Babies & Kids » Mi Vida Ocupada

Happy Birthday Bianca!

Babies & Kids, Birthday Shout-outs, Family Gatherings 4 Responses »

Jan 202012

It is hard to believe that my niece Bianca is five years old today. Crazy how fast that time went, wow!!

Happy Birthday BeBe!

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On this date I have blogged about:

On 01-20-10: Read Another Random Post…. (01-20-10)
On 01-20-09: Read Obama’s Inauguration: So happy & proud to be an American! (01-20-09)
On 01-20-09: Read Live Inauguration Streaming….. (01-20-09)
On 01-20-09: Read Happy Birthday Beebs! (01-20-09)
On 01-20-08: Read Sweet Baby B turns 1!! (01-20-08)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Fall Portraits {Mason & Jonah}

Babies & Kids, Great Outdoors & Weather, Photography 3 Responses »

Oct 192011

A few weeks ago I met my friend Shannon and her two boys at a local park to shoot some fall portraits. It was the most perfect, warm, sunny fall day you could ask for and the trees were gorgeous!

I am by no means a professional photographer but when my friends ask me to take photos of their kids and/or families, I generally find some time to do it.

I have known these two little guys since they were literally days old, as Shannon lived two houses down from me for nine years. In fact, it is all Shannon’s fault that I bought the house I am in since she is the one who brought me to the model home just days after she signed her own purchase agreement.

It was fun and I am glad I got to spend some time with them. I miss having them as neighbors!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Bennett’s 3rd Birthday

Babies & Kids, Birthday Parties, Family Gatherings 2 Responses »

Mar 262011

A few weeks ago my nephew Benett turned 3. Time sure has flown since the day he was born and boy has he gotten to be such a big boy! (Especially when you consider he was born premature).

The theme of his party this year was Lightning McQueen from Cars.

Bud got a ton of cool gifts…..all toys and books! I am usually the one that gets the kids clothes but decided to go with fun stuff this time. Everyone else did the same so Buddy didn’t get any new clothes, but a ton of fun toys! One of the things we got him was an interactive Chuggington book. He loved it.

The kids all got new sunglasses from Grandma Fran because they were leaving the next day for a family vacation in Arizona.

The girls also got little jewelry boxes that they could paint and decorate

Some shots of the family. (Jeff was MIA due to leaving on a flight that day to Australia and I rarely have my picture taken anymore)
Brian and Michelle’s favorite pose

Michelle’s parents

Erin and Stew

My Mom and Dad

We had several pizzas from Criss Cross Pizza for dinner

Then we had cake & ice cream.
Bennett got a little help from Bianca while trying to blow out the candles. You would think they’re twins from this photo!

It was a fun time!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Beebs turned 4!

Babies & Kids, Birthday Parties, Family Gatherings 5 Responses »

Jan 302011

My niece Bianca turned four a few weeks ago (wow does time fly!) and we celebrated at Brian and Michelle’s house last weekend. She got a lot of cool gifts but I think her favorite is her little ipod with the headphones

All three kids got umbrellas

I got the girls these little zebra and giraffe outfits

Some of the adults

The cake

She didn’t take those headphones off that whole night!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Christmas Cuties

Babies & Kids, Holidays 1 Response »

Dec 102010

When my bff Mary asked me if I wanted to get together to take some Christmas photos of her kids and her niece and nephew, I was honored to oblige. Despite all the funny faces the kids were making that day, I was still able to get some cute shots

Mary’s sister and her daughter

Thanks for asking me take your Christmas photos, Mary and Leanne. Hope you enjoy them!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Halloween Night

Babies & Kids, Holidays 2 Responses »

Nov 042010

Since Halloween was on a Sunday this year, I spent most of my Sunday doing what I usually do on the weekends…… hang out with all the neighbors, watch Vikings and other football, eat whatever potluck goodness the neighborhood has thrown together, work on reviews for the Twin Cities Restaurant Blog, etc….. and I did pass out Halloween candy too, before heading out to a late-night dinner at my favorite Sunday restaurant, Norman Quacks (They have the best deal on Prime Rib on Sundays!).

A couple of photos from Halloween Night around my ‘hood…..

These last two were taken a few weeks ago at a friends house :)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Fun Adventures in Minneapolis {with Bradie & her girls}

Babies & Kids, Friend Time, Great Outdoors & Weather, Photography 3 Responses »

Oct 312010

A few weeks ago when I had the day off of work I spent the day with my oldest girlfriend and her three little girls. It was a beautiful, warm October day so we hung out at their house, went out for lunch at Jakeeno’s Pizza and Pasta, hiked around Minnehaha Falls, took a bunch of photos, watched airplanes coming in for landing, and hung out some more. I love these girly days when we get ‘em :)

Minnehaha Falls in Afternoon

Neven 5

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

A Perfect Autumn Day at the Lake….

Babies & Kids, Family Gatherings 5 Responses »

Sep 292010

My parents had the family up to the Lake on Sunday. My Gram and Gramp were supposed to be there too but were both feeling under the weather and decided not to come. Its too bad, as they are heading back to their home in AZ next week. That means I won’t see them until next May unless I find myself in AZ between then and now (which I hope happens!)

I spent most of my time down at the lake with these two, who loved running around the beach

Perfect chance for me to snap some pics

The lake was so calm!

Fishing off the dock was a success, here is a nice bass

My cousin Segen (who is from WI but goes to college in St Paul)

Bri and my dad

We had the BEST smoked beef brisket, coleslaw, skillet mac ‘n cheese, homemade apple crisp and apple turnovers. Doesn’t get any better than that!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

End of Summer Lunch

Babies & Kids, Food and Drink, Friend Time 2 Responses »

Sep 112010

It had been way {way} too long since my friend Kara and I had seen each other, despite multiple attempts that just never worked out. A few weeks ago I was finally able to meet Kara and her little girl Olivia, along with our friend Angie, for lunch at the Green Mill in St Paul.

Olivia is so big since I last saw her! Not to mention SO CUTE, so smart and so talkative! She turns three in October.

I had so badly wanted to go to the Pow-Wow in Shakopee last month, where Olivia made her debut as a Tiny Tot. Unfortunately I didn’t make it down there this year, but Kara sent me a bunch of photos of Olivia in her hand-beaded outfit (photo below by Kara)

Anyway, back to our lunch. I had the yummy deep-dish pizza. I’ll be writing a review shortly :)

Deep Dish Pizza @ Green Mill

I look forward to more lunches and dinners with my friends this school year. I haven’t done it enough in the past couple years but I always enjoy it when it works out ;)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

4th of July

Babies & Kids, Family Gatherings, Holidays 2 Responses »

Jul 072010

While I was home for 4th of July weekend, I went to my cousin MacKenzie’s graduation party which was held on Sunday the 4th.

4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I just love being patriotic and celebrating our independence and freedom. Even better to spend it with family and friends.

This is Mackenzie and her mom

Mackenzie went all-out for her grad party and ordered one of those giant air-filled- bouncy castles for all the kids to play in. Its safe to say that my nieces and nephew had a BLAST!

They also loved the snow-cones made from the snow-cone machine…..
You won’t find a cuter blue smile than this one….

Love this one!

It was nice to see my grandparents as well :)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Weekend at Home

Babies & Kids, Family Gatherings 2 Responses »

Jul 072010

I flew back home to the Twin Cities for the weekend of the 4th. I didn’t have a ton of time to do much beyond laundry and running errands, but I did make some time to see my family. My parents had Bri, Michelle and the kids up for a day of boating so I joined them later in the day for a visit….

Annika

Bianca with her funny faces…..

Bennett

My dad attempted to take a photo of me by the lake

and I took a ton of photos of my mom’s beautiful flowers…..

For dessert my mom made her annual 4th of July Cheesecake….

Stay tuned for 4th of July post and many others coming soon!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

The Cutest Little Rock Star (on drums!)

Babies & Kids, Video Blogs, Videos No Responses »

Apr 212010

My friend Jules sent me this video and it is too cute not to share!

This kid is great!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Easter 2010

Babies & Kids, Family Gatherings, Holidays 5 Responses »

Apr 112010

Easter was an eventful day!

Started with brunch and an Easter Egg Hunt at Brian and Michelle’s

The look on Bianca’s face cracks me up! lol

Later we went to my mom & dad’s house where they were hosting the Sauer Family Easter with about half the Sauer Clan (35 or so?). What can I say? My dad has a big family and I have a lot of cousins and many of them have a lot of kids now!

Another Easter Egg Hunt, Hillbilly Golf, Kiddy Rides on the “Lift” down to the lake

Video footage of the kids coming up the lift

Some of the girl cousins (plus Michelle and Kim)

Shel and Me

Then dinner later with the in-laws.

I ate about 8 deviled eggs. Good stuff ;)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Bebe’s Birthday Bash

Babies & Kids, Birthday Parties, Family Gatherings 7 Responses »

Jan 262010

My niece Bianca turned three years old last week so we had a little family birthday party for her at Brian & Michelle’s house.

I took plenty of photos while practicing with my camera, you ready for them all??!!

The birthday girl

Bianca posing with Uncle Jeff and Grandpa Jim in their new “Chile” t-shirts……( Jeff and my dad literally got home from South America the night before the party)

One of Bianca’s big presents was a new bike! Big sister Annika helping with helmet

Speaking of Annika…..

Uncle Jeff is so silly….

I can’t forget the little dude! (who at this moment was in the mood for a photo apparently because he made this face and got all up in my camera!!

Last but not least, some pics of the cakes!!

Michelle has more photos from the party on her blog so go check them out :)

PS On an unrelated note….. sweetsauer.com will be moving to a new server and platform this weekend so make sure you subscribe using this feed otherwise you will not continue to receive my blog updates!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Pizza Time!

Babies & Kids, Birthday Parties, Family Gatherings No Responses »

Jan 032010

My dad's birthday was on Dec 30th and if you have been reading this blog over the years, you may remember that my dad has a very unique and special (almost famous) birthday. Every year we celebrate together (usually more than once!) and we usually have pizza. This year we met at Davanni's Pizza (after my bros took our dad to see Avatar earlier in the afternoon) for a quick dinner (review to come soon). I had just gotten my new camera so I brought it with to test it out.

My niece Bianca

My nephew Bennett. I know this isn't the greatest picture (sorry Michelle!) but I just LOVE that with the SLR only part of the photo is in focus with a blurred background. Kick ass!!! This is with the 18-55mm kit lens, using flash.

And there ya have it, my first pics with my new camera :)

Christmas Eve Fondue with the Fam

Babies & Kids, Family Gatherings, Holidays 1 Response »

Dec 302009

Christmas Eve fondue is one of my family's favorite traditions….

This is our set-up

Marinated Meats (and its hard not to notice all the other traditional fryer-foods like mozzarella sticks, tater tots, jalapeno poppers, etc that my brothers have incorporated into the dinner over the years)

Spear meats with fondue fork and place in hot oil! (The kids sit at a separate table and it will be a few years yet before they are able to fondue their own foods)

The process is lengthy and the kids were impatient waiting for the adults to finish so they could open presents! Here are a few other photos from the night

The kids had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed all the gifts they got. We got the kids each two sets of nice warm, soft Carter's PJs and I think they really liked them… they wore them home that night :)

They even enjoyed Chocolate fondue in their Pjs!

PS I wasn't sure if our Christmas Eve get together was even going to happen this year since local meteorologists were predicting the "Storm of the Century" with 30 inches or so to fall over Christmas. We ended up getting only 8" and the roads were fairly clear and drivable (although slippery)on Christmas Eve but still bad on Christmas Day. I hope weather didn't postpone Christmas for others, I know weather was bad all over this year!

Pre-Thanksgiving Family Dinner

Babies & Kids, Family Gatherings 3 Responses »

Nov 292009

Last weekend my family got together for dinner at my parents' house since we would not all be together on Thanksgiving this year. We had a grilled ham, roasted red potatoes with butter, dill and parmesan (my favorite), salad and dinner rolls, with pumpkin cheesecake made by Michelle for dessert. My dad let me borrow his camera again for

Here is a pic of Michelle, Amanda and me. I always wanted sisters and they're the closet thing I'll ever get :) We will all really miss Amanda when she moves out of state around Christmas. Her job is putting her on a new assignment for the next two years. I hope that time goes fast.

Bennett and Bianca both got their hair cut earlier that day and were looking pretty cute trying on Grandma's mardi gras beads

That's all I got!

Birthday Brunch for My Mamacita……

Babies & Kids, Birthday Parties, Family Gatherings 5 Responses »

Nov 112009

This past Sunday the whole family met up at Running Aces Harness Park for brunch to help my mom celebrate her birthday. Here it is 3 days later and I am still full from all the food I ate! Just kidding, but I really was full for at least 24 hrs afterward!

It was a semi-nice November day, nice enough for Jeffrey to show up in his flip-flops. I have many photos of Jeff "posing" like this one, someday soon I will have to devote a post strictly to these photos ;)

A few photos from brunch:

These are the last photos I took before returning my dad's camera back to him. (so sad to be without again)

Glad you had a nice birthday mom and I hope you're having fun in AZ!

The Sweetest Kiss…..

Babies & Kids, Family Gatherings 1 Response »

Oct 282009

My niece Bianca kissing Grandpa, taken at Jeff's house last Sunday.

So cute, I had to share!

Little Readers….

Babies & Kids, Books, Family Gatherings 5 Responses »

Oct 142009

My parents had a little brunch this past Sunday and I got to spend a little bit of time with my nieces. It is amazing to me how smart they are and how quickly they catch on to things. They are smarter every time I see them!

The girls had fun reading their books and they looked so cute while doing so!