Sledding on Christmas Day

Or, sliding, as Minnesota cousins call it! They let me know that snowmobiling is sledding, and sledding is sliding. Christmas Day was beautiful, and perfect for sledding after the weekend snowstorm. A great time was had by all (at least all the kids!).

Birthday Girls

Yesterday was a very special day at our house. Our oldest daughter, Bethany turned 17 years old (Wow! How did that happen?!), and our youngest, Mia, turned 1 year old! Unfortunately, we postponed our birthday celebration until next weekend, as Lily has been sick for 3 days with a very high fever. Hopefully this won't pass to the rest of us. Bethany did have a great day, anyway. She and Paige went to HuHot and shopping with their youth group. She had Christmas and birthday money to spend, and spend it she did! We also had a great visit with friends that stopped by on their way home from Christmas break. It was great to see Shannon, Pam and their dog, Gus! We don't get together often enough!

Our Girls

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ICE!!

We've had an interesting couple of days. We were pretty sure we wouldn't have school on Tues, due to the impending winter storm. So, I planned ahead, buying all we needed to make some yummy Christmas treats on that day. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. We lost power on Tues shortly after 9 a.m. Talk about a loooonng day! Bethany had one friend that had power, so several of her friends had an impromptu sleepover that night at her house. The rest of us hunkered down here at home. It was a bit chilly, but we all survived. When we got up on Wed morning, it was 54 degrees in here. After a couple of hours, the cold started seeping into our fingers and toes, so we camped out at the home of our GREAT friends. The girls and I spent the day there, and by late afternoon, we were told by the power company that it wouldn't be repaired until 9 a.m. Thurs. morning. We were preparing for a sleepover with our friends, when we were told we had power at about 5:30 p.m. YEAH!! So, we all headed home, after a delicious home cooked meal with our friends. We're so thankful that we had friends we could count on. No way we could have stayed at home the 2nd night! Who knows what the temp would have been by this morning! So, our town is a total mess. Bethany finally went to school today, and one elementary school is still not having classes. On the way to school, there were several places with roads blocked with downed lines/trees. So, I tried a different route home, and it was worse! There was a downed power pole and wires blocking the road. This morning the sun is shining (yeah!-so beautiful with all the sparkling ice shining in the sun!). Temps forecast in the lower 30's, so hoping for at least a little melt off today, before the winds pick up and start everything all over again. So, we're enjoying our warm home this morning, and hoping to find some time this weekend to get our Christmas treats made. In the meantime, we need to get some school done around here.

Sleepy Baby

Mia was sick with a high fever last week and is still catching up on her rest whenever she gets a chance!

Duet

Paige and her friend, Steven, are playing a duet for the recital at the end of this month. They wouldn't let me get a face shot, so this is as good as it gets!

Butterscotch Foot

Lily continually cracks me up! This morning she is watching me put candy in our Christmas stockings and she says to me, "I want one Butterscotch Foot!" I can only assume she meant a ButterFINGER! HaHaHaHaHa!!

Buddies

Another Thanksgiving photo (thanks Grandpa!). This is Ariana and Shannon. They are about the same age and love seeing each other on holidays. They actually got to enjoy a few days at camp together this summer. Too bad we live 6 hours apart!

Best of Friends

Last weekend, we had good friends visit from out of town. We have been friends with this family for 12 years. We only lived in the same area for 2 years, but have managed to maintain a special friendship all of this time through 2 long distance moves on our part. They have 3 daughters that match up in age with our 2 oldest, and our 4 year old. Our girls go to camp together every summer, and we manage to get together 3-4 times a year apart from camp. We love you guys! This is Bethany, Alicia, Paige and Stephanie. Sad that our girls are growing up and will be leaving the nest before we know it!