Fun Winter Weekend

Well, somehow I missed all of February on here!  Oops!  We have been sick pretty much since the end of January :(  

Joe eventually got over Fifth's Disease but was never 100%, then he got an incredible sinus infection where crud was coming out his eyes (yuck), Amelia had pink eye in both eyes for her birthday, Jackson had broncho-pneumonia and now I am fighting a raging ear infection in which I have found no relief yet.  Hopefully this is it for us and sickness for awhile!

Before my ear infection hit we took advantage of the wonderful weather this past weekend and got outside!  Saturday, I took Amelia to Willow River State Park to try out her new skis.  

2026 Olympic hopeful!

She made it about a quarter-mile and then quit out of frustration of slipping/sliding/falling.  Poor girl, she just wanted to keep up with the others on the trail and be as fast as the people she watched on the Olympics, ha!  She's excited to give it another shot and keep practicing!  After skiing she wanted to hike to the waterfall - so we did!  

It's thawing!

Sunday morning Amelia, my mom, sister and I went snowshoeing at Afton State Park.

We went a mile and a half!  I wish we had tried this sooner in the winter - it was a lot of fun!

You'll notice the boys are missing from all these activities/pictures...  Jackson went along with Amelia and I (in a carrier) skiing/hiking and during snowshoeing my dad watched both boys!  

Amelia begged to take Jackson out in the infant sled at my parent's house despite the snow nearly as deep as she is tall!  She pulled him back and forth on the path they use to fill their bird feeders!

As for dad, he has been skiing in Aspen since Friday!

We are picking him up tonight and the kids (Amelia in particular) are excited to see him!

As much as I love winter, I am ready for spring this year!  Between all the sickness that has plagued our home the past month and a half and the sub-zero temperatures that have kept us cooped up inside  - I'm over it!  Winter is no fun when you can't get out and enjoy it! 

Arctic Vortex

Well, it's arrived - the "arctic vortex."  With temperatures this week getting as low as -30* and wind chills of -50/60* expected we decided that +16* yesterday was acceptable to get out and play in! 

Climbing up to the football field!

Jackson came out too - he handled the cold like a true Wisconsinite!

He eventually just fell asleep all toasty in his snowsuit :)

Amelia being a penguin

Eventually Joey got cold and tired so we headed in for a late lunch and naps for the boys.  It felt good to get outside one last time before we are stuck in the house for the week! 

Snow Fun!

Yesterday we went to a friends Christmas gathering!  We had a huge meal with a turkey, a ham, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn, homemade mashed potatoes, Jason's "famous" green beans almondine and more!  It was delicious!

Before the sun got too low we took all the kids outside to play in the snow!

Her first snow angel of the season!

W had a blast pulling Joey around!

Joey and C

Amelia had a blast on a tiny hill with this saucer sled!

Joey shoveled - a lot.  He was "cleaning up!"

These babies were all born within four months of each other!  D, C, W and Joey :)

W and Joey both wanted to pull C and D!

After coming inside the adults played a game called "Last Word" - so fun!  I had never heard of it but it was seriously a blast!  We totally wanted to play another round but unruly/tired kids won and we ended the day after just one round!

Just so he's not left out, here is Jackson:

His first (successful) time in the Bumbo!

Sledding Adventure!

This morning Jason suggested we go sledding because it was warm (30 degrees) out.  I thought it sounded like a great idea but responded with my usual, "I have to clean up around here first and do the dishes etc."  As I was running the warm water to fill up the sink and start the dishes I decided, screw it - we're going NOW!

So, I went and told Jason we should go now before I changed my mind and had to straighten the house up.  See, I have this thing about having to come home to a clean house.  Call me crazy but coming home to disarray just isn't my thing.  Today I let that go...

Future luge gold medalist!

Joe's first solo ride...

...he liked it!

Face-plant off the back of the sled!

Swinging :)

Post-sledding ice cream treat at the DQ!  (yes, we never changed out of pajamas...)

What a fun morning!  I didn't get to sled because I haven't had snowpants (that fit) in years.  I'm thinking I will definitely need to invest in a pair for next year!

Snow Fun!

This afternoon we got outside and played in the snow a bit!

Amelia had the best time!

I think she could have stayed out there all day and all night...

see the snowball she threw?  it's right above her head...

It sounds like we got 12-16 inches of snow yesterday!  To give you an idea here is Joey on a path that the neighbor cut through the yard between the two buildings with a snowplow...

It was above my knees in most places.  Yep, that's a lot of snow!

It got dark pretty quickly and forced us inside for the evening but we had a fun time outside this afternoon!