Arctic Blast

This past week has been a cold one here in North Dakota, for sure 'n ya' betcha! We had been warned that an "arctic blast" would be coming through our region, bringing record low temperatures of 50 below zero or more. Brr....makes you cold just to think of it, right? The wind chills have approached that, and there are warnings to stay inside when possible and take precautions when venturing outside. (Hence the less-than-cute snow picture, but it DOES convey the chilliness!)

I guess as a hardened, 5-winter veteran of this town, such warnings don't scare me too much anymore. Jake and I have kept up our usual outings to Target and Sam's Club, the mall and Starbuck's. I won't begin to whine about how cold it is (I might never stop), but I will say that this weekend's forecast of 25 degrees ABOVE zero sounds downright balmy! A friend sent this forward tonight and it made me laugh, it's so right-on (thanks, Katie!):

Cold Weather behavior:

60 above zero: Floridians turn on the heat. North Dakotans plant gardens.
50 above zero: Californians shiver uncontrollably. People are sunbathing in Fargo.
40 above zero: Import cars won't start. North Dakotans drive with the sunroof open.
32 above zero: Distilled water freezes. The water in Devils Lake gets thicker.
20 above zero: New Mexicans don long johns, parkas and wool hats & mittens. North Dakotans throw on a flannel shirt.
15 above zero: New York landlords finally turn on the heat. People in North Dakota have one last cookout before it gets cold.
Zero: People in Miami all die. North Dakotans close the windows.
10 below zero: Californians fly away to Mexico. North Dakotans dig their winter coats out of storage.
25 below zero: Hollywood disintegrates. Girl Scouts in North Dakota still selling cookies door to door.
40 below zero: Washington, D.C. finally runs out of hot air. People in North Dakota let their dogs sleep indoors.
100 below zero: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. North Dakotans get upset because the Mini-Van won't start.
460 below zero: ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale). People in North Dakota can be heard to say, "Cold 'nuff fer ya?"
500 below zero: Hell freezes over. North Dakota public schools open 2 hours late.

Happy Birthday to Bo...

Bo turned 35 (again!) on December 29th. He'd better start aging again or I'm going to pass him in a few years... The kids and I shooed him out the door in the morning to spend the day browsing at the guitar store and pawn shops (his version of a day at the spa).

While he was gone we baked cupcakes and decorated - the kids would never forgive a lackluster birthday party. It has to be cake! Balloons! Streamers! Theme! Confetti! Party hats! So when he walked in the door he found us all in superhero costumes - we made him put one on too. We enjoyed a steak dinner and cupcakes, and he opened his super-hero-themed presents from the kids. We have a tradition that he gets to pick out his own birthday present from me, and so a few days later he came home with a new amplifier that has since provided many rockin' hours of entertainment. You'll always be our Super Hero, honey!

Christmas Day 2008

Our Christmas was wonderful - how could it not be with kids around? They have so much enthusiasm and excitement, and it's definitely contagious. We omitted or changed quite a few of our family traditions this year because I just wasn't up to it, but to be honest I don't think the kids noticed at all. They opened their Christmas Eve pajamas, set out cookies for Santa, and fell asleep surprisingly fast. Rob and I had everything set up and ready for the morning by 9:00 pm. And then the kids slept in until 8 in the morning! That was a great present in itself.

It was so fun to watch the two of them react so differently to their Santa presents - Haley stood back with wide eyes and took it all in, while Jake ran straight for toy after toy, exclaiming over each one. We spent a relaxing day playing, eating orange rolls, and having a family Nerf war. Thanks to all of our generous friends and family who helped make our holiday so special!

Minneapolis Winter Road Trip (Warning - Long Post)

Last weekend we were so excited to drive down to Minneapolis to meet our good friend Bill, who was flying through on his way home from Iraq. What a great excuse to get out of town and take in the big-city-at-the-holidays sights! Only when I got back did I realize I'd taken a total of 6 pictures - and NONE of them were of Bill. Sorry, Bill! Now you'll just have to come back and visit again....

We had planned to leave on Saturday morning, but with (another) blizzard warning given for that time period, we scurried around all day Friday and left as soon as Haley finished with school at 3:00. We were so fortunate to beat the storm completely and had a safe drive - until we were within 50 yards of our hotel. Then suddenly the car started acting funny and felt like it was going to stall out. Rob spent most of the next day at the repair shop while the kids and I swam, hung out at the hotel, and ensconced ourselves in the nearby Barnes and Noble while the blizzard raged outside. I felt so very grateful that we had made it down safely; it could have been so much worse!

Before Bill got into town, Rob and I took turns venturing out into the pre-Christmas crowds to shop. He went to REI and several guitar stores; I hit the high-end Shoppes at Arbor Lakes down the road from our hotel. The kids spent a lot of time in Pottery Barn Kids - we'll take one of everything, please! On Monday we braved the traffic and went to the Mall of America, along with millions of other shoppers. The traffic was bad, the crowds were big, and I'm afraid Bill had to witness a major disagreement between Rob and I. But by the end of the day the kids had ridden the rides for hours, we'd made a few laps around the mall, and were stuffed from a most delicious dinner at Tucci Benucch to celebrate Bill's birthday. We were all tired from the weekend, but the kids had SO much fun with "Uncle Bill", and he spoiled them (and us) with gifts and attention. Thanks, Bill, for stopping in our chilly neck of the woods! We miss you already.

I know this is a long post - more of a journal entry, really - but I have to mention how much we LOVED our hotel. We will stay there every time we go to Minneapolis from now on; we're calling it our "city house". It's the Staybridge Suites in Maple Grove, and while of course it doesn't compare to the grand old hotels in big cities, I absolutely loved it for its family-friendliness. It has a nice pool, a huge, free breakfast, a kitchen in every room, and our room had doors that closed off the beds from the rest of the room (so nice when you have little kids!). Not to mention that it was all decorated for the holidays and had several feet of snow outside. I'm not sure if all of their properties are this nice, but I hope so because we'll be looking for them from now on when we travel!

More About Baby

For those who are just dying with curiosity (namely, the grandmas-to-be), here are some more details about Baby 3.

The baby is due around July 22nd. I haven't had my first doctor's appointment yet, so the date is not official. I'm about 11 weeks along right now and the baby is the size of a "large lime".

I've been pretty lucky morning-sickness wise. It kicked in right before Thanksgiving, but was only really bad for a few weeks. I'm fortunate to not get super-sick, I just feel nauseous a lot and can't stand the thought of many foods (especially onions and the entire food court at the mall). Hopefully in a few weeks I'll have my energy and appetite back.

Whenever I ask Jake where the baby is, he replies, "I'm right here!" I'm predicting major sibling rivalry this time around.

Haley is fascinated with the details of the baby's growth (may I say, ahem, even more than Rob is...?). She loves to get out the Your Pregnancy Week by Week book each Sunday and look at the pictures to see how big it's gotten. We've gone from "Ew, it looks gross" to "Wow! Look how big it is!" It's fun to have her old enough to understand what's really going on (well, mostly).

Jake thinks it's a boy, Haley hopes it's a girl. Big surprise.

Thanks, everyone, for your congratulations and good wishes!

One More Present...

Hope you enjoy the video! We'll talk to you soon, I'm sure.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Valarie, Rob, Haley & Jake

Clarifications: "She" at the end refers to me...we won't find out for a few more months!

More Holiday Fun

This past weekend we went to our local Macy's store so the kids could mail their letters to Santa in the big red mailbox. They were still dressed up from taking pictures and got a lot of comments from passersby as they excitedly dropped their letters in the slot.

Jake worked very hard on his letter, but in case you can't make out what he wrote, he asked for:

-Flying reindeer for each member of our family, with switches on them to make them fly.

-A big motorcycle with a switch.

-Roller skates.

-He also said, "Maybe Santa will bring me my own lots of babies..." Santa had better ask mom and dad about that one first...

Little Boy Blue

"I WANT THE BLUE CUP!!!"...At least 7 other people in the world will remember this phrase all too well. While my 5 siblings and I were growing up, we used a set of plastic Tupperware tumblers that came in assorted colors. For some reason, there was only blue one, and THAT was the one that we all wanted. Who knows why, but it sure seemed important at the time. I'm surprised mom or dad didn't throw the darn thing out when we weren't looking. (Or did you...?)

Lately Jake has taken a shine to the color blue - and that's putting it mildly. He wants to dress in head-to-toe blue, use only the blue plate, cup, and fork, and lays claim to anything in the cerulean color family. We honestly haven't pushed the blue/pink divide on our children - quite the opposite actually - but somehow they've picked up on it anyway. I'm sure he'll grow out of it someday, and when he's in his "all-black" phase as a moody teenager I'll look back on this time with great fondness...at least it complements his eyes!

Christmas Picture Outtakes

I had planned to take our family Christmas picture last weekend, but still wasn't feeling well and so we postponed it until today. Of course I wasn't counting on a blizzard being forcasted for the weekend... Still, we're hardy North Dakotans now and a little blizzard wasn't going to stop me from taking the quintessential front-porch photo.

It's hard enough to get a perfect shot of four people, but try doing it with wind-chill temperatures at -7 degrees! However, the kids were troopers and Rob was very supportive; we would take a few shots and then go inside to warm up. When I told the kids to say "strawberry" instead of "cheese", Jake disagreed, then thought for a moment and told us, "Say cranberry!" What a funny kid...he also seems to be the most sub-zero photogenic; check out the slide show below.

Easy Cinnamon Ornaments

The kids and I made these ornaments today - they are pretty easy to make and the kids felt like they were making cookies -minus the sugar high. Clean-up is super fast if you roll them between sheets of waxed paper. And your house will smell like cinnamon for hours after they're done baking. (Heather B., this one is not for you!)

Cinnamon-Applesauce Ornaments

1 cup ground cinnamon (I use the Sam's Club containers - a good way to rotate your stock)

3/4 cup applesauce

1/2 teaspoon cloves

Combine ingredients to make a stiff dough. Roll out to 1/8" thick between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters; re-roll scraps and repeat until dough is used up. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment or waxed paper (or a Silpat, my favorite). Don't forget to make holes with a straw or skewer for hanging them.

Bake at 250 degrees for 2 hours, then turn off oven and leave cookie sheet in for 4-5 hours. Once cool, decorate with paint, glitter, or leave plain, and thread with a ribbon for hanging.

Christmas Preparations

It's been a busy few weeks as we prepared for the holidays. Our Thanksgiving is kind of fuzzy in my mind - I'm sure the food was good, but I was sick and couldn't taste most of it anyway. However we did enjoy the company of a friend, Tom, from church, and enjoyed pie with some friends that evening.

The next morning we jumped right into Christmas preparations with some Black Friday shopping, and on Saturday brought home the Christmas tree. Now the halls are decked, the shopping is almost all done, and I'm looking forward to just enjoying the season for a few weeks!

We have to create our own fun in the wintertime, and one of Jake's favorite things lately is to have someone bury him in the box of blocks. It was fun the first dozen times...

One afternoon Haley decided to set up a "photo studio" in her room - she hung a quilt for the background, set up a little chair, and asked us all to come pose. Here are the results:

Only in North Dakota

There are many things this post title could allude to - the frigid temperatures, fields of sunflowers, or homemade lefse at the farmer's market - but I wanted to give a shout-out to the people of this state. They are known for being friendly, honest, and hard-working.

When we moved here, Haley was 4 months old and we had to stop every few hours to feed her. Somewhere in the deserted middle of the state we pulled off at a seemingly empty exit (hoping for some privacy, you know?). In the 30 minutes we were there, about 4 cars stopped to ask if we needed help. Coming from the crowded, anonymous north-Seattle neighborhood we'd been living in, we were very surprised. It was only the beginning of what we'd learn about our new fellow North Dakotans. When we saw the following story in this Sunday's newspaper, we just shook our heads and said, "Only in North Dakota!".

Purse, $2,500 is returned:

A Bismarck woman who lost a purse containing $2,500 in cash at a local Wal-Mart got it back - with all the money still inside. Ruby Hebert, 75, said the purse also contained credit cards and her identification cards. She had withdrawn the cash for Christmas shopping because she had run out of checks. Hebert said she can't describe her appreciation for the honesty of the woman who found the purse and turned it in to store officials.