Already Tired of Winter

Since my last post we have had not one, not two, but THREE more storms. The most reason one is ranked the 5th worst in state history. The snow started coming down between 9pm and 11pm Friday night and ended sometime Saturday afternoon. We ended up with somewhere in the area of 17 - 18 inches of snow. Not only did we have get a lot of snow, but we had winds up to 50 mph and temps well below zero.

Luckily some of my patients were smart enough to cancel and I was able to stay home instead of trying to make it work. After finding out, Friday afternoon, that I would not have to work I decided to make a list and brave the grocery store. It was a mad house there with everyone trying to stock up before the weekend. If we wouldn't have been out of a number of things I probably would have just skipped it. Then it was home to hang with the family and ride out the storm.

Due to the storm most of the state was shut down. That's saying something because anyone that lives in a state that gets lots of snow knows it take A LOT to stop people from going out when it snows. Not that it stopped everyone. There were plenty of people who braved the streets. Many of which ended up stuck. We were supposed to have Christmas program practice at church, but shortly after I had decided that we were going to skip, it was canceled with practice reschedule to Sunday school hour the next day.

Sunday we did manage to make it out of the garage. Thank goodness we have an SUV with AWD. I think if I would have tried to make it in my car we would have been stuck somewhere along the way. Because the snow did not stop until late Saturday eve and due to the sheer amount of snow many on the roads and intersections had yet to be cleared. When we did get to church, we were told that practice was canceled and the program along with yet. The reschedule date is yet TBD.

Yesterday I shoveled off part of the balcony. We had had a 2 1/2 - 3 foot drift on it and we wanted to get some of the weight off. It's amazing how much that snow weighs even if it isn't the
wet stuff that come with warmer temps. The snow that covered the roof of the Metrodome is estimated to have weighed about 1300 tons and actually caused the roof to collapse.

I'm so glad we were able to get out of our garage because we couldn't open our front door until this afternoon due to the 2 1/2 foot drift against our door. Our snow removal company was finally able to come in and to a more thorough cleaning job. We now have a snow pile next to our house that is well over 10 feet tall. We have tree more months of winter and I have NO IDEA where they are going to put more snow.

Needless to say, I am already tired of winter. I know I grew up with snow and choose to live in a State where it snows, but this is kind of crazy. The one positive is that it has truly gotten me in the Christmas spirit. Tree has been up for weeks, presents are wrapped and stockings are hung.

Winter's here!

We got our first big snowfall of the year over the weekend. It started during the night on Friday. The drive home Saturday morning was slow going and there were quite a few car accidents. I decided to stop and fill gas before going hoe since I was at just under half a tank. While I was there I stopped home to see if Mike wanted anything and to let him know where I was. A few minutes later I was about a block and a half from home when I saw a tree branch hit a power line and there was a pow and big flash. That knocked our power out. The snow was so heavy that tree branches were coming down. Before I got home a branch had come down in our neighbors driveway. Our Explorer was sitting under that same tree.


So, I cleaned it of and moved it into the garage. About an hour later we headed out to Luke's floor hockey game. That was short lived. The power was out at the school where it is held. When we got home another branch had fallen. This one fell right where that explorer had been sitting.

One more hour went by and we decided to head to Mike's mom's since it was getting cool in the house. I got in a good nap and the kids got to play with Grandma. A few hours later the house was warm and we were home to kick back and hang as a family.

Sunday we stayed home. It was still snowing and I just couldn't bring myself to go out in it again. The kids spent most of the day playing in their playroom Mike and I just had a relaxing day.

Today the roads are clear and the snow is settling, but it looks like winter is here to stay.

Tricks or Treats

Halloween came and went. Halloween fell on Sunday this year. Because of my work schedule we decided to carve pumpkins the Tuesday before. Well, I thought it would be best to store them in the garage. I thought this would be better that storing them in the house or on our deck. WRONG! They rotted in the garage and we weren't able to put them out for Halloween. Oh well. Carving them was fun and we learned a lesson. Next year we wait until Sunday to carve. (Halloween will be on Monday)

Luke and Kenna had a great time at their school party. Luke went as an Astronaut because he had an Iron Man costume and we got a note from the school stating they were not to wear anything depicting violence. We talked about it an decided that even though Iron Man is a good guy, the movie does have violence and it would be better if he had a different costume for school. Turns out that a couple other boys in their class were Iron Man. We stand by our decision and explained to Luke that he got another costume he can play around the house in out of the deal. He was okay with that.

Trick or treating brought home a haul. We hit up the neighbors in our circle. Then we stopped by the home of some friends and the home of our babysitter and Mike's childhood daycare lady. Our babysitter is the Granddaughter of Mike's childhood day care lady. Then we made our way to Mike's Mom's house. Mike hung out there while the kids and I made our way up and down her street. By 8:00 we had accomplished our goal of getting a "hundred-thousand-billion" pieces of candy and headed home to grab something to eat and get the kids to bed.

Monday was a rough day. The kids had had too much sugar and not enough sleep. We were able to end the day on good terms and I think we all got decent sleep. Now we're off to school, voting and some errands. Very short week for the kids this week due to parent teacher conferences. Then we get to start thinking towards my favorite holidays - Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Should you really give a bunch of 4, 5 and 6 year olds sticks and let them run?

That was my question when we decided to let Luke play floor hockey. Our family doesn't really follow hockey even though we live in a state that eats, sleep and breathes hockey. He wanted to play, but I just couldn't stomach the idea of the cost and with your work schedules the time commitment isn't doable for us. Oh yeah, and I can't bring myself to left him play a sport where they start ramming each other into walls before they are remotely done growing. That being said, when we got the flyer from the YMCA about fall youth activities we gave Luke the choice. (Kenna doesn't want to play sports) Soccer or floor hoc key? The chose floor hockey. A good compromise on the hockey thing and it's held that the elementary school the kids attend so it's only a mile from home.

Well, today was his first day and it turns out that giving a bunch of 4, 5, and 6 year-olds sticks isn't to bad. No one got seriously injured. They give the children safety goggles to wear so they don't get a stick in the eye. So, aside from some spills from the kids tripping over one another and some accidental hits to the shins everyone walked away virtually unharmed.

Luke's team is actually pretty good. He did really good to his first time. His hand eye coordination is much better that I expected and he handled the puck pretty well. He even scored the first goal of the game. We can't wait to see how things go next week.

Missed a lot

Just realized that in my last post I missed a lot that has happened in the last two years. It is really hard to summerize two years worth of stuff. We spent a few days in Brainderd with Mike's mom, her husband and Mike's step siblings and their kids. We've made many trips to the zoo. We've taken in parades and fireworks. We turned the family room into the master bedroom and the master bedroom into a playroom/guestroom. That doesn't stop toys from ending up in the living room. We've reconnected with friends. None of this stuff happened in any particular order and I'm sure I've forgotten things. As great as Facebook is for updating others, this walk down memory lane over the past tow years shows me why I need to keep up this blog. My memory isn't whant it used to be.

Wow! Has it been almost 2 years.

The title says it all. I can't believe that it has really been two years since I posted on here! I have frequently thought "Amy, you really need to update that blog." Then , I just don't. When I first started this blog it was with the intention of having something to keep our friends and family up to date on the goings on in our house hold. Over the past two years, it seems that Facebook have become such a part of keeping in touch with friends and loved ones that I haven't felt the need to update our blog. Well, I think I'm going to give it a go again. Yes, I can (and do) keep everyone updated via Facebook, but I don't always have room to really say all I want without making multiple comments on my own post.

Now to update on the past two years.

Luke and Kenna turned 4 in May 2009 and Amy's parents were able to make it down for it. This was something they had never been able to before so the kids were overjoyed. We signed them both up for soccer. Luke loved it and we wont be signing Kenna up for another sport anty time soon. That summer we made our yearly trip to visit my parents in North Dakota. We got to take part in the baptism of our new nephew Dylon and spend some wonderful time with friends and extended family. During the 2009 - 2010 school year the twins both continued to attend speech therapy twice a week and we attended ECFE classes once a week. In October 2009 we got a new old car. Mike is in love with his 1960 Galaxie. In December of 2009 Amy ended up with a big chunk of time off between Christmas and New Years. We also got a break in the weather, so Amy packed up the kids and made a suprise visit to her parents' for a week.





Kenna got her second set of tubes placed this spring. In May 2010 McKenna and Lucas turned 5. They were nice enough to share their birthday with their mom for Mother's Day. In July, we had to put our beloved Scooby to sleep. There were multiple reasons for our decision and ultimately it was for the best. We again made the trek to ND. We had a great week even though Amy's mom ended up having to work most of the week and the weather made it impossible to go to the lake. We think getting to attend Dylon's (Amy's sister's son) 1st birthday party and watch as the twins got some real bonding time with their cousin Claire made it all worth while. In August, Mike had his second shoulder surgery. (The first was 7 years ago) He is currently going to PT twice a week and doing exercises at home. We are praying for a full recovery and that he regains full usage of his arm with minimal pain. He continues to work for UPS and loves his job. Over the end on August and beginning of September, Amy's parents made their yearly week-long trip to visit. While they were here Amy's dad and mom stained our deck. Her dad also put more insulation in our attic and installed a new front storm door and screen door as well as a few other small fixed around the house. Thanks Clyde and Jackie! Along the way we were able to get to a few car shows with and without the car. (It spent a lot of time in the shop getting some upgrades)

The biggest change in our house was that our babies are no longer babies. They are now full fledged Kindergarteners. They have a nice small class on 14 with 10 boys and 4 girls. They have both made some great friends and are doing well. They have their first break this week because of teachers convention and parent teachers conferences are in a couple of weeks. Amy is helping out in the classroom every Monday morning. She loves getting to know all the children in their class as to have a constant look into what they are learning.

We are experiencing some beautiful fall weather. Halloween is right around the corner. Kenna has a beautiful light-up princess dress that she can't wait to wear and Luke as a pretty cool Iron Man costume with puffy muscles. They are really looking forward to trick or treating. Keep hoping for nice weather!

School Pics

I promise I'll take some time soon tp get up Halloween pics. Until then, here are the newest pictures of the twins. These are their first school pictures. They were just about 3 1/2 when they were taken.