They say it's been nearly 7 years since we got this much snow at once. Monday, we finally got a good ol' fashioned MN snowstorm!
Luckily the kiddos were already off of school for a workshop day. Daddy was able to work from home, so we were all safe and cozy! School even got called off the next day!
Mason and I weren't about to get left inside this time :) We went out in the afternoon when Daddy wanted to do his first shift of snow blowing. Added bonus when it's not too windy or too cold to go out and enjoy the snow storm!
He helped a lot of neighbors out there were stuck getting home from work or that their snow blowers weren't working. Any excuse to get extra use out of the snow blower :)
C-Mile Minnesota Sibs!
Snow much fun!
Taking it all in!
Waving at the Cardinal in the neighbor's bush, extra pop of color against the pretty white snow
Daddy's favorite, cardinal on the feeder!
Earlier in the day I busted out the play-doh, I can probably count on one hand how many times I've brought this out. They loved it, of course!
Daddy's meal, Diet Mountain Dew, Big noodles in a bowl, side of fries complete with a spoon and a fork
We also braved the roads earlier in the day for dentist appointments for Sally & Libby. All clear on the cavities. Sally needs to force some teeth out soon otherwise she's need to get them pulled...braces are definitely in her future...
Queen of Stubbornness. Standing, turned around, with her hands in her pocket because she wanted to snuggle with mommy BEFORE Libby read me a book. It's tough being a three year old, especially when your mom is WAY more stubborn than you'll ever be ;)
Loved that the no school snow day had no wind and full sunshine! We were out twice in a day! My morning workout
They could play for hours...love their creativity
Insert witty caption about MN kids being stronger and more able to persevere because they grow up playing outside in snow deeper than they are tall, with gloves falling off and snow in the face and...
Sally has a new responsibility that she loves. She gets to let our neighbor's dog out each afternoon. Libby will join in the outside fun every once in a while
the other day, I had a day where I soaked up all the little things. Days are going quickly and my gig will soon be up with Littles home during the day
It's all about perspective
You know you've got a good one, when your Bestie willingly packs up her 3 girls and comes to hang with your two kids so you can go and get your hair done during the day. Not to mention she has a husband who travels on the weekly. I Heart you Kari!! Thank you thank you thank you!
Pictures while I was getting my hair did....ooooh Emma :)
Mia & Mason starting to be aware of one another
Emma finished her Butterfly Sticker Mosaic!
The cutest Little Brother watching his sisters shovel. Love that he can barely peek out the window
Oh, she's a fun one to watch at swimming lessons. She's going to be a hilarious student...I can only imagine the messages and stories we'll hear from her teachers
Emma insisting on walking up to go say Hi to her friend, Harper
Afternoon walk with neighbors. Brecken and Emma have always had a special bond
Mister Mason discovered the joy of sending things flying down the stairs
Out for a little one on one time with Libby, coming home from our walk, we had someone excited to greet us as the front door
Game Day ready, thank you Goddaughter. If only the Vikings would have showed up to play...still fans through and through
Libby was excited to start swimming lessons
Sally's an old pro. She was excited to begin to learn how to do a flip turn
Cute little Valentine thing Sally created during one of her quiet times
Reid and I were honored to be asked to be Madison's Godparents. We were so excited for an excuse to make the road trip down to Kansas. I was a bit nervous leading up to it, travel in MN during the winter, you're always hoping for ok roads. Mason's 1st real roadtrip, how will he do in the car for 7ish hours each way? and then the big one. Bringing our six-pack during cold and flu season to meet a new baby. God delivered, per usual :)
We got snow the day before, they were all cleared in the morning by the time we headed out. We did drive in to a big snow storm on our way home, but our ETA was 4:15 and the snow started at 3:45, so we only had 30 minutes of it. The "dusting" in Kansas Sunday morning provided the worst roads, as they aren't pros at plowing snow down there.
And Mason? Oh my goodness, he gets the GOLD medal. 15 hours in the car, round trip and he fussed for MAAAAAAAAybe 35 minutes total. He slept off and on and just hung out. We did upgrade his seat to the convertible, just for this trip. Mama's not ready to get rid of the carrier just yet (too convenient/keeps him contained/no touching things and getting germs...)
Our whole crew traveled fabulously. Every even slept SUPER awesome!! Thanks to Thomas and Erin's fab set-up of 3 beds!! Not one fever, cough or fuss, we were germ free, thank goodness!!
Makes me SUPER excited for our trip to Florida with the girls. We're juuuuust beginning to enter a new stage with our crew, the ability to be more adventurous and not so home bound.
Spotting the field of Windmills, one of her favorite things!
There is one windmill near our house and if it's spinning she thinks Reid did it, and if it's not she thinks Reid should go and fix it. So when she saw all of these she said "Thanks dad for all of those windmills, I love you."
Where the thought all started, 9 years ago. We were traveling a similar route when we were pregnant with Sally, heading to one of Reid's cousin's wedding. We played the ABC game using each letter to come up with a Boy name and a Girl name. M provided Mason...and now we have one :)
Per tradition, Chick-Fil-A stop for lunch!
Everyone needs an Emma in their life...last 5 minutes of our 7 hour drive: [VIDEO]
We barely had the car in park and Emma & Savannah were instant pals
Erin and Thomas were the best host! Important to note that they welcomed all of us with having just had Madison two weeks prior!!!
Fun pizza party with Kaylee and Colby so we could meet their precious daughter, Mary Grace
Also so wonderful to get together with them!
John and Family were able to make it over later in the evening, they had a busy weekend schedule. So grateful they were able to squeeze in a quick visit, it's never long enough
It was a great low key weekend with lots of pj time and baby snuggles! Sally clocked quite a few hours with Miss Madison.
Madison's baptism was after the 4pm Mass, which was packed because a "dusting" of snow was in the forecast so everyone and their sister came to Mass that night :) It was a good thing we took a few pictures while waiting for the Priest, as he took a bit longer than expected to get the party started :)
Such a special crew right here! Erin came up with a great name for our weekends together, God Family weekends. The kids get along so well and it's just so wonderful to be in this life and raising kids together. They are Emma's Godparents and we are Madisons, so God Weekends will be in our future! ♥
Erin's sister got a new phone with some fun new camera features!
The Craigmile Crew!
Mason adoring Thomas...or trying to figure out why he looks so much like Reid :)
Always a favorite picture during a baptism! Welcome to the Catholic Church, Sweet Madison Genevieve!
Precious little Godchild
Bedtime stories
Soaking up the snuggles before heading back home
The Big Vikings game was on, and we were ready for it, and hoping and praying our DVR worked (it did!!)
The roads were a little rough getting out of Kansas, but we made it through!
Bribing her for a nap
It worked
A race against the snow storm
Phew! Glad we left when we did, the last 30 minutes were a little scary
Quickly filed in the house to begin the Viking game and Sally lost her tooth :)
We made it home with enough time to fast forward commercials, and half time, to catch up to Live TV by the 3rd quarter, otherwise we would have missed the MINNEAPOLIS MIRACLE. DVR only records for 3 hours, and the game went longer than that. What a game, holy moly. So fun to be able to experience it and watch it live!
What a great weekend. Thank you Thomas and Erin for your extra love and hospitality. It was such a special weekend honoring Madison's Baptism! We can't wait for a God Family weekend, real soon!!
