Snow got dumped on us again. They originally predicted 28" but we only received 13".  Only...Minnesotans like to complain whether we get too little or too much. It was a big snowstorm over three days! The kids playground is starting to get buried.    Now there's not much of a fall from the monkey bars. Meadow was home from school all week due to the snowstorm. She was done with e-learning early on Friday so we headed to Woodlake Nature Center to go skiing. This place is perfect for us newbies. No trail pass is needed and it's only a 2 mile loop.

We had so much fun at the cottage a few weeks ago for Scott's birthday that we planned another trip back for Theo's birthday. Theo also asked to go camping for his birthday. This was the best we could do.  He'd have to wait for Brooke's birthday for something akin to winter camping. We're not quite brave enough to try out true winter camping in a tent. I guess my Bundt bird feeder was a hit. My guess was that the squirrels ate it. We had hoped to come up to go snowmobiling and skiing but in the last week it warmed up a lot and rained.  We almost didn't bring our ice skates but thank goodness we did.  While it wasn't suitable for snowmobiling it was perfect for ice skating 50 or so feet from shore. We took a little walk in the morning to check out the ice conditions on the Lake.

            Oh Theo, who thinks his name is Theo and nickname is Theodore. And occasionally Forest.   He's the biggest sweetheart. Always up for hugs and kisses.  Except when he's throwing a hissy fit. Way too much like me.   He's our little math genius, still unsure of the alphabet or how to write his name, but can do simple multiplication or subtraction in his head.   We were walking through Target recently and he was figuring out how much more money he'd need to get that perfect toy. He loves video games, playing with Meadow, building structures with his Magnatiles and nimming his blankie.  I caved in and let him keep it until is completely in shreds. He has strong opinions and isn't afraid to tell you. I wonder where he got that from (hint: me). Theo is still shy around kids and more willing to talk to adults. How did our shy kids become opposites?   How old are you? 5 What is your favorite color? Blue What is your fa...

My parents are here, that means gifts for the kids. The first surprise of the weekend. Excellent... I was planning on making dinkel soup  before our night out, but forgot to soak the spelt (yes, you can alternatively use farro). So we got fish from Macs Fish & Chips instead. The main reason my parents came this weekend was to go to Disney on Ice. However, we didn't tell Meadow (and Theo) why they were coming. After dinner we were like, Let's go somewhere. Let's go to a brewery. Meadow said no that she wanted to go to a playground instead. We agreed. After parking in the parking ramp we said we were going to an indoor playground. That's when Meadow noticed there were a lot of kids suddenly. We had to wait in line to scan our tickets and go to the metal detector. Meadow started to question why we had to do that. Once we got through and saw all the souvenirs Meadow figured out what we were actually doing. Meadow's already been to Disney on Ice twice! This was The...

Chocolate heart pancakes for these Valentines.  I got half of my birthday present early in the week on my actual birthday. An ice skate bag. When the big part of my present arrived over the weekend, I was super excited.   His old skates were starting to come apart. Time for an upgrade.