We miss you Grandpa Dave

What adorable kids!
Today we visited Grandpa Dave's grave at Lakewood. The kids drew pictures and wrote notes to Grandpa and they were tied to balloon. We sent them to heaven to tell Grandpa how much we all miss him. David wanted to tell Grandpa that "We are happy and we love you".

Watching the balloons take flight.

And get stuck in a tree. Grandpa Dave was probably laughing at us. Next year we'll have to plan our balloon launch better.

Beautiful Leah brought flowers for Grandpa

The two pink snow bunnies all bundled up.

Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run

After the race Damon took this picture of me. Love the eyelashes.
Pre-Race. We were all getting nervous and analyzed what gear we should go with.

Here we go!

Off I go. It was about -10 degrees outside, luckily no wind. I warmed up quickly.

After the run.

Very proud of myself. A year ago it wouldn't have even crossed my mind that I would run in this crazy event. I ran the whole thing, a little slower than I thought I would be, but I blame it on my frozen thighs.

Spaghetti dinner Friday night. This was my cheer team. They were at the starting line, the middle of the race, and at the finish line. The best was seing Mikko and David smiling and cheering me on.

After Race Party - Chili, Beer and Boot Hockey

It was the idyllic Minnesota Scene - Snow falling on Rainy Lake and a game of boot hockey.
David LOVED being goalie.

David and Daddy. David absolutely loved playing boot hockey with everyone. He completely bawled when it was time to go back up to the house. The rest of us were FREEZING but David wanted to play one more game.

Chili Party

So much fun seeing the Westforkers.

Lucia and Mikko playing with the door.

The boys having pillow fights.

After the race we all headed to the Dault's for a post-party. It was a blast and we all plan on doing the race again next year. We may even have more participants!!

A couple days at the Shack - We got lots of snow!

There is competition who likes to ride the 4-wheeler more - David or Mikko!
Keepin' Warm.

Grandpa showed Damon how to plow the driveway. The boys were very interested in watching.

Running down the Westfork Road.

Sleeping on the dog beds in front of the woodstove.

David's Day Off

Using his new binoculars he got from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas.
We packed a picnic lunch.

Mommy kisses.

Shark Mouth

No school today for David and no work for Mommy and Daddy so we spent a special day with David. We went to the zoo, then to a movie at the Riverview with Bobby and Greta. It was funny hearing David's concerns about Mikko not being with us. Pretty sweet!

I got to be a model in a Stella Dot show at Spill the Wine too. Britta needed someone to model the new Spring looks. It was so fun and I felt so "posh"! Thanks Britta - it was a blast.

Fun night with Frasers!

Decorating cookies.
Notice Damon with the ShopVac in the background. Someone dropped a whole new open bottles of sprinkles on the kitchen floor. They went EVERYWHERE, even into the living room.

Dance Party and Games

Mikko wanted everyone to spin him around. Then he'd get dizzy and fall down, then wanted to do it again.

We loved Mikko's dance moves.

Baking Boys.

Saturday night we made cut out sugar cookies. Bobby and Greta are coming over later and we will decorate them. It was an absolute mess in the kitchen - flour everywhere, but they loved to help roll them out and do the cut outs. We were just going to do hearts for Valentines but they wanted to do: Dog Bone Shapes, Moons (from Halloween) and Ghosts. Can't wait to see how they decorate them today.

David got a mini hockey net and sticks from the Amundson's for Christmas. It has been a hit of a toy. Here is Mikko playing goalie - it makes David super mad when Mikko just sits in the net.

Boys wrestling. I really have to get used to this boy stuff.

Snuggles and books with Grandma Carol.

Finished!

BEFORE PICTURE ABOVE

AFTER!

Mikko is excited too!

Damon worked so hard on getting this done. His friend Aaron was amazing and Damon was so glad he helped out - he knows how to do everything. It is now my favorite room in the house. We just love it.

Huge thank you to Carol for letting us crash at your house for a week. Besides you having to empty your refrigerator and freezer because David accidentally turned it off for 2 days, we hope we weren't too much trouble!