Valentine’s Day

I love all holidays.  They add spice (and of course sugar) to my life.  I gave RJ the traditional gift of a “Remember When” letter (a compilation of the year’s funny moments) and the year’s blurb book.  He made a scavenger hunt of love notes for me that were very meaningful because of their sincerity.

McKenna was in charge of Family Home Evening on Monday before Valentines Day.  We decorated boxes.  RJ and I always get the kids a book for Valentines Day.  I also picked up a little box of chocolates for each of them.  We got McKenna “Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots” which included several activities in the back.

Hunter got the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Hard Luck).

Reagan got a princess sticker/activity book.

We have adopted a new tradition of “Old Flick Friday.”  I made bacon wrapped fillet mignon, cheesy potatoes and roasted carrots.  We enjoyed a large bowl of loaded brownies and ice cream.  We laughed as we watched the old version of “The Parent Trap.”  What’s not to love?

Completely Puzzled

For our January date we were going to go cross county skiing. I was touched by the fact that RJ even put it on the date list this year considering the fact that he broke his ski and struggled last year. The weather however has not risen above zero this month (there have been 5 school cancellations due to severe weather and one church meeting cancellation). RJ heard about a puzzle competition in St. Paul so we signed up for that instead. It was really fun to do something creative and different. We came up with a strategy but the puzzle proved to be quite puzzling. It was sponsored by Wells Fargo and therefor had a horse drawn carriage in the middle of a snowy winter landscape. There were identical looking trees and braches on each side, white snow beneath and white sky above. For the first time in my puzzle history, I wanted to start with the sky. The other tricky part was that it was a very cheap puzzle and many pieces fit together even if they didn't actually go together. Without a clear picture to help distinguish whether or not the pieces fit,there was a lot of guess work. We did our best for two hours and were sad to leave with an unfinished product but we enjoyed the process nonetheless.

Snowmobiling

We spent a Saturday with my friend Michelle and her husband Tom.  They have a lake behind their house so we suited up and went snowmobiling.  McKenna was a speed demon if you let her control the throttle.  Hunter was a lot more cautious.  We all had a great time.

I get to visit teach Michelle.  She is from Columbia and has lived in the US for one year.  It has been a lot of fun getting to know her and trying to remember my Spanish. She has asked me to teach her how to cook American food which is hilarious since I am one of the worst cooks!

Pinewood Derby

Hunter was excited about another winning year at the pinewood derby.  He chose a football shaped car.  RJ tried all of the special derby racing secrets but apparently, the other dads did too.  Hunter was happy until his car came in third and his only award was a paper declaring his "the sportiest car."  I wish he could capture the joy of the journey more.  After weeping bitterly, he realized he had one more year to make the fastest car in troup 247.  Either way, we love him the same. 

Pajama Project

After RJ made Reagan's pajamas, McKenna wanted to to sew something too.  RJ let the kids pick out their own fleece material and bought three patterns.  They turned out pretty good.

Freezing Cold

The girl I visit teach gave us a bottle of bubbles and told us if you blow them outside when it's cold enough, they will freeze.  When it was 9 below, we went outside and gave it a try.  It took 20 seconds but it worked!  McKenna wanted to bring it inside to study it more without freezing herself but I told her it would promptly melt.

My nephew sent us Flat Stanley as a homework assignment and asked us to teach him about Minnesota and report back.  He liked blowing bubbles with McKenna.

Sisters!

My cute little siamese twins!

Her Two Front Teeth

McKenna had two loose front teeth for a while and I wasn't excited about pulling them out.  The thought grosses me out.  When they got sufficiently loose, I actually worried about her losing them in her sleep and choking so I bucked up and gave a twisting yank.  The second one got twisted half way and stayed like that for a few minutes.  It looked so freaky!

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She looks so cute with her whistley smile.

Winter is Here!

Reagan refuses to wear anything on her legs eventhough it is below zero outside!  She has about 5 dresses that she will wear and that is it!  We got her into a pair of boots so at least her ankles are covered.

McKenna looks cute all bundled up.  She tries to help us with Reagan, telling her how important it is to cover her shoulders etc.