Liv lost her first tooth!!!

She was eating an orange slice at the soccer field (game was canceled so the kids just played and had a snack) and it just popped out! She was very excited to get a nice letter and a $5 bill from the Tooth Fairy in the middle of the night!

First Trip to Disney

We had a great first trip to Orlando with the kids! Mark was able to go to the Magic Kingdom with us on Sunday and we were there from 9 AM - 10 PM - it was a long, exhausting day, but we all had a great time. The parades and shows were a highlight and both kids rode their first rollercoaster - Goofy's Barnstormer. Olivia was also tall enough to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain. Splash Mountain was definitely one of Liv's favorites - we got soaked thanks to bad advice from Mark - but she loved that too!

Another favorite from the first day was brunch with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet & Eeyore. Great food and the characters come to your table instead of waiting in line.
Mark had class M-F all day, so my mom, the kids and I hit Sea World for two days and Magic Kingdom once more. We could've easily spent another day at both - there is so much to see and do! We spent a lot of our second day in Disney waiting in lines to meet Mickey, Minnie, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Tinkerbell, Fawn & Iridessa. The waits were definitely worth it to see the kids faces!



Sea World was awesome too - it is much slower paced than Disney and there is a lot less walking (and carrying a 30-lb 2 year old!) The Shamu show was the kids favorite but they also enjoyed the rides there and all the animal exhibits. Actually, all the shows were great and we will definitely go back on our next trip to Orlando... which will be when Jonah is at least 5!

A Warm Break in the Tundra

There has been a glorious break in the below zero weather we've been living with all winter, so we've been able to get the kids out for some outdoor activities in the last couple weekends (without danger of losing important things likes fingers and toes to frostbite).

Last Saturday we watched my 13-year old cousin Gina take 1st place in the short and long programs at the Northland Skating Competition. She was absolutely amazing! After the competition, Grandma Candy, Grandpa Chuck and I took Olivia ice skating for her first time. She was very cautious, but started getting the hang of it really well!

We also went ice fishing with my whole family on Sunday and Olivia got to pull in our only catch of the day! The kids had a lot of fun!

And today Mark and I strapped on the cross country skiis and explored our property with the kids towed behind in the sled. Jonah even got to try out some kiddy skiis!

We're All Settled In - A Photo Tour

So, we are finally feeling settled enough that I can say we are officially settled in to our new house! I still need to work on hanging pictures and arranging other decorations, but that will get done eventually. It was a little extra work moving around Christmas, because we had to drag out all the decorations, tree, etc. and then put them all away in the midst of unpacking and finding places for everything, but we had a wonderful Christmas in our new home and that makes it all worth it! The kids went to my moms for a day so I could get some work done and take pictures of the house without the everyday whirlwind they leave behind.


Here is a pic of the snow off our deck - it was especially sparkly the morning I took this picture.









This is a view of the dining room and living room taken from the 2nd floor landing.

Up next another shot from the 2nd floor landing showing our fireplace and living room.

Here is our beautiful new kitchen! You could seriously fit 3 of our old kitchen in this space!




Master bedroom









Olivia's new PINK room! And her dream-come-true BUNK BEDS!






Jonah's Thomas the Tank Engine room - there are usually blocks or train tracks all over the floor...








Our downstairs family room







The kids play area downstairs






The computer/brewing/crafting area downstairs and last on our tour, the guest room! Nothing too exciting about this particular guest room, just the fact that we now have one! It even has it's own bathroom across the hall - Come one, come all!