an early, white christmas in minnesota

pete and i managed to travel to minnesota for an early christmas in between two major weather systems. in addition, it was above zero the entire time we were there...a christmas miracle! a small system brought a mix of freezing rain and snow making for a beautiful winter wonderland. pete set straight to work on the project list my mom had made for him and managed to finish them all before the nieces and nephews arrived (maybe he should have saved a few for his own sanity?!). my mom and i kept up our holiday tradition of making lefse. we tried something new this year for me - gluten- and dairy-free lefse. it turned out a little more like naan than lefse so i was happy we had a batch of regular for the rest of the family! sarah, the kids, matt, and michele all arrived on friday evening and steph braved the "wintry mix" saturday morning. 

back row: madeline, melissa, pete, michele, matt, stephanie

front row: kieran, sarah, al, mom, luke

madeline (14!), kieran (6), luke (4), and alexandra (2) are all growing up and changing *so* fast! 

 december marked the two year anniversary of the end of cancer treatment for maddy. she turned 14 last week and is now officially taller than me! :( 

kieran and luke are always on the go...finding mischief is their specialty! kieran was getting ready to throw this "snowball" at his uncle pete.

those dimples can only mean one thing...trouble! 

 al is an independent two-year old who loves all things dora the explorer.

 there might be a few cheeky monkeys in the group! 

we had fun with the boys "digging" for dinosaurs and sledding with maddy and the boys. being able to play outside is essential for group sanity! 

it is always wonderful to spend time with family, but it is also a reminder of how far away minnesota can be sometimes. wishing you all a wonderful 2013!

melissa, stephanie, sarah, mom, and matt

(we miss you everyday, dad)