'Spring' Fever

I am sorry that I talk about the cold weather all the time, but it affects our life so much that I have to. It is officially the coldest January that Minnesota has seen since 1978 ( we were just watching the news, and it hasn't been above freezing all month.) But last week, we had 2 days that were 30 degrees, and it felt like spring! It was so nice to be able to go outside!!! The boys were so excited, they took out all the summer toys. They were playing tee-ball, and making 'snowcastles.' It was really fun! We are going to Florida in 2 weeks, and we are so excited. So I have no reason to complain at all.

What to do in sub zero temperatures

It has been below zero since Tuesday, so what do you do when you can't leave the house?

1. Make snow cones out of fresh, falling snow (really fun). The first picture is of Freddy's snow drink. The boys loved this, although, we did this on Monday, when it was still warm enough to snow!

2. Eat too much food. The second picture is of Gemma's first bite of Dairy Queen ice cream. This was Tom's idea - he only gave her a bite, but she REALLY loved that bite.

3. Wrestle, wrestle, wrestle - we have also spent a great deal of time playing camping, hunting, and hockey thoughout the whole house. Hunting is my personal favorite.

4. Have a snowman party and dress up like snowmen. Grandma Berg actually had a really cute snowman party for the kids. It was really nice of her.

5. I had to add the last picture, because when we came downstairs this morning, we found that the ice had filtered into the house. You can't really see it, but there is ice on our oak trim! Tommorrow we are warming up to the 20s, and we are so excited to be out of the negative weather. Thank you, God!!

Joys of Winter

Skating and hockey is obviously a big thing here. I never really enjoyed either until now because my boys love them. They are true Minnesotans, and love the ice. It is great. Freddy is really proud of himself that he can skate on his own. Jack cannot yet balance on skates, although he loves to try, but he plays hockey in the house for hours on end. My living room is no longer my quiet room without any toys. It is now the boys hockey rink where Jack hits pucks into the net all day long. So much fun!

Frederick's Big Day

We decided that it would be good for Frederick to go to Pre - Kindergarten two days a week. It is a beautiful Catholic program, and today was his first day! I was really emotional about it, but he was excited to go and had a nice first day. It was a long day for him, but he had fun with his buddies that are in the class. He enjoyed playing play-do, and eating from his really cool new lunch box. He is such a wonderful boy, and I can't believe my baby is growing up so quickly!

Christmas 2008

Here are lots of pictures of our wonderful Christmas in Philly! It was great to be with the family, although I think we all realized that being under one roof for 9 days was a little long. We are a big group now of 18 people!! The kids had the time of their lives though! The boys played so well together. They loved being together, and all the fun toys at Grandad and Grandmom's house. Alexandra, the newest member, is so beautiful and precious. She was baptized on the 26th, which was so nice to all be there. Matthew's parents and two of his siblings were there, as well. We had a beautiful trip, and thankfully beautiful weather, too. We thoroughly enjoyed playing outside whenever we could. While we were in the woods in the back yard, Freddy turned to me and said, "Mom, there is no winter here!!" I explained to him that Philly does get snow, but we all enjoyed a little break from the MN cold.

Although, we are very happy to be home. Thank you Mom and Dad for everything!!!