Joe's wedding in Ohio

 This is the officiant, Joe, Josh, and Ian before the ceremony.

Here are my handsome boys...we still cannot believe that we got them both in ties (Soren's is a clip-on). 

By the time dinner came around...they knew how handsome they were. 

Ian and I got to host a questions session with the bride and groom - they sat back-to-back and held up answers to 20 questions like, "Who has the best sense of fashion?" and "Which one of you is the better driver." Me/Him or Me/Her. It was really fun.

 And then there was dancing...

And more dancing. 

We also went to the Ohio State Campus Pool...this is where Odin learned to swim. It is a great facility that has a dedicated kiddy pool. We all had a really good time. 

 Soren is offically swimming on his own now. I don't know that he will be ready to swim for the outdoor swim team this summer yet...but he has determination!

This is a whirlpool...and I was playing around in it.

The boys going down the slide.

Odin is showing his strong swimming against the current in the whirlpool.

We earned our Jeni's for the day. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams was a daily pilgrimage for us while we were in Columbus. It wasn't open on New Years Day. That was the only day we missed. 

 We met a special friend here this day. It was a blustery snowy afternoon, but Jon and his little Josie made it to have ice cream with us. It was great to see them.

Christmas

This is a rare image of Soren with a nice smile. He tends to be silly for pictures.

 Our living tree is getting taller...we had to stack Schwabs to get to the top this year.

 I got a  beautiful bee ornament from Farmor (Ian's mom).

 The boys were very proud of the tree decorating this year.  This is the first year we have let them help the entire time.

 Fast forward to Christmas eve...I had to work and Ian did a lot of wrapping and prepping while I was delivering babies. I got home around midnight and it all came together...around 2am.

Somehow, the boys slept until 8am, we ate breakfast, opened stockings...
Let the present guessing and unwrapping begin!

If the above video does not work, go to www.youtube.com and search Soren's bike. It should come up from katievs1. Enjoy. This is the pure joy of gift giving. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISYpVwg2Rt0&feature=youtu.be

 We had some friends over for Holiday feast with lamb and goodness.

Then we played hotwheels!

Bjorn and Amber Get married!

This is Bjorn! He is a friend of Ian's from International Summer School. We were able to spend a lovely long weekend with them in San Luis Obispo with unseasonably warm weather on the California coast. Oh...and he got married to a lovely woman named Amber. They have been together almost as long as Ian and I have been together.

Oops...Ian was drinking so much he fell over...and he didn't spill the sake.

 We walked out to the shore.

 And contributed to the San Luis Obispo gum wall.

Catching up...

 So we have some catching up to do.  Fall has become winter and holidays have passed. It is already February! Next thing we know the pool will be opening again. (sigh)

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
                                                                   -Ferris Beuler

Well, we have been enjoying life, stopping and enjoying it. We just haven't been blogging about it. :) Here is a quick synopsis.

 Odin started taking pictures this fall. This is my(Katie's) favorite. This is a yellow pear cherry tomato from our backyard garden. Great close up! Stay tuned for Odin making his personal debut on his "old" website odinhoosschwab.blogspot.com with pictures and thoughts. He is gaining great literacy in Kindergarten and will soon be telling his own story. Stay tuned.

 Ian led the boys in their first road race - one mile. Odin ran the whole way and Soren kept pace on his push bike. He was stride-for-stride.
Below is the great finish! Odin came from behind.

 Odin had a great season with his team. They are really learning the game and playing well together. We look forward to watching Odin and his buddies gain skills and love of the game.

 I got to go on a field trip with Odin and his class to the pumpkin patch in October.

Halloween was full of NINJAS! It turned out to be a clear night and the boys got their fill of candy.