(Note: I wrote this last week but didn't post it because my camera has mysteriously disappeared and I had some photos I wanted to post along with it. I'm still without a camera, but tired of delaying my post, so I decided to go ahead anyways. Here are my thousand words without a picture.)
____________
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They say guilt is a good motivator, I guess it's true. In this case, my guilt was from cooping up two little kids while I was sick for three weeks... so we've been spending our days making up for lost time.
On Monday we took a break from cleaning house (my kids weren't the only ones that had been neglected) and went to the library. Our branch is only open on Mondays and Wednesdays, but they have a fun little kids room with a Thomas train set and other toys. I found a copy of the second Twilight book and read a few chapters while the kids made some new friends.
On Tuesday, I caught the tail end of pilates and then we headed over to the Children's Museum. It isn't the greatest kids museum I've been to, but being the only ones there, we had no fighting over the medieval dress-ups and plastic food.
The radio man announced Wednesday morning that the Beargrease dog sled race was finishing a few miles down the road from us, so I asked Taron if he would like to go. He said "yeah, and I want to ride the dog sled like Caillou (that show on PBS). So we bundled up in our snowsuits and headed to the big welcoming party. The Beargrease is the longest dog sled race in the US outside of Alaska; it lasts 3 days and covers almost 400 miles. Starting at Solei's school, the dogs run up the hill through the golf course, then through the trails right behind our neighborhood. From there the race heads up the shore to the Canadian border and back. We were there for the winner, but the second place guy was another hour behind, so we ditched out after that. Participating in a bit of the Minnesota culture and meeting a few new people was a good break from the monotony, even though Taron didn't get to ride on the dog sled like Caillou.
After the kids got home from school that day, I took Sierra and Caden ice skating at the school. It is really a nice setup there; three rinks, a warming hut, a zamboni, and lights at night. Hockey is very big here, more than any other sport, so I guess we had better get comfortable on the ice.
That night, Solei had New Beginnings for Young Womens, there are only 5 girls in Young Women's right now, but it looks like a few more will be coming in this year. Sierra still has one more year.
After taking Thursday to catch up on laundry, bake cinnamon rolls, and clean rooms, we invited some friends over for a playdate on Friday. I tend to become a bit withdrawn during the winter months, but fortunately I've made friends here who are social enough to bring me out of my shell once in a while, and Anna is one of those. She has five kids too. Upon special request, we opened up our big box of Fisher Price train tracks, which can entertain kids for hours.
Betsy invited me to go skiing at Chester Bowl that night, just a few minutes from here. Lift tickets are only five dollars, can you believe it?!!! It is just a small hill, but it was refreshing to get a board back on my feet, although I was a bit disappointed with my waning abilities. Alas, I hadn't realized how "downhill" I had gone since my younger days of flying off cliffs and getting chased by the ski patrol for speeding... Of course, I tried to blame my slideouts on dull edges and icy conditions, but deep down I know I am just out of shape... and getting older. Sigh....
Saturday was a beautiful day, a great day to have some family fun...but everyone else seemed more interested in watching TV (a big pet peeve of mine). Of course, the little ones are always up for an adventure, so we bundled up, grabbed a sled, and I pulled them along for a walk in the woods (sleds are the Minnesota equivalent to strollers). It was so beautiful and peaceful, and the snowmobile trails are packed down just enough to walk on easily. I have grown sort of fond of winter here, the cold is really not that bad if you have warm clothes and a cozy hut to come home to.
So, it's been a great week, maybe I need to feel guilty more often.
On Monday we took a break from cleaning house (my kids weren't the only ones that had been neglected) and went to the library. Our branch is only open on Mondays and Wednesdays, but they have a fun little kids room with a Thomas train set and other toys. I found a copy of the second Twilight book and read a few chapters while the kids made some new friends.
On Tuesday, I caught the tail end of pilates and then we headed over to the Children's Museum. It isn't the greatest kids museum I've been to, but being the only ones there, we had no fighting over the medieval dress-ups and plastic food.
The radio man announced Wednesday morning that the Beargrease dog sled race was finishing a few miles down the road from us, so I asked Taron if he would like to go. He said "yeah, and I want to ride the dog sled like Caillou (that show on PBS). So we bundled up in our snowsuits and headed to the big welcoming party. The Beargrease is the longest dog sled race in the US outside of Alaska; it lasts 3 days and covers almost 400 miles. Starting at Solei's school, the dogs run up the hill through the golf course, then through the trails right behind our neighborhood. From there the race heads up the shore to the Canadian border and back. We were there for the winner, but the second place guy was another hour behind, so we ditched out after that. Participating in a bit of the Minnesota culture and meeting a few new people was a good break from the monotony, even though Taron didn't get to ride on the dog sled like Caillou.
After the kids got home from school that day, I took Sierra and Caden ice skating at the school. It is really a nice setup there; three rinks, a warming hut, a zamboni, and lights at night. Hockey is very big here, more than any other sport, so I guess we had better get comfortable on the ice.
That night, Solei had New Beginnings for Young Womens, there are only 5 girls in Young Women's right now, but it looks like a few more will be coming in this year. Sierra still has one more year.
After taking Thursday to catch up on laundry, bake cinnamon rolls, and clean rooms, we invited some friends over for a playdate on Friday. I tend to become a bit withdrawn during the winter months, but fortunately I've made friends here who are social enough to bring me out of my shell once in a while, and Anna is one of those. She has five kids too. Upon special request, we opened up our big box of Fisher Price train tracks, which can entertain kids for hours.
Betsy invited me to go skiing at Chester Bowl that night, just a few minutes from here. Lift tickets are only five dollars, can you believe it?!!! It is just a small hill, but it was refreshing to get a board back on my feet, although I was a bit disappointed with my waning abilities. Alas, I hadn't realized how "downhill" I had gone since my younger days of flying off cliffs and getting chased by the ski patrol for speeding... Of course, I tried to blame my slideouts on dull edges and icy conditions, but deep down I know I am just out of shape... and getting older. Sigh....
Saturday was a beautiful day, a great day to have some family fun...but everyone else seemed more interested in watching TV (a big pet peeve of mine). Of course, the little ones are always up for an adventure, so we bundled up, grabbed a sled, and I pulled them along for a walk in the woods (sleds are the Minnesota equivalent to strollers). It was so beautiful and peaceful, and the snowmobile trails are packed down just enough to walk on easily. I have grown sort of fond of winter here, the cold is really not that bad if you have warm clothes and a cozy hut to come home to.
So, it's been a great week, maybe I need to feel guilty more often.
I became a little sad to think she is our last; when she is grown, that is it. No more crayon clean-ups, or crazy hair-dos, or bums up in the air.... or silly faces like this... 
