A Week in Minnesota

The kiddos and I flew into Minnesota on Thursday night.  After a great flight, thanks to their DVD players, a few books, and a snack we were off and running to meet Grandma Nancy.  Once we met her, we got our luggage and then loaded up the truck and were off to Uncle Troy and Auntie Molly’s house.  The kiddos were really excited to be in Minnesota, so was I.  After saying our hellos and getting settled we all went to bed.  Friday we got up got ourselves in order and then headed to the mall to get a few things.  Then it was back to Troy and Molly’s while the kiddos napped I had crafting afternoon, getting ready for Molly’s baby shower. 

Friday night was dinner, chaos and the Olympics opening ceremony.  Grandpa Jim was flying in from Costa Rica and his flight was delayed which was a bummer.  Thomas tried his hardest to stay awake and go to the airport with Grandma, but right before it was time to leave he decided to stay and just go to bed.  He called Grandpa and left him a message and that was good enough.  On Saturday morning it was up and into wake Grandpa up.  We then had breakfast, got some more stuff done for the shower and then I was off to Lara’s bridal shower (Mike’s brother, Pat’s fiance).  The kiddos stayed with my parents and Uncle Troy and Auntie Molly.  Lara had a nice shower and got a lot of nice gifts.  When the shower was over we headed back to pack up the house and then it was off to a hotel for some swimming fun.  I am pretty sure Mike and I have half fish as children.  They could spend hours in a pool and are getting to be pretty good little swimmers!  Uncle Troy and Auntie Molly joined us and while the girls watched the guys took over in the pool.  We then had dinner and all of us were in bed early.The next morning we were up and in the pool early before heading back over to Troy and Molly’s house.  It was shower day for Baby Girl McConachie and I had a few final things to do in preparation.  Then we loaded the car up we headed over to Lindsay’s house and finished setting up before the other guests arrived.  Baby girl is already so loved and Molly got many wonderful gifts in her honor.  After the shower we went back to get our things at Troy and Molly’s and say our goodbyes there as we were headed to Mike’s parents house for the next few nights.  

Sunday night we had dinner at the Lashen’s and Uncle Don and Auntie’s Mo and Katie joined us.  On Monday morning we went over to an indoor play area in Woodbury where the kids were able to climb and run around for a few hours.  Kathy and I even got inside the play structure for some fun, seriously it was a blast and by the end I was tired too!  When then went back to the Laschen’s to rest and wait for Grandpa to get off work.  When Grandpa finished working we bundled up the kiddos and they got to go outside for some shoveling.  On Tuesday we went to Wild Rumpus bookstore and then had lunch over at Nana Banana’s house.  Then it was home for naps and resting before Grandpa got off of work.  On Wednesday we packed up and headed over to spend the day/night with the Erdalls.  Thomas and Elin had a blast playing with Ben and Hallie and Tiff and I were able to get some much needed catch up time.  For the last few years we have had only quick get togethers which always leave us feeling that it was too short a time together.  This time we were able to get the kiddos some great play time, dinner, and then our own time while the kiddos slept.  For dinner we were also joined by Nikki, Amelia and Addison.  

On Thursday morning the kiddos had breakfast and then it was off to school again for Ben and Hallie.  Thomas, Elin and I headed over for another play date at Nikki, Amelia and Addy’s house.  Then we picked up Nana Kathy and went back to get ready for our flight that night.  Elin and I snuck in a quick nap while Thomas and Nana watched a movie together.   Then it was dinner and off to the airport, we had a late flight scheduled.

At the airport our terminal was right across from the play space so the kiddos got to play while we waited.  It was perfect, after a short delay we boarded and we were ready to get going.  After a quick George for Elin she snuggled in and went to sleep.  Thomas wasn’t far behind her as they both were exhausted.  When we landed I was a little frazzled as I had a soundly sleeping boy and he was not waking up for anything, not even daddy.  The nice gentleman sitting next to me helped me carry some of our stuff and when we got to the area to get a cart, I realized I had left my purse on the plane.  So I went back upstairs hauling the kiddos and thankfully a cart the guy had bought for me.  They gave me my purse and I started the trek back to meet up with Mike.  My arms were exhausted by the time I got there and Thomas still hadn’t stirred.  Mike had the double stroller and we loaded the kiddos in and then it was time go get the bags and head to the car.  We were all excited to see Mike/Daddy and looking forward to a night in our own bed.    Another successful Minnesota trip in the books!

Woodbury

Minnesota’s temperatures didn’t let us get outside in the snow the last few days we were there, which was a real bummer for everyone.  Thankfully they had Nana and Papa and some new toys to help occupy their busy bodies/minds.  After the trip to the fire station, Thomas was also very into his fire/police rescue set he got for Christmas.  He and Nana Kathy played for over an hour and he at one point looked at her and said “it’s the badge Nana.”  As you can see by Nana’s reaction it was pretty funny! 

Time in Cloquet

On Thursday after we unpacked the cars and had dinner we then settled in for the McConachie/Laschen Christmas present opening. On Friday morning, Mike, Elin, and I headed over to the pool to get some exercise.  Then the guys were off to try their hand at pheasant hunting with Griffin Puppy.  When they came home, Thomas was all in for helping Grandpa get the pheasant ready for dinner and learning about hunting.  All I could think was and so it begins, it wasn’t until Grandpa promised him he could shoot a real gun that then he was totally hooked.  He got to shoot a BB gun with Grandpa’s help.  I had to see if I could still aim and I will just say don’t mess with me or my family because I still have a good shot!  Only kidding slightly.  On Saturday morning it was time for Troy, Molly and Griffin to head back home.  After breakfast and some pictures they took off.  We had a great couple of days and I can’t wait for our upcoming get togethers when their little girl arrives sometime in April!   We spent the next few days trying to sneak outside when it wasn’t so awfully cold and trying to occupy our time when we were inside.  We had some 4 wheeling/sledding fun, Mike and I snuck over to Pine Valley for some cross county skiing. Then we had a couple more swimming days and that sure was a life saver!   Our friends Katie and Charlie came over for a quick play date and Thomas and Charlie were too cute for words in their matching super hero outfits! These are just a couple of random pictures from hanging around the house.  Grandma and Elin practicing tongue clicks during and after bath time and the kiddos doctoring a very good sport with band aids.  The kids were giggling so hard as they continued to put more and more band aids on him and “fix him up. ‘ It was a great time Up North we got a lot of chilliaxin’ in. 

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning

Christmas Eve after lunch we headed to Cloquet.  Once we got there the kiddos played and ran around with Stella.  I don’t know if Stella was more excited to see us or if we were more excited to see her.  After we got our wiggles out we had dinner and then had to go outside to see if we could hear Santa's sleigh.  Mike has really fond memories of his uncle’s tricking the kids every Christmas and using jingle bells to start the Christmas Eve excitement.  Lets just say that the kiddos were still a bit too young to really understand what this meant.  It was a nice comical relief for us adults though, as we tried to get them excited.  They were more excited about all the snow and playing in it.  Once we got inside we decorated cookies for Santa.  It ended up being a few quick treats for the kiddos too as they kept sneaking frosting, cookies, and sprinkles.  We also remembered to leave carrots outside for the reindeer.  Somehow Mitch beat us to Cloquet and brought the kiddos some special Christmas jammies.  I then took my turn trying to get the perfect shot, while the peanut gallery commented on.  After I was convinced that one of the 20 pictures I took would “work out” the kiddos were released for bedtime.While Stella slept, Santa snuck in and left the presents and stuffed the stockings.  He was very thankful for Amazon Prime’s free shipping and Elf Nancy’s help in wrapping.  It made Christmas away from home much easier!Christmas morning the kiddos woke up and the first work out of Elin’s mouth was “Santa?”  We all got upstairs and the kiddos dove right into their task of opening presents.  They then played, we had breakfast and Grandpa and Thomas plowed the driveway.  Then it was time to head to Fargo for the Shoman Christmas at my Grandma’s house. 

Sledding In Woodbury

Grandpa Jeff, Mike and I took the kiddos sledding on a cold, but bearable, morning in Woodbury.  The kiddos loved it, and I think Grandpa and Daddy did too!

When we started to get cold it was back to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for some hot chocolates and snuggles!

Rustic Mountain Weekend

After work Friday night we started our epic adventure up to the mountains. We were a little unsure of just what we were getting into but hoped we would have a great time, it was after all our first back country mountain adventure with the kiddos.

Once in the parking lot at base camp we met up with a couple other skiers who were also heading up.  We got our snow stuff on and loaded up our gear. Then we climbed into this rickety old beat up mountain suburban. We started the bouncy ride up, we had 8.5 miles to go,  6 miles in an off roading suburban and 2.5 by snowmobile.  I have to admit I was a lot a bit nervous on the way up and all I could think was "what have we gotten ourselves into and thank God our mother's don't really know what's going on!"   Both of the kids loved the adventure up.  Elin hummed the whole way up.  I held her cradled in my arms, what adventurous kiddos we have  Our house, was a 10 by 20 foot single room A frame. There was a wood burning stove, a loft, a bed and a propane camp stove.  About 50 feet from our house was a mountain comfort station for your "comfort” all I have to say is brrrr.So there we were ready to start unpacking for dinner. Coughing babies in tow and ughha bug I was still nervous. We got dinner reheated, BBQ chicken sammies with beans and chips and then we walked over to the main lodge and to check in with one of Mike’s buddies who was up for the weekend.  We then headed back to get the kiddos to bed. They were both exhausted.  We almost pulled the plug as Elin was having a hard time settling down and we couldn’t figure out if it was her congestion, the side effect of the medication, being away from home or the combo. 

We were so close that Mike headed to the lodge to see about leaving and I stayed with Elin.  By the time he got back she was sleeping comfortably on my chest and then we decided that we would reevaluate in the morning.  I have to be honest I am glad that we took the doctors advice and got her some “cold fresh air” as she had a good nights sleep and woke up the best she had in the past 2 days.  So breakfast time it would be and then we got ready to head to the mountain to play.  Thomas happily played with his tractor in the snow, since his Grandparents had just gotten a bunch of snow in Minnesota he has been asking for to fly there.  This little guy played his heart out.  We decided to head up the mountain about a half a mile to the meadow.  In the meadow we propped down a sleeping Elin and got to building a snowman.  After that we made a couple trips on the sled and then decided to hike back for lunch.  All this stuff usually is quick, but with 2 littles in tow everything took much longer.  On our way back Thomas decided he wanted to put his snowshoes back on and go for a hike.  We made it about 50 feet on a trail before he decided he wanted to be carried and was hungry.  Elin had just woke up and was looking around chatting about everything she saw so the timing was right.We had some lunch and were greeted by little fluffy mountain grey jays.  The kiddos loved watching and feeding them.  These are the mountain scavengers and are known to fly onto your hand for food guess they are the seagulls I grew up with.  The guys filled up the wood pile and then we decided we better get out and ski before we missed our chance.We switched out our gear and put on our stuff and headed back to the meadow.  I'm not going to lie, it was hard for me to whip the smile off my face as I knew I was going to ski again. It has been a long 3 years waiting until there was the right opportunity (not pregnant, babies not crying, ect) and this was perfect! Once at the meadow I dropped everyone off by Mr. Snowman and continued to hike up. Then I clicked into my skis and down I went. Yahoo it great even if it was short!
Then Mike and Thomas were able to ski and then we took a picture before heading back towards our cabin. Our exit was slightly epic. I took Elin slowly in the pack down on skis and Mike and Thomas went by sled. Elin was saying something that sounded like "wow" and I sure hope it was! What a fun day playing in the snow. Elin napped and Thomas played with Dad and in the snow a bit longer after we got back to the cabin.
For dinner we were joined by Ryan and Ryan, Mike's buddy and his friend. After some good food and conversation the kids both were sleeping before our company had left. They were exhausted. Thomas actually came over and asked if he could go to sleep, which is so rare for him. The Ryan's left about 8:30 and Mike and I then cleaned and packed up a bit as we knew we'd be rushing in the morning.
Morning came much too soon thanks to daylight savings time and we were up getting everything ready for the snowmobile. Thomas played in the snow and Elin watched the birds. Then we headed back down the Mountain. Seriously, this was one chill fantastically fun family vacation. I couldn't feel more blessed and grateful that we have memories along with videos and pictures to last a lifetime. I can't wait for our next adventure, which is in 8 days to sunny Florida.

Seattle’s Snowpocolypse

Over the weekend many areas of Seattle saw snow, yet at our house we remained snow free.  Then on Tuesday big snowflakes started to fall.  Mike’s office sent everyone home just after noon and by the time he got home there were a few inches to play in.   Thomas immediately wanted his “boots, hat” and “mih-ens” on.  

It snowed a little more on Wednesday and by Thursday it was freezing rain.  Although there was not too much snow at our house, many places in the Seattle area had much more.  Thus making it difficult to drive on the steep hills and narrow roads.  Both Mike and I were warned about this and kept to our neighborhood for a few days. 

On Thursday morning while it was raining  Thomas and I made an inside “(s)nowman.”  He loved using the glue and sticking everything on.  When we were finished he couldn’t wait to go show Mike his creation.

We also joined the others in the neighborhood who were out snow shoing, sliding, and skiing.  Thomas made about 4 runs down the sidewalk before he was ready for some “warm chak chak” (hot chocolate.)

We were very thankful to make it through our 3 days of snow, rain and non stop weather coverage on local channels.   Many people lost their power we were also lucky to keep ours throughout the storm.

Skiing

Santa brought Thomas a pair of skis and we were all eager to get him up to the mountains.  After a hour drive East we were at Summit at Snoqualmie and there was snow and lots of it!  Thomas loves “(s) now” and so does Stella!  They both had a blast playing in the snow, and Thomas loved skiing!  In fact when it was over, there were a few tears at the bottom of the hill.

It was a little hard for me to contain my itch to ski once there.  I don’t know of the three of us who was having the most fun.   What a great day as a family.