SNOW!!!!

So, this is what we get in MN when they say a "slight chance of flurries." hahahah It started snowing this afternoon and by 8p there was about 1". But wait, it doesn't stop there, the forecast is for 6+" Saturday!! Woo Hoo!! As you can tell, the kids are just loving this. It was only 18 tonight, but there was no wind so it felt like a heat wave. That is one thing that we are getting used to -- the wind that just cuts right through you. Doug is even wearing his big heavy winter coat and his wool overcoat with his suit. Now, remember, he just walks maybe 50 yards to the office so you know it must be bad for him to put on the overcoat. I still need to invest in some leggings or long underwear soon!!!!

OK, we'll keep you posted if we really get 6" of snow this weekend..

Officially COLD!!!

This morning when we came down to do the paper route at 5:30 it was 6 out. Later Doug heard that the windchill was -5. Hooray, I guess winter is officially here and it is frigid!!! We are also supposed to have snow tonight, but they didn't give a accumulation. So, hopefully that means that it will only be flurries. If not, I will keep you posted tomorrow. =)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

For Thanksgiving we had more visitors from IL. It was nice to have some of our family make the trip to visit us. We also celebrate Christmas with the Buettner's. We had a nice time visiting and teaching Luke pinochle. Chris and I even braved the 17 degree weather and the wind to do some 5 am shopping on Friday. We didn't get everything we had hoped for, but we did pretty good. The kids had a great time playing and getting to sleep on the floor with each other. In fact, Gabriel and Anna both slept on the floor Sunday for their naps and we had to talk them into sleeping in their bed last night. Crazy kids!!! Even though we celebrated Christmas, can you believe that I didn't get a picture of all the kids together?!?!?!? I could just kick myself! And, as you can see, I didn't get a picture of Cynthia and Anna is playing with Gabe's new toy. I did have a headache when we started presents, so that must be the reason I wasn't thinking too clearly. =)

Baking Cookies

Well, it is that time of year again the bake Christmas cookies. I was even brave enough to have both kids (with Doug's help) help me with the cookies. We tried sugar roll out cookies like my mom used to make. I think they actually turned out good---not too much flour!! Our kitchen was a complete disaster with flour, as was Anna, but we all had a good time. I even broke out the Christmas music for the occasion. Which was a little early (before Thanksgiving) but we needed to be in the festive mood so we wouldn't get frustrated with our 'helpers.' hahahah

We are having a Cookie Walk at church, so we will be baking again. Shouldn't be quite as messy the next time though.

Raking Leaves

Well, I am finally catching up on a few events from the past month. Nov 9, when it was a little warmer, we were able to rake some leaves. Of course, the kids just had a blast - with jumping and using the rakes!

Doug Makes the Local Paper

Don't worry. It's a good thing. Nothing bad. :)

Happy Halloween!!

For Halloween this year, I thought it would be fun for the kids to match. At first I wanted the kids to be Nemo and Dory. But, upon further investigation of the costumes, they were not very warm looking. Since it was the end of August when I was buying them and it was already cold, I wanted something a bit warmer. So, I then thought of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The Mickey costume was warm, but not the Minnie. So, I kept searching and finally came up with Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Both of which are full body fleece costumes, so the kids would be warm. Now, I am not sure how many of you are familiar with the new version of Pooh on TV - My Friends Tigger and Pooh - but there is now a girl on there. So, I was supposed to be Darby and Doug was supposed to be Christopher Robbin. Needless to say, neither one of us is big into dressing up, so we were just boring old parents.

The kids got a lot of goodies and had a good time. We hit a few of our member's houses, so Doug and I got to visit a little. Well, as long as we could before Anna went out the door to get more candy at the next house. Both kids did good at saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You." It was funny though because at one member's house, Anna recognized them and said, "I would candy" and then proceeded to walk in their house. Thank goodness we know them and have visited with them outside of church. Of course, they were pleased the Anna felt comfortable with them.

Taco Tuesday

Each year in October the Preschool at church has a Taco Tuesday. It is a fundraiser as well as a program for the parents, grandparents, and other special friends and family. As you can imagine, we served tacos!! I fried 12 lbs of hamburger and they ended up frying/using more than that. The preschool made $851 in the process. There are 16 kids in Gabriel's class and 13 in the morning class.

They also artwork from all the kids up in the hallways. It was fun to see some of the other stuff they have been doing. The program was about 20 min long. The kids sang songs, recited bible verses and then answered questions about bible stories they had learned so far. It was a neat time and all the kids seemed to like sharing their talents with the parents.