Boen Eckhoff

I don't get around to updating my blog too much anymore but I wanted to post a couple pictures of mine and Dave's nephew that we got to meet for the very first time. Dave's brother Doug is married to Lingling and Boen is their child and we met both Lingling and Boen for the first time as it is their first trip to the United States from China. They are both wonderful additions to the family and such a treat to be around!



He is the most content 15 month old - he is just sitting here taking it all in!






Nick and Boen busy fixing Grandpa's John Deere



Nick and Boen became buddies really fast.



Boen and Auntie Jill

Fall 2011

Nick and Madi - I really hope they continue to smile and laugh with each other. It is the best part about being a Mom, the opportunity to see your children grow together, play together and laugh together!!!



Of course there are serious pictures that I could share of the kids but these two just scream Nick and Madi...always being silly!

Madi turns 4

Tomorrow my baby turns 4...were does the time go? On Sunday we celebrated her birthday a little early with family. Madi had a wonderful day and we enjoyed every minute with family! Thank you all for helping Madi celebrate her Birthday! Love to you all.

Summer fun

Madi sporting some cool shades




Carter, Nick and Tess




Madi chillin




Nick and I enjoying some snuggle time

Trip to the Children's Museum

A couple of weeks ago Dave and I took the kids to the Children's Museum. They currently have an entire room for "Lego World" so we knew we just had to go so Nick could check it out...we didn't think about how we would get him out of there=) I think he could have stayed all day. We had a lot of fun seeing all sorts of cool stuff. It was stimulation overload for me so I don't know how it could not be for children!



Nick in the giant turtle



Madi on the giant bug



Nick working hard on his lego project...he ended up building a castle and was sad to have to leave it there.

31.5 Wallmounter...enough said

Now I can have an elk and a walleye on my wall=)

This and That

Not too much happening at the Eckhoff household which is a good thing I guess. We are all patiently awaiting the arrival of spring. Just a couple picks of the kids...in this house you never know what Nick and Madi will imagine up next.

Nick playing "woody"

Madi babysitting all of her babies

Nick and Madi heading to an indian wedding. One never knows what they will come up with next!

We got to watch Parker a couple times last week and I am pretty sure that he rivels Nick for the smiliest kid ever! Now, I am just patiently waiting for Eric and Carissa to go on a date so that we can watch Cohen=) Until next time...

New Orleans

Dave and I had the opportunity this year to head to New Orleans with the Producers Hybrid group. What a fun time and the timing could not have been more perfect. As we left MN the temps were beginning to drop and it only continued to get colder and colder. It wasn't the warmest in New Orleans but it was in the 50's so it seemed like a heat wave! It was a fun trip, to much to eat, way to much to drink and a lot to see. The first morning we went on a tour of the city. They took us down to the 9th ward which was the hardest hit by Katrina and it was just devestating. I could not even imagine going through something like that. It is 5 years later and a lot has been done but yet there is still so much more to do! All the homes marked with TFW which meant toxic flood water and X's followed by the number of people which occupied the home and how many were found dead in the home, very sad to see. We did see amazing things happening like the Brad Pitt homes. His designs are a little crazy but yet a really great thing he is doing. There are so many things to do in that city that if you are bored then there is a problem. At night we would head down to Bourbon Street and have a little fun! Bourban Street is an experiance in itself!!!

We decided to go on a swamp tour which was very fun. The day that we went was a high of about 45-50 and we didn't have the opportunity to see any alligators. Our guide told us that they don't come out when it is that cold! We took a 2 hour tour, saw different varities of birds, turtles and a cute little racoon that wanted to jump in the boat with us. Our guide also took us down the part of the river were people actually live! That was crazy! The 8 houses that were there had electricity but there were homes futher down the river that didn't have electricity, I couldn't even imagine. It was a very cool tour and once again if you ever have the chance to go on a swamp tour do it!

We also went on a sugar cane plantation tour...another must do when you are there! The beauty of the plantation and a history lesson all in one! We went to the Oaks Alley Plantation! For you Days of our Lives fans Bo and Hope were married here...the second or third time they were married=)


The last night that we were there we went on a riverboat cruise down the Mississippi river and had a wonderful meal and of course some more cocktails! After we returned from the cruise a large group was going down to Bourban street and I made it back to the room and was going to call it a night and Dave talked me in to going out. He told me he wanted me to go out so that I could be his excuse to go home early well, it was about 1:30 when I finally looked at him and told him we should go to sleep=) Once I get out and am having fun I just don't want to turn in!!! One thing for sure is that a good time was had by all but I was happy to come home to see my babies even if it was cold!!!

Winter Fun

If it is going to snow we may as well make the best of it! For some reason I don't think it is going away any time soon!!!

5 Already...

My baby turned 5 on December 1st. It was a very exciting day or maybe I should say week for Nicholas. We celebrated his birthday on Wednesday letting him open his presents from us and then on to daycare were they celebrated some more with cupcakes then on to AWANA were Nick thought the entire evening was a celebration for him (I just let him go on thinking that) and then through the 3+ inches of snow that had already fallen all the family came out for a birthday celebration of Friday night. Over all I say it was a successful 5th birthday. We love you buddy!!!


The morning of Nick's Birthday




Grandpa and Grandma got Nick a John Deere bike...although when he first saw it he didn't really have a reaction when everybody left for the evening he decided to try it out...him and Madi came up with some good tricks. It will be interesting to see what kind of tricks he comes up with this spring when he can actually ride it outside.

Fun in Forest City

On Saturday Dave and I took the kids to the stockaid in Forest City for a little winter wonderland. The weather was wonderful and there was about 9 inches of fresh snow to even make it more fun! We got to see Santa and go on a sleigh ride. I don't have a picture to post with the kids and Santa because they wanted NOTHING to do with him. Nick hung on to my leg tightly and told me "you can't make me go see him...he can keep my lego's and zu-zu pet" so I figured he really didn't want to see the big guy! So, on we went walking through the old cabins and learning some history. I think I had more fun than anyone else - I could have spent a couple more hours there just sitting in the cabins in front of the wood stove, smelling the fry bread, hot apple cider and gingerbread cookies!

Nicholas and Madilyn

I had to put a picture on just so you wouldn't open my blog and see a dead deer!! Hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving - this year we truely have many things to be thankful for!!!

First for everything...

1. First year hunting with a firearm
2. First time shooting a deer
3. First time having stitches

As I was sitting in my deer stand on Saturday morning in 30 mph winds freezing my butt off I thought to myself "tell me again why people do this?" It wasn't until Sunday evening when I shot a nice buck that I realized why people do this. My first deer came at a price...a trip to the ER and 15 stitches on the inside and 15 stitches on the outside of a gash on my forehead. I am told that it is not uncommon for this to happen one gets "buck fever" and thinks more about shooting the deer than the "proper" way to hold your shotgun. Needless to say I didn't have the butt of the gun tight enough against my shoulder and when it kicked back the butt came off of my shoulder and the scope hit me right above my eyebrow. I didn't even bother listening or looking for the deer I just headed back for the house and kept calling Dave so he wouldn't panic when he saw me with blood coming down my forhead. He took me in to the ER were the Dr took good care of me and stitched me up! While at the hospital Dave had his Dad and Nephew out looking of the deer and when they found it I was thrilled...I didn't want all the stitches in my forehead and no deer to show for it=) The kids didn't really care about my trip to the ER they just wanted to see the deer. Nick told Dave that he can't wait until he can go hunting with me...I told Nick that it was beginners luck and that he should stick to hunting with his Dad when it comes time.

3 Years Old

Finding time to post a blog is becomming very rare in this household...to much to do and not enough time in the day to do it. So, I will keep it short and sweet=) My baby girl just turned 3 on September 20th. Time sure does fly!! We had family over and of course Madi received all sorts of wonderful gifts. She is just getting so big! This past Sunday at church she looked at me and said "Mom, you don't have to walk me to my class, I am a big girl now!" My baby isn't a baby anymore!

I knew this day would come...

Sunday I returned home from a nice trip to St. Cloud(I even got to go all by myself) and I walked in to the toy room were the kids were playing ever so nicely to find BOTH Nick and Madi pregnant and having babies??? As they put it "look Mom we have a baby in our belly, oh and now it is coming out!" Thank goodness they think that babies comes out of the bottom of the shirt. I told Dave about it and he just laughed and said "well, what do you expect they have 2 Aunts that are pregnant!" I knew this day would come and I am just happy that they didn't ask any additional questions. I don't know if I am ready for that yet!

Summer is flying by!

One of Nick and Madi's favorite things to do is to take a walk through Grandpa Richard's alfalfa field, I am thankful this year that it isn't corn...at least I can see them in an alfalfa field. Next year may be a different story!



This summer is just flying by with all our camping trips and just keeping up with life. Our garden is growing at full speed ahead! I have started the sauerkraut process and cucumbers so far. Thankfully the hail storm that dented Dave's work truck and the north side of our home didn't destroy the garden. Mother nature and I need to have a serious chat...I don't even have a chance to not like the color or our roof or siding and then she goes and puts some dents in it=) I like to think that have have certain powers but controlling Mother Nature is not one of them!! We have one more weekend to go then up to Lax Lake in Silver Bay we go. That is the annual Eckhoff camping trip that we are going to extend for a couple of days and turn into our family trip. On our way home that Sunday we are going to stop in Duluth and stay at Indian Point Campground for a couple of nights. There is so much to do in Duluth so I know that we will not run out of things to do. Lax Lake is a ways away but it is one of my favorite places to go so if anyone is ever looking for a quiet, secluded, absolutely beautiful place to camp check it out.

Winstock 2010

2010 Winstock proved to be a good time rain or shine! We had a total of nine campsites this year and next year we are increasing it by two more! I am looking forward to it already! We all enjoyed good music, good food and drinks and especially good friends. Can't go wrong with that combination!!

You are so beautiful to me...

I had my hair colored last night and when I asked Nick what he thought of it he started singing this for me=) He is a quick learner when it comes to giving the correct answer and being a charming little boy!

Camping Season has officially arrived

When Dave asked what I would like to do for Mother's Day that was easy for me to answer! The weather has been beautiful lately so why not go camping? Well, as I watched the weather all week I knew that we wouldn't be getting so lucky...was that going to stop any of us? Not a chance! It helps that we all have campers that have the same amenity's that our homes have so what is a little rain? We went camping with the Thompson's and kids, Eric and Carissa and Tom, Carrie and kids. Friday afternoon was spent setting up, chopping wood and sitting around the fire.



The rain didn't really slow any of the kids down...we all planned accordingly. We brought our winter jackets, hats and gloves and we were good to go. Madi even went fishing although I am not sure what she does is called fishing. On Sunday she actually caught a fish. They already have telling fish tales down because when I ask Nick or Madi how big the fish were that they caught they are at least 12 inches when really I am not sure they even made 5 inches. You have to look very carefully at the picture to see the fish. Of course they don't care they are kids and all they care is that they are out fishing.



All the kids enjoyed fishing, playing at the playground and hanging out with each other. Usually Madi is a pretty vocal little girl and this is the first weekend that I have been around that I didn't really hear her at all...she was too busy to notice that she wasn't by my side.



I have always told Dave that I wanted to do a little fall camping and this weekend may have been in that category but I also put it in the category of a successful camping trip! Next up Garrison for Memorial Weekend! Lets hope for 70's at least!

They really do like each other...

Madi came to me one day and told me that she was ready to go to the wedding(who's I don't know) and then Nick told me he was ready also. I am not sure the "will trade sister for tractor" shirt is appropriate for a wedding but I thought it was totally appropriate for a picture!!