Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! 

We had our New Year's toast in plastic champagne glasses with blocks in them instead of bubbly. We gathered around a campfire built on our frozen garden so we would not kill grass, at 4:30 PM, wearing 3 layers of warmth to survive the -17 without wind chill. Then we roasted some dogs and enjoyed a feast inside the house! 

Woo hoo! Bring on a New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Winter is here.  We are currently on day two of a snow fest.  I think we have about a foot of new snow so far.  It just is not stopping or even pausing.  But this is why we live here!  This past weekend, Ani, Kevin and I spent a good part of the morning sledding on our "hill" in the backyard.  Ani finally likes the orange plastic sled - last year she would not go near it.  We even got to walk around the block in Apa's sled.  Another sled she would not go near last year. Her cross country skis are still a no go.  It was chilly so, we warmed up with hot coca, not hot chocolate - another first for us.  I love that we still have firsts and Ani is already three. 

Yesterday afternoon we had to get out of the house, so we went out and caught many snowflakes on our tongues, unsuccessfully made a snow angel and  tried to sled down the hill again.  But there was too much fluffy snow - the ride up was uneven and wobbly and the ride down gathered snow in the sled from all sides.  So Ani requested the wood sled, Apa's sled.  That made my heart soar - the morning my dad passed away, he was working on that sled.  His last words were to my brother about how many coats of polyurethane to put on it.  Now I tell Ani stories of her Apa whenever we ride in it.

Happy Holidays!

Anika is 3!

What a difference a year makes.  I would not have believed the changes if I did not see them first hand.  Ani plays by herself, she listens to our explanations and rules, she is sleeping in her own bed, she likes footy pajamas.  All new to us.  And the best news - she can eat any food.  We still don't over do dairy or wheat, but we no longer need to stress about what can go into her mouth.  Tummy candy (papaya enzyme) still has a place of honor in the kitchen cabinet, but it is used much less frequently. 

Ani's 3rd Birthday Party!

Ani's birthday party was a success.  Which means, limited crying and lots of running around.  Check and check.  I will always get helium balloons.  I had to pick them up in Virginia - 28 of them.  It was a cold, windy day and my car was reminiscent of a clown car.  Every time I would get one in another would pop out.  But it was worth it all - those kids found 100 ways to play with them.  Three year olds are creative little things. 

One day, a few months ago, Anika saw her big girl bed in the basement while feeding the kitties and she asked, "Mamma, what is that?"  I said it was her big girl bed that she could sleep in when she was ready.  Her reply, "I am Ready Mamma." So Kevin hauled it up, we arranged the room to make it fit (to Ani's specifications) and she has slept there ever since - all through the night.  She calls for me in the morning to come get her.  Wait.  One night she heard a man in her pillow and she was scared and slept with us.  "The man" was Dolemite, the big kitty, trying to hide under her bed.  Since then, Kevin has created a wood barrier under the bed to keep big D out.  And we eliminated white pillow cases on her pillow because that is where the man is.  Luckily, our friend, Sarah, had just given us purple flannel sheep pillow cases.  Life is only getting better! 

Now that Ani is sleeping in her own bed, she gets cold.  When she slept with us, she would throw the covers off of herself (and us) all through the night.  Now she needs warm footy jams.  Only footy jams.  Nothing else will do.  Fleece two piece sets worked for about 2 weeks, and now we are back to the footy jams. 

October

"ta da!"

This Fall was a little more low key than the summer, but not by much.  We headed back to Wisconsin, but this time to Madison.  Kevin's sister Dawn got married at a beautiful botanical garden. Ani still talks about the beautiful bride, Dawn.  We made a long weekend out of it.  It would have been a longer weekend, but Ani was really sick right before we were scheduled to leave and we waited until the absolute last minute before we made up our minds.  We finally told Kevin's family that we might not make it and within hours Anika was up and at 'em.  The real test if she is feeling better is a bath - she took one, so off we went.  We all stayed at a lovely resort about 15 minuted outside of Madison.  Everyone had a great time - Anika likes to twirl her hands in the air and spout profane observations like, "My family!".  

We had traveled non stop to get to Madison, so we stopped a bit on the way home.  Which included a stay over in Duluth and some very large road side attractions on the highway.  Wisconsin has many huge statues - Pink Elephant, Orange Moose, a Deer, a Mouse.  We saw them all. 

pink elephant statue

Bunny Ani at the Bear Center

Pumpkin carving time

Summer Time

It seems like summer does not start until the 4th of July and then it is almost over the next week.  We tried to pack it all in before our September trip to the Rock Bend Folk Festival.  It was damn hot and then suddenly freezing cold and sweltering again.  But being true Minnesotans (Yes, Kevin has been here long enough to claim both states as his own - WI and MN), we did not plan any trips around the weather.  We just let it happen.  We need to change that in the future.

Near the end of July we packed up the Airstream and headed to Grand Rapids to see Missy and Ruby.  It was damn cold.  And rainy.  And finally something worked on our Airstream without issue - the heat.  As we were leaving town, we stopped at Blandin Beach to have a picnic lunch and stretch our legs (since we had just spent 3 hours at a repair shop getting new tired on the Airstream).  Ani played at the playground for a while and then "accidentally" got her clothes wet.  We just stripped her down and watched her run back and forth with her cattail paddle. 

Late July - Grand Rapids, MN, yes that is a winter hat

In August, Leif, Lars and Emilie came for their annual summer excursion.  Lars is about a year younger, but just Ani's size.  The two of them had a blast!  Leif got to have his own play date with some big kids - Caid and Grant.  Everyone was happy.  We has a babysitter for the first time - so the adults could see Norah Jones in concert, here in Ely, MN.  The concert was great, the babysitting not so much. Nothing was wrong with the babysitters - I heart Lauren and Taylor - we just need to do it more often.  Ani was scared that we were never coming back.  The ladies calmed her down with a promise of fingernail painting and popcorn.  Who says bribes are bad?

Caid, Grant, Leif and Ani

Ani's new bestie - Lars

Bouncy house at the Strom's party

Most mornings were spent at the park

Or the beach

We camped in the Airstream once in August - right outside of Ely.  We met Kevin's college friends and their families for a weekend of fun.  Except it was not so fun - Ani was fooling around and turned the heat on - the heat that saved us in July almost killed us in August.  We would not turn it off. Kevin came up with a work around, and we learned the different air flow patterns for different positions of the single fan we had in there at the time.  Hint: turn the fan almost straight up to the ceiling and the curvature of the Airstream will do the rest.  We had a great time with all of the people with us, but the heat and bugs sent me just about over the edge.  I took Ani home early on Sunday and Kevin went back with the boat and took all of the kids fishing for the afternoon. A win-win.

Then it was September, time for the Rock Bend Folk Festival.  There was record breaking heat in Southern Minnesota - right where we were headed.  We stopped at Jessie and Jason's in the Cities because Kevin had to work from St. Paul on Friday.  We did kid stuff - the Mall of America,  Ani's first time in any mall - Riding the Dora Train, Ani's first ride - watching airplanes take off and land, also a first - spending time at the MN Zoo, watching bears, penguins and splashing in the fountain, another first for Ani.  I was starting to think Ani has had a sheltered life. 

Jake, JJ and Ani - watching a swimming brown bear

Chilling out at the MN Zoo fountains

Kevin picked us up at the Zoo in the Airstream and we headed south to St. Peter.  It was hot.  Too hot.  The cicadas were ear splitting loud.  I looked for a hotel with air conditioning - no luck.  We bought another fan.  Ani loved the festival - well, she loved the playground and the kid music and the MN Zoo mobile and face painting.  She did not want to sit on a blanket with me and listen to folk music.  She was only 2 1/2.  I forgave her and played at the park.  Jessie and the boys joined us.  It was a grand ole time.  On our way home we picked apples at an orchard, some of which we are still eating in the form of apple sauce and dried apple rings.  Life is good. 

St. Peter, MN walking to the festival

Face painting at the Rock Bend Folk Festival

4th of July

We have this timeshare in Mexico that seemed right at the time. A time when we had no children.  A time when airline travel and getting stranded in snowstorms was not such a big deal.  Fast forward to our current reality.

An RV is more our speed now.  But heaven forbid we sell out and travel in comfort - we are supposed to be canoeists and backpackers and living off what fish we catch.  Kevin and I vowed a long time ago if we ever succumbed to those creature comforts other seemed to need, we would be old enough and have enough savings to buy an Airstream.  Well... a used, fixer upper Airstream became our middle ground.  Anika twirled her arms in the air and said, "My new home."

Maiden voyage: Kevin's parents in Wisconsin.  We took the long way through Michigan and the Porcupine Mountains. First stop, the North Shore a mere 3 hours from home.  We needed to work out some kinks and pick up supplies in Duluth and have dinner with "Joel!" and his mom and dad.  This is how us adults are viewed now, a means to have play dates. 

First stop - North Shore

Then off to the Porcupine Mountains - oops - no running water or hook ups.  We learned another lesson, haul water with you.

Porcupine Mts

A hiking we will go...

After another stop in the middle of Wisconsin, we made it to Kevin's parents.  Just in time for Grandma Sue's birthday - the 4th of July.  And just in time to work on the plumbing.  It seems like every time I would use water in the kitchen sink, said water would end up in the bathtub.  Not a great experience.  Needless to say, Anika took baths in a toy bin recently vacated by her stuffies - all 12 of them. 

Kevin's parents

feeding a giraffe - a thrilling adventure

Anika, running after the barn cats

Our last stop, Spooner, WI

There is a fantastic campground near Spooner, WI.  It is a great half way point for us and Anika loved the petting zoo and playground and I loved the showers, Kevin I think was just glad to not be driving.  We had a chance to visit with Betty and Ralph Larson - a rare treat.  Ani had a favorite bunny and a few favorite chickens we visited quite often.  She colored a picture for "bunny" and after we showed it to her, we hit the mini golf course.  What a great way to end out trip. 

Last stop: Duluth - we needed lunch and to put our feet in water for a while.

Pinecone skeet ball

Our 2 year old has created her own pinecone game. Pinecone skeet ball. It evolved from gathering all the pinecones in the yard, dumping the bucket out into a large pile, throwing them up into the air and cheering as they land (when I was a bit younger and working at a resort for the summer, this same action was a drinking game).

Anika then saw what happened when the pinecones bounced off the concrete stairs. Pure joy and bliss. That is what happened. Then we went for a ride in the orange sled - just to round out the activities. 

I only convinced her to come inside with the promise of popcorn. Amy V taught me how to make my own microwave popcorn: 1/4 cup kernels, one brown paper lunch bag, and nuke it for 2:15. Perfection!

Airstream dreams

IWe have been looking for an airstream for months. Craig's list, eBay, airstream forums... you name it, we have looked there. Then one Monday, my mom called and said there was an estate sale 2 miles from her house that listed an "airstream thing". What?! Less than an hour away?!

We looked at it, fell in love with it and Kevin bargained for it. I would have paid full price, but Kevin drives a hard bargain. And it is currently hitched to Kevin's truck!

When Anika went in it this morning to check out the peach interior, she said, "my house!" And spread her arms wide. Then she tried to take a bath in the pink mini tub.

I cannot wait for it to warm up (it is currently snowing and 30 degrees) and we can get that peach out if there!

Circus weekend

We are finally getting smarter. We can do things in moderation and leave the "all or nothing" mentality in our past. When we go to Duluth, we don't need to spend two nights to make the packing worth it. Anika does not like to be in a hotel for that long and either do we.

We ate dinner out, swam at the hotel, swam again the next morning, saw half of the circus and headed home. She loved it - all of it. Ask her what a clown does, and she will honk your nose and pretend juggle.

"smile for the camera"

Then we got to have a Sunday at home where we could swing in the snow and not be angry about the weather because we got out of here for a little while.

Happy Holidays!

So we waited to see Santa before sending out holiday cards... we thought it would go better than last year (quick recap - screaming Anika on Santa's lap). This year was worse. I thought she might have forgotten last year, no dice. As we got to the velvet curtain hiding Santa, she started backing up. As we passed through the curtain, she started flailing and saying, "No Santa!" Keep in mind we have not even seen him yet. When a smiling Santa tried to calm her and give her a button, it got worse. So off we went and calmed down in the hallway. The good news - after using an elevator for a few days, she had gotten over her fear of them and we could ride it down 4 floors to get the h-e-double hockey sticks out of there. Last year we took a screaming, flailing child down 4 flights of escalators. Not an enjoyable ride down.

Anika loves to dance. Her moves have evolved from "doing the mashed potato" arms to jumping up and down and spinning in circles. That happy memory made a better holiday card than scary "Santa Cause".

The night Ani ran from Santa, she dreamt about him. In the middle of the night she yelled, "No Santa Cause! No Santa Cause!!" And flailed her arms and legs around. Maybe we will take a break from Santa next year and spend our time dancing.