BURR

I have lived in Minnesota for all of my life I never get use to the cold winters!! This is ridiculous! The school is starting late tomorrow because of the fear of kids freezing while waiting for the bus. I guess the 40 below zero windchill is enough to call a late start. BURR!! Why do we live here? We should all vacation to the south for the winter. We have feet of snow on the ground and it is continuing to snow every other day. It is now into the freezing cold season where no one wants to leave their house. WHY??? We are a different breed that is for sure. But hey there are only 60 more days until spring so we can make it!!

Flushed Away

Braeden got fish for Christmas from Nana and Papa. We have learned as we go where to keep the food. Charlie likes to help himself and feed the fish or dump all the food in the tank. Yesterday we woke up to find one of Braeden's fish hiding but kind of floaty. He was still swimming around but looked quite sick. We fed the fish a little and hoped maybe he was just hungry. Well Braeden is off at school and I went to check on them. I couldn't find the sickly fish swimming around. He is at the bottom of the tank behind the filter :( Poor fish!! Now I must wait until Braeden gets home to tell him.

Additional note: Charlie says to me.."mommy fishy sleeping." Poor buddy. So sweet and innocent. Yes buddy the fish is sleeping :( Emma says.."Don't worry Charlie we will flush him and all toilets lead to the ocean. He will get to swim in the biggest pool ever!" Mrs smarty pants is a doll too!!

Aunties Are Fun

Patsy and her boys came home this weekend for a visit. I really enjoyed her visit this month. It seemed less chaotic and we had a lot more time together. We would get the kids to bed and sit up and chit chat for awhile. Molly joined us a few nights so that was great too. Thursday Patsy took the kids while I worked on some orders. They went sledding out front of mom and dad's house, on the snow bank that the plows have made in the cul de sac. It was so much fun! I even got to sled some with Patsy and the kids. It was fun to just be a kid again for a little while. We attempted going to a movie on Friday night. Mom and Nick watched all 6 kids. Patsy, Molly and I were excited to get out. Well the movie was a bust because it was broken at the theater. They tried to play it but the sound kept cutting out. They would have to restart it. It was awful!! It broke right before the end so we didn't even get to see the ending! Guess that is what you get for going to the $3 theater. Oh well..we will just rent it! We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Molly's baby! Only a few more weeks. It is crazy how fast the time has gone, for all of us not Molly ;)!

Emma's Birthday Party

On Saturday we had Emma's birthday party with some of her friends. I am pretty sure it fit her perfectly. We had it at Dance Express, where Emma takes dance. They did everything which was great for me too. We walked in and they had a table set up and decorations up. The kids had a blast too. They learned a dance, did an obstacle course, had pizza, cupcakes, ice cream and pop. I don't think it could've gotten any better. Thank you Jen and Savannah for entertaining the kids and coming up with a great dance for them to perform.

Bad Habits

You know you are teaching your children bad habits when your driving your 5 year old home and she says..."UGH go the speed limit dude!" Then the car turns off and she says "THANK YOU! Now we can get going mom!" It made me chuckle but made me realize I need to relax a little more in the car I guess! ;) At least there were no swear words! I am doing something right!

Hair Cut

Charlie is at such a sweet age. He is talking up a storm. He loves everyone and life! Tonight he was pretending to give Nick a haircut. It was so sweet and I got it on video.

Resolutions and Family

Last year my resolution was to run a 1/2 marathon by the end of the year. I accomplished that and I hope to run 2 this year. My resolution this year is to be less connected to technology. I have downgraded my cell phone so that I don't have access to my emails or facebook at any moment. It got so obsessive. I want to put the phone down and just enjoy life. If anything is that important someone will call me. It has been a week and I feel rejuvenated already. I thought it would be awful but it really hasn't been. I spent the weekend relaxing and not stressing. It was fabulous!! I even knitted two hats and only checked my email a handful of times. Like I said it has only been a week so we shall see how the rest of the year goes!

We spent the weekend hanging out and playing around the house. Emma, my mom, Molly and I went to St. Paul on Saturday for a baby shower for Molly. It was so fun to see all the cousins, aunts and my grandma. We don't get together enough! Molly got great things and I think she is about set for this baby to arrive! CAN'T WAIT!

I realized I hadn't posted pictures from Christmas for our family to see. Christmas is a crazy time for us with Emma's birthday and our anniversary right after. My mind escaped me. Plus, I can't believe Christmas is over already! Here is a slide show of our Christmas with both sides: