record setting

I took this picture tonight while waiting to pick Thomas up from hockey practice.  52 degrees in January! 

first snow

This morning we woke up to a dusting of snow.  The girls were so excited that they threw a coat over their pajamas, slipped on a pair of shoes and went out to play in it for a bit.  Before we started school the sun came out and everything started melting.  It was a gorgeous, foggy haze with the water drops shimmering in the sun.  I grabbed the camera quick but just couldn't capture it. 

You can see their snow angels there in the grass. 

Our end of the lake has a super thin layer of ice.  Winter is coming. 

skiing with elle and ava

The sound is really annoying on this video but I thought it would be fun for you to see how well Ava has learned to ski this year.  Scott gets all of the credit for teaching her.  He was so patient with her and now she is flying down the hill and keeping up with Elle (on the easy trail!).  She will be wearing a helmet next year as she is pretty fearless!!

Update:  This video wasn't working for awhile.  I uploaded it again and it works for me.  Let me know if it's not for you.

tweet tweet little birdie

A few weeks ago we were at a friend's house and they had the coolest birdhouses on their windows that suctioned to the glass.  It was so fun to watch the birds and get such a close look at them.  We purchased one for the window in the school area and have just started to get birds feeding at it. 

We keep the Birdfeeder Handbook nearby so we can identify which birds we've had at the feeder.  Thomas made a chart and is keeping track of it for us.  This morning we had several Pine Siskin's.  I love that the squirrels can't get to it! 

february warm up

Temps in the high 30's, low 40's this weekend meant lots of playing outside.  It was wonderful!  This is Ava with her friend Hannah.  So fun to have your best friend as your neighbor.  These two ate way too much snow this weekend.  And we haven't had a fresh snowfall in awhile.  Yuck!

This was Scott's project for the weekend.  Any guesses at what it is?

Crazy right?! 

this post is for my dad

This is a picture of a true Minnesota kitchen in January right here.  Walleye ready to be filleted after a successful day of ice fishing.  Thanks to our friend Chris sharing his ice house the perfect winter afternoon is spent ice fishing while watching football....for the boys that is.  The girls and I prefer to stay home and bake while watching some our favorite cooking shows that we recorded throughout the week.  Our current favorite is this one.

My favorite recipe to make with the fish is Martha's Fish Po' Boys.  The spicy tartar sauce is what makes the sandwich!  We skip the cornmeal breading part of her recipe and use Shore Lunch instead.  Our neighbor that has taught Thomas almost everything he knows about fishing said that it's the best so I've never really considered anything else.  I figure he knows what he's talking about.

pond hockey

Thomas is playing pond hockey again this year.  He's now old enough to play with the big boys (11-15 year olds).

He practices twice a week for 2 hours at each practice.  He comes home sweaty every time.  Even if it's below zero.  And he's hungry enough to eat a second dinner.

This morning was their first game.  The temperature driving into town was 3 below zero.  Did I mention that their games are outside?  And that they last an hour? 

It was stinkin cold.

Ava went skating while Thomas played.  She could kinda see where she was going. 

They didn't win today but he had a great time.

winter wonderland

I took the camera with me this morning when I went to get the mail.  It is so gorgeous this morning!  I have no idea how much snow we got yesterday but more is on the way. 

The huge beehive from last summer is still hanging on.

This is our driveway and yes, it is treacherous in the winter.

But it makes a great sledding hill!

goal

Tonight the hockey season came to an end and it couldn't have been sweeter for Thomas.  He scored 2 goals!  Way to go Thomas!

snow, slopes and sunshine

We took a little vacation this week to northern Minnesota to ski for a couple of days at Giants Ridge.  We had a great time.  Ava loved the little bunny hill....

...and the magic carpet ride to go back up to the top! 

Scott didn't use a harness with Ava the second day.  She skied by herself on some of the flatter spots.

Until she crashed.  :)

Elle was a good cheerleader encouraging her and showing her how to make an 'A' with her skis.

It was fun to get out there with the kids.  Elle has no fear and will go down any run and usually at full speed.  She often had to stop and wait for me to catch up with her when we skied together.

This is my only picture of Thomas on the slopes. I do not know how that happened!  I wish I had sent a camera along with Scott since he skiied with him a lot more than I did.  Such a bummer.  I did at least take a lot of video of him.  Maybe I will have Scott help me make a short video of our vacation highlights to put up here so that you can see some of his sweet jumps!

It was a fun little getaway!

sledding

Snow packed stairs make a good sledding track! 

hitting the slopes

We have spent most Monday and Friday afternoons skiing and snowboarding this month.  Actually, I should clarify.  Thomas and Elle are the ones hitting the slopes.  I'm not quite brave enough to put Ava on skis and in a harness to try skiing with me!  I haven't been on skis for a few years so I just don't feel comfortable trying to teach her.  Maybe Scott will give it a try with her sometime this winter.  Thomas and Elle are doing great though and absolutely love getting out there. 

Ava and I spend our time hanging out in the chalet.  We each pack a bag of things to do and the time usually passes pretty quickly.  Yesterday I brought along the personal dvd player and she was happy to be able to watch a movie when she was getting bored with her toys.  She even ended up taking a nap for an hour or so while I held her.  It won't be long and she'll be tagging along with Thomas and Elle!

winter fun

Hi! We are still alive and well here in Minnesota! Sorry to stay away from this place for so long! We are staying busy and time is flying by, which is a good thing in January.

My crazy kids love winter so they have been enjoying lots of skiing, snowboarding, ice skating and hockey. 

Ava's been eating plenty of snow. Even though we haven't had a fresh snowfall since Christmas. I know, gross!

And we are keeping busy with school.  After studying Ancient Egypt Thomas was more than happy to turn Elle into a mummy for fun!

I have so many pictures to share and hope to get back to regular blogging again soon.  Hope you all are having a great winter!

it's skating time again

This year the double blade skates fit Ava. Can she really be old enough already?!!

clark & rusty got the lights up

Rusty needs to spend a little time finding the bulb that needs replacing in that bottom string of lights tomorrow! :)

snowmen

Thomas and Elle wanted me to let you know that they've updated their blogs. They spent hours playing outside yesterday. Click here to see Elle's adorable snowman and here to see Thomas's 'amazing' snowman.

snow cream

What do you do when April brings a bunch of snow? Make snow ice cream!

First gather 8 cups of fresh, clean snow. (I did this myself. I've saw the snow my kids have happily ate off the ground and it isn't always fresh and clean!) Then pour in one can of sweetened condensed milk and one teaspoon of vanilla.

Take turns stirring it up.

It surprisingly tastes like real homemade ice cream!

The kids loved it and asked for seconds.

Good to the last drop!

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen.

is it really april?

This is not an April Fool's joke! This is spring in Minnesota! We got a few inches of snow yesterday and more during the night. We woke up to an absolutely gorgeous scene. Of course, I'd rather have the sun shining and everything starting to turn green again but I can't help but enjoy the beauty outside my windows. It's the perfect snow for building snowmen and snow forts. Thomas and Elle are outside playing in it right now. I promised them I'd let them take a really long 'recess' if they got their math, grammar and spelling done first. I don't think they've ever got it done so quickly!