious and border-line crazy.  It was a fun, fun day.

Friends “Family” Party at Fort Snelling State Park  

The day after Christmas we have an annual tradition to gather our friends and our children for a post-Christmas celebration.  This year, rather than having it at someone’s house, we decided to have it at Historic Fort Snelling.  Fort Snelling was built in the early 1820s and is a great place to learn about military history from before the Civil War through World War II, Minnesota's fur trade, slavery in the North, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, and much more! It is located at the intersection of two rivers:  the Minnesota and Mississippi River

 

 Normally we would go skiing or snow shoeing and enjoy the snow but this year we were only able to do some hiking since there really is no snow.  It was great fun to have all of the families get together…this tradition started when our kids were really  young and now our kids have young children.  Everyone brings food to share…the day was filled with a lot of laughter and conversation.  This year we were lucky to have the Miller’s, Stewart’s, Paulson’s, Lieb’s, Swartout’s, Hughes’, Sundquist/Joyce’s, Roemhildt’s and Mayer’s

 

Greg Newfield and Brooke Marie Miller’s Wedding

Oh goodness we had a good time at the wedding.  It was wonderful having the Norwegian’s with us.  Billy was supposed to be the best man but since he was still out on his deployment with the Navy his son Jackson and wife Pamela filled in beautifully for him.  I even had a speaking part and was able to share Billy’s wedding toast for the Bride and Groom on his behalf.

Having Torstein at the wedding was very special, since just this past summer Greg’s adorable “red-headed” nephew Ben died of SMA.  I think Ben’s Mom Nicole and his Grandma Sylvia were especially happy to meet Torstein and see what a special young man he is...living with SMA.  The Newfield’s are a very special family who have been part of our lives since Billy and Greg began their friendship many, many years ago.

Ben Newfield

The reception was a BLAST.  We all danced the night away.  I am not sure we ever got off the dance floor.  The music was fantastic.  The most memorable part of the dance was watching Torstein “dancing” in his “tripped out wheel chair”…he was the hit of the dance floor. 
Knut could be a dance instuctor ...he really  knows his way around the dance floor. 

 Torstein showing the Americans how to do it. 

Alex and Knut...how low can you go???

Minnesota Vikings Game

All of the boys (Scott, Ryan, Alex, Knut, Torstein, Kristoffer and Sondre ) went to the Vikings game all decked out in their matching Vikings jerseys.  Scott pulled a few strings and was able to get Knut, Sondre and Torstein on the field to watch the game.  The boys all had a great time in spite of the Vikings loss.  This was not our best season…so hopefully next year we can win a few more games. 

The boys on the field just before the game started. 

Yep...! 

Game Night

So much for the Norwegian’s having a disadvantage in games because of a language barrier.  Sondre came in first (he is kind of an American) and Torstein came in second.  Get ready for a rematch this summer boys when we are in Norway.  J

Shopping

What I do know  for sure is that the Norwegian’s left the local economy in better condition than before they arrived.  Honestly…they could teach Americans how to shop.  They took the Mall of America by storm. 


Back to normal

I was so happy I took time off from work while they were here visiting so that I did not miss anything.  They were a true pleasure to have at our house and look forward to seeing everyone this summer.

Life is getting back to normal again. Sondre is back to school and to back to Nordic ski training and meets.  Last weekend the entire ski team went to Northern Minnesota for ski meet with many other teams from around Minnesota.  Sondre came in 13^th place out of 90 skiers!!!  I think he had a great time with the kids on the team.

It is hard to believe that Sondre’s year in America is half over.  Time has gone by so fast.  We have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months.  Some of Kristoffer’s friend’s will be in Minnesota for a ski jump championship and we are planning to cheer them on and hope to take them out to dinner. The ski jump is just a few blocks away from our good friend’s house (Jim and Noonie’s) so we can just walk over from their house to watch. 

Today we are helping Courtney and Ryan do some painting at their house getting ready for the arrival of their new baby in March.  I am traveling for work this week and will be in Salt Lake City, Utah visiting one of our Manufacturing Plants.  Speaking of work…while the boys were here Torstein fell in love with the Sleep Number bed in our guest room.  We have to figure out how to get him a bed in Norway.  J 

By the way...his Sleep Number is 65.

I hope everyone is well…I promise to be more diligent about doing a weekly blog.

Love,

The Colehours