A Valentine Box

Eli's very first Valentine box. Although I'm not sure if it's a monster or an alien or a monster/alien...

Ski School

The Bemidji Cross Country Ski Club offers ski school for people of all ages, abilities and xc ski styles (classic and skate). They also supplyall of the needed equipment and snacks. The teachers (who are volunteers) are awesome and all of the kids seem to be having a great time even when it's freezing cold (the parents on-the-other-hand, whine constantly about how cold it is. And it is really esp. when you're just standing around in the cold watching your child ski).On this particular day, they were learning to go down hills. The hill, which is more like a ditch was easy to go down, it's the getting up part that can prove to be too much work for little ones. Can you believe that I didn't hear one cry or whine or complaint out of any of the kids? They were so awesome.

The little kids practice without poles, because at this age they are more of a hindrance than a help. They are mostly working on gliding instead of shuffling, turning and how to stand up after they fall. This is the "hill" by the way.

Here is Eli side-stepping back up the "hill". I'm not sure when they learn to v-walk up or stomp up, but this seems to be the easiest method at this age.Last week it was a balmy 10 degrees at ski school. The kids spent an hour and a half outside without a grumble. However, after we got in Eli and Sadie had their very first toes-are-so-cold-that-they're-on-fire experience. Man, I so remember that pain as a kid after hours of skating. I felt so bad for their cold, red toes. I promptly went and bought them each some new, fat, warm wool socks so that they can enjoy their outdoor experiences a little more! Here's hoping that the toes are toasty next week.

Snow and Update and Stuff

I think the kids have reached my favorite stage. I'm just loving parenting right now. The kids are independent, but they still need you and they still like to cuddle.You can motivate them with a dime. They can play for hours crazy, silly, imaginative, albeit messy play. They are funny and make me laugh. I can reason with them a little bit. It's just fun. I really would like to have ongoing video footage of them right now, so I can have it when they're teenagers, just because they're so sweet and charming right now, but it might get kind of boring to watch, yet I couldn't capture this moment in a single 1 minute clip.
I love that they're currently into playing "Rolling Derby" since we went to see the Babe City Rollers the other night. It's crazy how Eli knows all of the rules after watching one game and yet neither Dennis nor I sat down to really explain the rules to him. But, that's Eli. Eli loves rules, he loves to follow them and he hates if others break them!
They also love playing "Backyardigans" and go on adventures. Sadie is always "Tasha" who tends to be the confident, bossy one on the show and Eli likes to be "Pablo", who always seems to have a crazy, frenzied, panicky moment on every episode. They seemed to pick the characters that they could relate to the most.
Eli tried wrestling and has decided that he doesn't want to do it. Actually, I think he would love to do it on a Saturday morning, but when it's at 6pm, I think he's just too tired. And I don't blame him, I don't like having things at that time either!
Sadie has just moved up groups in Gymnastics. She is now a "Superbee" and has practice in the evening versus the morning class that she used to attend. She is working on mastering her cartwheels, and pointing her toes! We've never gone at night before and it was a totally different experience. Lots of gymnasts at all ages doing some pretty cool stuff. I think Sadie might have caught the bug. She was awestruck!
Now, onto the snow. We have a very large pile in the front of the house mostly due to Dennis pushing snow off of the roof. So, Dennis and the kids dug this tunnel:
One of our favorite things to do outside is lick icicles and dip them into the snow and eat the snow. Sort of a low-calorie lik-m-stick.

Elephant and Piggie

Mo Willems, the author of the Knuffle Bunny, Pigeon, Elephant and Piggie and Cat the Cat books, is a favorite around our house. The kids have read all of the so many times that they are memorized and then reread by them over and over and over again. They love being dramatic and Eli and Sadie make a pretty good duo. In this video, you can tell they've read this book lots of times, they "overact", correct each other and argue. I guess, they're just like every other brother/sister team!! Eli and Sadie even read this book in front of Eli's class (Yes, you read that correct. Eli got in front of his class and read a book!! He's come a long way!).

We also recently acquired the "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" game which Eli bought with his Christmas money. Which is sort of a funny story. See, Eli likes to spend money like crazy so my rule with him is that after he finds something he wants he has to wait 3 days before he can buy it to make sure he really really wants it. Otherwise we end up with a lot of toys that he doesn't play with. He saw this game and really really wanted it, but he also wanted about 20 other things, so I made him wait. After several days of waiting, he said, "Mom can we please go back to Target and get that Pigeon Game? I've been dreaming and dreaming and dreaming about it." So, we went to Target and he got his game. It has become a favorite for the last week or so. They particularly like that they can move the pigeon to get their opponents bus back to the beginning.

If you've never read a Mo Willems book then you are in for a treat. Then, you should rush to your local library and check out as many of his books as you can. Be prepared to laugh. We always do!

Yoga

We're all a little yoga crazy around our house. I've been doing a lot of yoga over the past few months. Because Sadie is home with me all the time and because we're often doing yoga, she got a new yoga mat for her birthday (which was wayyyyy back in October). I refused to pay $3o for a kid yoga mat, so a $10 mat and $20 in supplies later... She is now the owner of this hand painted rainbow yoga mat, that I'm just a smidge jealous of. She also received a pack of Yoga Pretzel cards that demonstrate how to do each pose. By the way, Sadie is much more particular now of her clothing choices while doing yoga. Sadie likes to wear "yoga pants" and a tank top. But, it's been pretty amazing to watch them concentrate in the poses. And the partner poses? I'm shocked that my kids can do these without arguing. Yoga, it brings us all together. Namaste!
Here is Sadie doing plank:
Eli in turtle:

Double dog:

Double boat:
Open heart:

Happy New Year

After spending Christmas at home with my family, we decided to head to North Dakota to spend New Year's with Dennis' family. The Tuesday before New Years, the meteorologists were forecasting that starting Wednesday evening two big storms following right after each other would keep travelers stuck where they were for several days and no travel was advised. The meteorologists have said this for several storms this year and while there has been snow and blowing, they haven't been the storms that they promised. So, we were a little skeptical of this "big storm" and figured it wouldn't be so bad. But, just in case we stopped at all the places we needed to go before the storm: made a stop in Jamestown to drop of a gift for Kristen, drove to Bismarck to visit the beloved Emily and Ashley (and Megan too) and for me to visit my identical cousin, Brenda. We made it to Dennis' mom and dads on Wednesday evening to join Pat and Duane , Theresa and Cole. There still wasn't a storm. We woke up in the morning, there still wasn't a storm but the wind was blowing like crazy even for ND standards and it was freezing even for ND standards. We made a quick trip to the best store in ND, Nita's Attic, which is a consignment shop that has all of the stuff that you never knew you wanted for dirt cheap. I have yet to make a trip a come home empty handed. This time it was a loaf pan from Bennington Pottery ($2. 75), last time it was an incomplete set of china ($7.99). But, I digress, it was a cold walk home with our arms full of treasures, only 2 blocks away, but it felt like 2 miles. Someone even stopped and asked if we needed a ride. Yeah, the storm was starting. You might not remember, but last year we got snowed in over Christmas with Pat and Duane, Theresa and Cole. It's sort of becoming a tradition, I think.
So, for 3 days (2 days longer then we planned on staying) we didn't go outside or change out of our pajamas. We ate nothing but cookies and desserts and spent lots of time in front of a screen.I've never been so thankful of technology in my whole life. Eli and Sadie played "cut the rope" on Paula's IPad for hours. Cole brought his wii so Sadie become a cycling phenom and Eli is now an expert at 100 pin bowling. The kids received 10 movies for Christmas (no lie, we bought them second-hand from Dennis' coworker) so we had lots of movies to watch. Dennis' mom and dad got a new laptop, so I could do my online yoga in the peace of the basement. It was fantastic.
We also spent a lot of time playing games and relaxing on the couch.

The kids were very excited to bring in the New Year. They made fantastic hats (out of leftover wrapping paper) and blowers. I told them they were welcome to stay up until midnight (thinking that they'd fall asleep before that) and that at midnight we'd go outside and run around and yell "Happy New Year" (thinking that they'd fall asleep before that).Well, wouldn't you know that they managed to stay up until Midnight and that they were excited to run around outside even in the midst of a raging blizzard. However, this is what happens when you stay up until midnight and you prepare to run around outside in the midst of a raging blizzard to yell "happy new Year" and you can't find your mittens that your mom is making you wear because of the said blizzard and dangerous way below zero temperatures and wants you to wear socks on your hands for the one minute we're going to be outside. You throw a tantrum... But, you pull it together long enough to run outside (which I did not get pictures of. Theresa did. You can't even see us. All you see is lots and lots and lots of snowflakes) for a minute and yell "happy New Year!".

New Years Day we celebrated again because some adults did not manage to stay up until midnight.

We finally made it home on Sunday afternoon by driving on the back roads to Fargo since the interstates were still closed due to bad weather/ice and a major 100 car pileup. Being stormed in for 4 days can make a person sort of antsy. I've never been so excited to see a McDonald's playland. We stopped and played (along with every other kid in the Fargo metro area) for a long long time before making the last little jaunt to Bemidji. We are still working on getting back into our routine after the holidays. We all went through a little sugar withdrawal for a couple of days. We're happily waiting for all of the joys and milestones that 2011 will bring! Happy New Year everyone! Stay warm.

Skis

This winter we were gifted another set of kids hand-me-down cross country skis. The kids no longer have to share skis (like their parents do) and have been out on the trails sliding along. These trails, by the way, are in our, ahem, Dr. Johnson's backyard. They are just another reason why living in Bemdiji is pretty awesome and yet another reason why you should come visit us no matter the season.

We are spoiled to have these groomed trails 50 yards from our front door. OK, so this particular trail that Eli is on is leading to our house so it's not so beautifully groomed...

Happy Indulgences!!

Merry Christmas!! Dennis was on call and had to work so we spent Christmas in Bemidji. My brother and his family and my mom and dad celebrated with us. We are usually traveling for the holidays so it was nice to be in our own house and our beds. But, the traveling is coming as we'll be heading to see Dennis' family next week!
This picture was actually taken a couple of weeks ago before Anissa's baptism. But, with church going late on Christmas Eve and then me deciding to make swedish meatballs for supper and after cleaning up, the kids just could hardly wait any longer for us to take photos too.Sadie got her much desired pillow pet.

Reid had way too much fun running around and playing with Eli's toys to open any presents for himself. Reid, by the way, is Mr. Chatterbox. For being 2 and a boy, that kid can talk your ear off. And he's funny!

I like this picture of my dad and Anissa because it reminds me so much of another picture I have when Sadie was that age.Sadie got these Tinkerbell PJs and she loves them. She loves them so much that she took off her Christmas dress right in the living room in front of everyone and put them on. Gosh, it's great to be 4!!

The kids posing in their requested made-by-mom bathrobes, which are much too big for them. They loved them too!
Santa came in the morning and brought the kids new bikes. They are very sad that it is cold and snowy and can't try them out. I did get a picture of Eli on his bike too, but it was really blurry.Santa also brought Eli some new HotWheels, SnapCircuits, a movie and a jumprope.

Santa brought Sadie this awesome "Sadie" hat and a huge candy cane.
Eli is also now the proud owner of an air hockey game. Dennis got his chainsaw and underwear. I got a new apron, wool socks and some wool clogs.

I had a great time hosting my first Christmas. The food was pretty good, if I do say so myself. We ate too much and the kids were spoiled by everyone. We didn't play any cards though, I guess I'll have to wait until I'm in Napoleon to play May-I!!! I truly am blessed with a wonderful family!

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K1 Christmas Program

Friday night, Eli and his K1 and Kindergarten classmates at JW Smith Elem. had their Christmas concert. The children learned 13 songs and poems and did an awesome job. You might remember Eli's last Christmas concert, where he refused to sing and stood with his hands in his pockets the whole time. Well, those days are long gone. He sang and did the actions for every song. He even happily put on his Christmas sweater, cords, and "church shoes". He kept saying he needed to wear something "the colors of the flag, you know, red, white and blue" but I think he was confusing that with the Veterans Day program they had!Here are some actions from "Up on the Housetop". This is a "dolly that laughs and cries. One that will open and shut it's eyes."You can tell that all of the kids love the "whip that cracks" part. Mrs. Schaefer, their music teacher, (pictured) apparently has a real whip that she brought to class and showed the kids what a cracking whip sounds like. I bet the students were good that day!!After the show we celebrated with Zoe and her family by going out for pizza at our favorite local pizza joint. It was such a fun day!

Dear Santa,

~~~Please excuse the bluriness of these photos, I still do not know how to use my camera!~~~

A visit to Santa was in order so the kids could absolutely be certain that they would get what they wanted for Christmas. Eli asked if this was going to be the real Santa and I said that Santa is sometimes so busy this time of year that sometimes he sends elves to dress up and act like him, but guess what? The real Santa actually made it to the Bemidji library and Mrs. Claus came too. Look at how handsome he is! (Gosh, will someone please get that kid some new jeans? Didn't his parents know that it was going to be like 15 degrees below zero that day??)
Both of the kids decided to hand-deliver their letters. Eli requested a lot of stuff: tools and cars and some other things that I can't recall. (Things he never mentioned until he sat down to write the letter!)

Sadie worked super-hard on her letter. There was a beautiful picture of a butterfly and flowers and the sun and ladybugs on the front. Then she included hundreds of paper hearts that she spent days cutting out of Christmas wrapping paper. She asked for a Princess Nutcracker, a princess snowglobe and a pillow pet. She was also brutally honest when she admited that she was a good girl "most of the time."

Here's hoping that Santa was listening!

~~~Cousins~~~

Sadie, Reid, Eli and Anissa

Christmas Tree 2010

So, when I said we had to find and chop down a tree, you didn't actually think we were going to tromp through the woods of Minnesota to find the pefect tree did you? I hope not, because that would be a stretch. We did "chop" down a tree this weekend, but it was from a tree farm and they provided the saw. They did provide the snow for a fabulous flocked look, but while beautiful it actually made searching for the perfect tree a little difficult as we had to shake them all to see how it looked.The snow was a little deep once you got off the road and it made finding the perfect tree very tiring. See that tree without any snow? That's our tree!

Every year, Eli wants a Charlie Brown tree. He didn't get one again this year.

I have a video of the actual falling of the tree, but it's a little boring, so I'll spare you. This is the point where Dennis was saying something like, "Gosh, it sure would be nice if your mom would put down the camera and help."

They had to wait a whole day before they could decorate it. Mom was too busy decorating the rest of the house and dad was putting lights on the house and then Grandma was here so mom and dad had to go out on a date...
It's a major award!

How sweet is Sadie?!?

It's Beginning to Look (and Feel) A Lot Like Christmas!

"Snowmen" by Eli

Here it is, the first day of December. It looks like December: there's a good 18 inches of fluffy, glittery snow, the trees are heavy with the latest falling of the white stuff, the roads are icy, the ski trails have been groomed, and all of our shoes have been replaced by boots (and skates, and skis!). The temperatures are in the single digits and it now takes us a good 20 minutes to get out the door as boots, coats, hats, scarves and mittens need to be put on even just to run and get the mail.

"Reindeer" by Sadie

I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like there is a lot to get done between now and December 25. We need to find, chop down and decorate a Christmas tree, two requested bathrobes need to be sewn, dozens of cookies need to be made, the house needs to be cleaned, scrubbed, decluttered and decorated for a holiday party that I somehow volunteered for, presents need to be purchased, holiday cards need to be emailed and somehow I need to find time to slow down, smile and enjoy it all. Although it can be hectic, I enjoy all of the preparation for one special day. The kids, too have been preparing. Letters are being written, ornaments are being made, decorations are being arranged and then rearranged and the rearranged again, songs are being sung and holiday cheer is in the air.

Eli has a Christmas concert coming up and I think he might even sing this time. He's promised to wear a sweater and he even helped pick one out (on ebay, of course). Much to my chagrin, it turns out that he doesn't like Nordic ski sweaters and finds them "too snowflakey". Sadie has about 4 Christmas outfits and thinks that that isn't enough and already knows which outfit she's wearing to each holiday event. Dennis has requested a chainsaw for Christmas, but Sadie thinks he needs new underwear. I wonder which one he'll be getting?!

In this time of preparation, I'm going to try really hard to appreciate and savor every moment of it. And I pray that my patience lasts until December 25th!!