Finally Arrived!

The days have been warm, although the evenings are still cool, the snow is pretty much all gone, the river has flooded, we've heard thunder and seen lightning, we've listened to the sound of the rain, and the mosquitoes are flying (and biting). Yes, I do believe we can say it is finally here!

WELCOME BACK TO MINNESOTA, SPRING!!! SO GLAD YOU HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED!

And what better way to welcome spring than with a campfire and smores!

First: Gather the needed ingredients.

Second: Roast your marshmallow.

Third: Assemble your smore!

Finally: Enjoy!!!

And if you happen to be allergic to corn (which is in both the graham crackers and the marshmallows) you grab your version of sorbet and enjoy your own treat!!

YEP! Good times!!

Let it snow! Let it snow!

Our Winter has been a very snowy winter thus far; and, really, it is not even officially winter until December 21st.

Our first snow storm of the year hit the day before Thanksgiving. It really wasn't all that bad, but it was pretty and did slow down driving some that evening. But, not enough to keep me totally home bound.

It was just too nice not to grab my camera and take some pictures at the park. Actually, Mark was amazed that we were getting that much snow and it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, so he was trying to take a few pictures with his cell phone. That was all the encouragement I needed to grab my camera and tripod and have some fun.
(Now, some of you may be wondering "Who is Mark?" That is another post entirely. Some day I may even get around to that. For now, let me just say "Thank you Catholic Match for bringing TN and MN together!")

Tuesday, November 30th, we awoke to a winter wonderland.

Friday, December 3rd, ushered in yet another storm. Which provided plenty of fun for Magdalene's 10th Birthday party on Sunday, the 5th. I will post pictures of her birthday in a separate blog!

Now today we were hit with the biggest snow storm yet. I guess some are saying our biggest snow storm since the Halloween Blizzard of 1991.

So, tonight after dinner we all bundled up in our snow gear and went out to play.

Oh no... I am being swallowed by a snow-a- constrictor!

The kids really enjoyed burying me in the snow!

I don't think Kolbe enjoyed it much! In some places the snow was taller than he is so it was hard for him to walk around the yard.

We finished the evening off with hot chocolate and a game of Apples to Apples.

Days like today are just such fun!

Winter Wonderland

We awoke this morning to a white covered world. A few inches of fresh snow fell through the night and it is BEAUTIFUL outside.

Days gone by...

I figured I could at least take a few posts to share some of what has happened in our lives over the past few months...

For starters.. every year, in October, my family gets together and heads to the Pine Tree Apple Orchard.

No one can pass up the carmel apples, not even little Laney.

A totem of kids!

Magdalene on James' shoulders. Lawrence on Myriah's. My great-niece Alayna on her mamma's shoulders (my niece Cora).

Unfortunately, I didn't charge my camera battery ahead of time. I was hoping for a lot more pictures. Oh well, such is life sometimes. And camera or not, we all had a very fun day.

Beautiful Spring Day ??

Yes, even when it snows in May it is still beautiful!! Especially with such big flakes as were falling today!

Learning Curve!!

All the interesting things I must now learn being single!! After spending most of the day in Eagan, driving home in crazy traffic (due to construction season.. ugh), shopping and running errands, and putting away groceries, I sat down this evening to look through my lawn mower's owner's manual hoping that it wouldn't require much to get it ready for mowing.

Recommended each season... new spark plugs, oil & filter change, an air
filter change and a few other things I can't remember at the moment.

I do enjoy learning new things, and once I have this down I'm sure it won't be so bad... but I am just not up to attempting my first oil change after every thing else today. And the owner's manual just doesn't have enough pictures in my opinion!! Besides I will need to go to the store first anyhow and get the things I need. Just too much for tonight! So instead I took a nice long walk, came home and had a banana split and am going to watch a movie with the kids. I'll learn something new later!!

Finally, I return

It has been a very long time since I have take the time to post! Life has been twisting and turning and heading full speed ahead!

As many of you know, I started grad. school in January. As it turns out, the timing is not right for grad. school. But, not to worry. Grad school will always be there!

My oldest son has been diagnosed with Developmental Dyslexia and I have a few others that may have it as well. So, I am looking into specialized training so I will be able to tutor students and adults with dyslexia, starting with my own children. It is very empowering to finally have some very clear answers to some of the things we have been struggling with for years!

Since my last post the kids have been busy with school, but, finding time to enjoy the wonderful weather outside. Bikes, skateboards, and scooters have found their way out of the shed. Last weekend we all headed out to the wild life refuge. I wanted to take some winter pictures to go with our summer and fall shots. Unfortunately, after driving all the way there this is what we found!

So my photo was limited to a distance.

But we chose to find another trail still open to hikers and enjoyed our evening in the woods just the same!

Fall visit to Police Hill

We had one nice day sneak in amidst Octobers days of chilly, misty, rainy weather. We took advantage of it and headed back to Police Hill. This time we ventured a little further into the woods, full of evidence that autumn is in full bloom. I really enjoy the change of seasons that comes with living in MN.

View from the top of the hill.

Heading down the hill. (It really is steeper than it looks.) Looking back up once we reached bottom. If you look closely at the top of the picture you can see the "overlook."

The boys had a grand time being our protectors as we traversed through uncharted territory. At one point we were an SG (stargate) team exploring a new planet.