Bottineau

Tubing Time!
2 years ago you had to walk up the hill - oh how times have changed!

Grey hat with pink fuzzy balls - see her?

The kids didn't come down for a bit and we started wondering what was going on. Alicia then came down hooked up with 3 fellas! Yep, that's our little world. You can drive 2 hours north and run into your friends from town. You can drive 2 hours south and run into people you know. Guess what - 3 hours east and you can run into your neighbors. Oh wait, 9 hours to Minnesota and you can run into 6 families that you know from Minot. Crazy!

Alex hooked up with some of his friends from Okinawa. They had a blast and didn't mind the bone chilling winds and freezing temps.

We knew a snow storm was headed our way so we got up to the park early. We headed home around 1:30 and by 3:00 we had little visibility and the snow was coming down. We expect to be home bound for the next two days. :) Anyone want to come shovel?

Eve

This poor lil' fella was losing his mind all day anticipating opening the Eve gifts.

We enjoyed every second of his anguish.

Warm and Fun Tootsies!

Wonder if this will keep him occupied until Santa comes?

They call these "Vera Wang" purses up here.

Random

This is how the high schoolers line up for the bus every morning. The sidewalk is cleared, there is a path to get from the sidewalk to the street, but those teenagers won't be boxed into our "norms". They stand in the street like they're in a police lineup. Thank goodness they're a fun group. Alicia loves riding the bus with this crazy bunch.
S C A R Y !

G O O F Y!

Alicia tried to make Lily look less scary.

El' Diablo

Little Drummer Boy

That's my boy!
I hope Santa doesn't bring him a set of these for our home.

He's acting cool because his grandma is in the crowd.

Guess who is visiting...

Break out the board games - Grandma is in town!
Most beautiful, yet unphotogenic kitty.

Big A was willing to join in the cookie event if he could watch the Dolphins play by play action. He's a true Dolfan!

Those are the some goofy children...err.. I mean cookies!

Pretty sure the cookie making got out of control when they started making Pacman cookies.

3 hours of sleep on that girl below. She partied like a rockstar with her BFF.

Crazy Dog!

It has to be something crazy below zero for mom to come visit us! Yes, we made her shovel snow. Yes, we drug her out in the freezing cold. Yes, I made her come to school and work all day! (2 days down and she has 2 to go) Most Importantly - Yes, she brings the SC sunshine with her! It gets pretty drab up here in the great white north. It's nice to have someone spice up our life. Little A is in heaven with his formidable game player in the house. Alicia thinks that we should always make cookies and do fun stuff, but I think that is just a grandma thing. The week is going by to quickly and I am already anticipating the tears on Wednesday.

Spoiled

No idea how this 20lb thing can take over our lives, but he sure has.

MOA

Best hotel - EVER!

EEK! You'd think management would take care of these bedbugs!

We stayed at the Waterpark of America - wave/surf thing action with Alex in the red suit.

That guy just happened to walk in front of my boy - go figure the timing!!!!

Living the Dream! Just need some Jack Johnson music playing.

We made a quick (5 day trip/journey) to the Mall of America last month. I absolutely love the mall, the people, the area, the huge buildings. It's nice to get a taste of city life. I also had my first experience with Ikea. It was confusing and amazing.