Wisconsin Winter Fun

When the weather gets cold and snowy in Wisconsin, you quickly learn that you have to bundle up and make the best of it. This winter started early in Wisconsin, actually about a month and a half earlier than the actual first day of winter. With this early start to winter we have learned that if we still want to get outdoors for some fresh air and exercise we need to bundle up and go for it! The outdoor activities our family most enjoys in the winter are running (for Mandi), sledding, shoveling (for Bennett), snowboarding (for Blake), hunting (for Randy-- yes, can you believe that he is STILL deer hunting--until January 4 when the season ends), and hanging out at the hunting cabin. We had a couple of "warm" days for sledding over at Papa and Grandma's house with Grandma's grandchildren, Colten and Claire. Bennett was Claire's buddy and Colten was very helpful in teaching Blake to snowboard. It was a fun afternoon, and afterwards we enjoyed cookies and hot chocolate! Yummy! We also made it down to the cabin for a little "getaway." We started a fire, enjoyed some pretzel/craisin snacks, went for a sled ride, built a fort, and watched a movie while Blake and Randy went hunting.

Christmas 2013

This year we spent our Christmas Eve/Day in Wisconsin. It was just the 5 of us on Christmas Eve, unless you count the doe that Randy shot with his bow in the early evening. We opened gift Christmas Eve night, and then woke up Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. We attended Christmas Day Mass in Eau Claire, and then went over to Papa Ron and Grandma Claudia's in the afternoon/evening.

Christmas Programs

This year we had, not one, but two Christmas programs to attend. The first was Blake's program at his school a few weeks ago, and the second was Bennett's preschool program last week. Blake and his other kindergarten friends recited a poem, sang a song about mittens and gloves, and also sang a song called,"We Will Jingle," to the tune of "We Will Rock You!" They all wore sunglasses for the last song-- really cute. I didn't get very many good pictures of Blake at his program, as I was SO far away from the stage. I did manage to get one "ok" picture. Blake is in the back row on the right. Mondovi schools has a cool new feature now called "Buffalo TV" where you can watch live or archived footage of school events. Blake's class is singing the first 3 songs. Here is the link to watch the concert: http://www.mondovi.k12.wi.us/BuffaloTV.cfm Bennett had his first school Christmas concert this past week. They sang a couple of songs and played on the drums that they made. Some of the songs they sang were, "The Little Drummer Boy" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Photo With Santa

This past Friday Blake got of school early so we thought it would be a good day to go down to the mall and get our picture taken with Santa. When I say "we" I meant the kids, but wouldn't you know it, I ended up being in the photo also! Bennett did not really want to sit on Santa's lap or have his picture taken with him. When we got there Marlee and Blake both sat on Santa's lap, but Bennett clung to me, hid behind my leg, and started crying. When Marlee saw Bennett crying, she immediately broke out crying! UGGHH! So to get all 3 of the kids pictured with Santa WITHOUT tears, I also had to be in the picture. I did not plan on being in the picture, as I am not even sure if I showered that day. Oh well, it was for the kids, right?!!

Let it Snow!

We received our first good batch of snow this week. It would be Marlee's first sled ride, as last year she was a bit too tiny to ride in the sled. She enjoyed the big sled with her Bennett, as well as the little sled by herself. She also got a try at making her first snowman. The most she would do is stand up next to the large boulders of snow and bounce up and down. I did capture one more picture of Marlee getting that first feeling of cold snow on her bare hands. Just like her big brother Blake when he was 12 months old, she DID not like it! I have a picture of both Blake and Marlee feeling the snow for the first time. See the resemblance?!

Thanksgiving Memories

The kids and I made the journey to my parents' house in Alexandria, MN this past weekend for Thanksgiving. We went a different route this time so that we could avoid the traffic in the cities. It probably took us longer, but at least I didn't have to contend with those crazy semi-truck drivers or being stuck in stop-and-go traffic with 3 kids! Randy stayed back to go deer hunting, but unfortunately he wasn't able to get one. There is still muzzle-loader season, however! :) Blake, Bennett, and Marlee had fun playing 'house' with their cousins- Sophie(7), Grady(7, and Adam (4.5). They also liked playing picnic with Marlee's baby toys and making Christmas ornaments. Early Thanksgiving morning Jessi and I got up to run in Alexandria's YMCA 5K Turkey Day run. It was a windy and cold morning, but was fun to take part in a run with my sis. Jessi took 3rd place for females (even after having to stop at the halfway point to tie her shoe)! Nice job, Jess! I captured 1st place for women, and got the bonus surprise of winning a cake pan, cake mix, and frosting! (It's the little things!) Here are some pictures of the weekend. By far the sweetest picture is of Marlee and Grady. They sure became good little buddies on this trip. In one picture you can see Marlee laying on Grady's head. I think that is her version of a hug. We hope your Thanksgiving was as enjoyable as ours!

Buck down!

Wouldn't you know that on the final day of bow season before the gun opener, Randy would get his buck?!! Around 6:55 am today, Randy was able to harvest a buck. His buddies, Kyle and Andy were able to come down from Eau Claire to help him haul it out of the woods and take some pictures. Looks like we will have some more venison for our freezer! Nice job, Randy!