Coppola and Remsburg Christmas

We kicked off the Christmas season in Decorah on the second weekend of December....we all decided to make the trek to Decorah and make a weekend out of it. It was a lot of fun- the kids played, girls shopped, the guys went for a drink, the boys played at a gym, we had a game of bingo, and the girls got to go to a movie! The weekend really flew by...

We surprised the boys with an extra gift- Christmas onesies! They were a big hit...maybe a little too big of a hit. The boys stayed in character the rest of the weekend....

 2016 wasn't the best year for the Coppola inlaws- each set of our parents struggled with their health in one way or another, and so this group really needed some R&R, no schedules, no stress, etc...and that's what we got! It was a lot of fun to get out of town too!

Joe and I hosted my family's side for Christmas! Mom and dad had a doctor appointment, we had Saylor's program, the boys had basketball, and Grace had a concert all in one weekend- so we decided to have it in Des Moines and do everything together!

So, here's what went wrong over the weekend: Mom and dad missed Saylor's program; my garage code malfunctioned and they couldn't get into my house; dad got no results from his doctor appointment; my "surprise" flutists (long story) had to cancel because of weather; it took Jeff and Aubree 6.5 hours instead of 3.5 hours to get to my house because of bad weather; Grace's choir program was canceled due to weather; dad didn't feel good; and Joe got the flu in the worst way possible and was in bed all day Saturday.

Here's what went right: We were together. And, that is all. : )

Decorah and Easter

Didn't want our little trip to Decorah and our Easter weekend to go by without a quick recap!

We went to Decorah for a quick weekend in early March. Tony planned a hunting trip for Joe and all the boys. And, Kelly and I shopped in town with the girls, watched Nina play basketball, and had lunch! On Saturday night, we had a beer in town and a cool little brewery and then just had pizza at home. It was a good weekend- it just always goes so fast! Joe loved hunting- and it was Copa's first trip and she did great! The boys.....kind of liked hunting but enjoyed complaining more!

Easter was a little quiet this year. We had a special dinner at our house with just us on Saturday night. On Sunday, the Easter bunny came and we went to Lake City for the annual Burley Easter. Pretty low-key, but we were fine with that! The Easter Bunny brought a lot of pool toys....so delayed gratification is in place right now!

It wasn't exactly like having the real Easter Bunny at our house.....but he put on a good show for everyone! : )

Quick Trip to Decorah!

I am way way behind in my posts....so I have go quite a ways back to catch up!!!

Ali and I took our girls to Decorah to watch Tony and Kelly's kids while Tony went to a medical conference and Kelly went back to her home to be with her mom in October. We left early Friday morning from Des Moines and got back Sunday afternoon.  We had a full weekend! We went to a soccer game, played outside, played dressup, ordered pizza, went to a park, and basically- just watched the kids! We had ambitions to go to the apple orchard but with 6 kids, we just chickened out. It seemed like a lot of work, and we had nap times and different ages and strollers....and, well, not enough ambition I guess!

When Kelly came home, we had her laundry done, a meal on the stove, house was cleaned, and a few little things done. All and all, it was a successful weekend. Here are a few photos to prove that we survived! 

(All the boys stayed back to work on our new house....more on that later!)

Decorah, Here We Come!

The weekend following our trip to Ely, we turned right back around and headed over to Decorah. We were celebrating Lia's 1st birthday and Joe and Bobbi's 40th anniversary, and also just finding a time to all be together!

We packed a lot of stuff into a short amount of time! Here's what we did:
* Rented a bounce house for the weekend which was a HUGE hit with the kids
* Rented a camper for the boys - this was not as big of a hit....but it worked!
* The girls did a little shopping in Decorah
* The boys did a little drinking at the local brewery
* We visited the local fish hatchery
* We gave Bobbi and Joe a trip to Italy in 2020...total delayed gratification but will be something for them to look forward to on their 45th anniversary!
* Took the kids to the pool
* Dance party in the living room
* I got the girls matching outfits for something fun

Here's a few photos from our weekend:

There were a lot of  memories from the weekend- Maddox got stung by a bee; Nina did a Flash dance routine that was  hilarious at the dance party; Joe has some fond memories of beers with his brothers; giving Bobbi and Joe the Italy gift; sleepover in the camper; lots of laughs, fun conversations and memories from over the years shared; but mostly- lots and lots of catching up!!After the weekend, I really felt grateful to have great inlaws who are fun to hang around and catch up with. My sisters are great moms; my brother-in-laws are great dads; and I truly have the best and the cutest nieces and nephews around. The kids are very close in age and we have never had a problem with them not getting along- it's a lot of fun to watch them interacting and playing together. They will hopefully grow up to be the best of friends just like my cousins and I!

We will all be together again in August for Gma Taylor's Heritage Farm Celebration and for Maddox's 8th Birthday! So, it will be here before we know it!

Davis 3rd Birthday in Decorah

We spent the weekend in Decorah for Davis' 3rd birthday party! The weekend consisted of: eating, drinking, celebrating, shopping, watching football, building shelves for their storage room, organizing Kelly's junk in her storage room, visiting, chasing boys, watching cartoons, playing, dancing and more! It was a lot of fun! And, it was the first time we've had all 5 boys together in a long time!

On Saturday morning, I begged my husband to go on a nice leisurely jog with me to start our day. They have beautiful scenery and trails in Decorah so I wanted to enjoy them. He resisted, I pressed on; he made up excuses, I wouldn't listen. He was concerned about game day starting without him, I assured him that I was up for just 2 miles! He finally gave in. And, this is how it went.

Mile 1- Holly: Well, I think we've probably gone about a mile if I could guess, wanna turn around?

Mile 1- Joe: Nah, I'm feeling pretty good- let's keep pressing on.

Mile 2- Holly: Well, I think this is about 2 miles...what's our plan?

Mile 2- Joe: Yeah, well, I forgot to tell you that Tony said this is a loop so if we keep jogging it will go in a circle.

Mile 2- Holly: Oh, okay, well, let's keep at it. (Then, I see a man jogging and I think to myself- maybe I should ask him how long the loop is...nah, Joe and Tony know what they are talking about).

Mile 2.5- Holly: Well, looks like our trail ended- it continues over there....but there's no way this trail goes in a loop. We can't even see the end of the trail. Your brother is full of crap.

Mile 2.5- Joe: yeah, it does look really long...let's turn here. I recognize the fish hatchery- this should take us back into town.

Mile 3- Holly: Well, I recognize this house- kelly took me by it.

Mile 3- Joe: What does that mean?

Mile 3- Holly: It means nothing except that we are still in Decorah.

Mile 4- Holly: Where the hell are we?

Mile 4- Joe: I have no idea. We are lost. I think we should go left.

Mile 4- Holly: No, there's no way it's left. Let's go right- that should take us back into town. But that is a mountain we have to run up.

At this point, we are exhausted and our car is a long ways away. We went through the whole "do we turn around or keep moving forward" dilemma several times along the way.

Mile 5- Joe: Where the hell are we?

Mile 5- Holly: No frickin' clue. I don't recognize any of these houses, or this road or anything. But, we have no choice. My legs are killing me and I'm cold.

Mile 6- Holly: yeah!!! There's McDonalds!! Do you know where McDonalds is from their house?

Mile 6- Joe: yeah, I think we go this way.

Mile 6- Holly: I think you are directionally challenged right now. We should go the other way.

Mile 6.5- Holly: Well, so much for game day!

Mile 6.5- Joe: Wonder if Davis' birthday party has started without us? Maybe they'll come looking for us.

Mile 6.8- Joe: We should hitchhike- I'm going to find someone to give us a ride home.

Mile 6.8- Holly: You can get kidnapped and murdered on your own terms, but I'd rather run home.

Mile 7- Joe: Well, we can run home, but it's way up that hill with cars whizzing past us at 65 mph. My hip hurts.

Mile 7- Holly: I don't care, still better option than hitch-hiking, however, we could hop onto that tractor and they probably wouldn't even know it. My pelvis hurts.

Mile 7.5- Joe: I'm done. I give up. Let's go to that hotel and call Tony to pick us up.

Mile 7.5- Holly: No, I recognize that hotel! I totally know where we are at. But, we are still a ways away.

Mile 7.5- We almost get hit by a car crossing the street illegally. Nice.

Mile 7.5: Holly: Why would you try killing me after we put all of this work into this run? by the way, do you want to just add another 5 miles so you can claim you ran a half-marathon?

Mile 8: Halleluja! Halleluja! (I actually sang it) We see the Hospital sign. We knew our car was parked there!!!

We could barely get in our car- our legs hurt, our butts ached, our feet were in pain.

We made it!!! Just with a little detour! We got to see lots of Decorah. We walked in to Tony and Kelly's and they all thought we had gone to breakfast. Not exactly. And, yes, Tony was right- it WAS a loop, but the loop was approximately 20 miles or something. Small detail Joe missed. And, even funnier, if we would have taken a left instead of a right the very first time, we would have been fine! We chose the road less traveled by and that my friend, made all the difference. (I might have stolen that from Robert Frost, by the way).