Snow in the blender.



We've had a little bit of snow around here in central Minn.

 



With all the extra snow we decided it would be fun to put it in the blender and see what happened.

Oh my goodness the girls thought this was the best idea in the entire world.

 We stirred it, chopped it.

Mixed it.  Pureed it.

Liquefied it.

Added cold water, hot water, ice cubes.  What did it do?  What happened?

The fun of putting snow in the blender seemed to have no limits!

And of course there were sculptures.

It was nearly as fun as actually playing outside in it!

New friends!

So this winter we were given the pleasure of meeting a wonderful family from a rather unexpected location:

 

 No, seriously!  I am not making this up.  A family that homeschools made an extended visit to the exotic destination of central Minnesota.  Yes, they came because it was winter and they wanted their children to experience winter and Christmas in Minnesota.  Really!

Thanks to our local homeschool network, I got in touch with the wonderful Ruth right away and we decided on a time for her and her four children to come and visit.  What I wasn't expecting was to run into her at the library the day before they came over.

A tall, smiling woman approached me in the children's section and said in this over-the-top-amazing accent, "Are you Marlene Weeks?  I believe I recognize you and your lovely children from your blog!"

That's right.  Apparently I'm quite famous.  And my children are lovely.

 Ruth and her kids came over and for all of our children it was friends-at-first-sight.  Her children were also very lovely!  We were both a little worried about all the kids understanding each other's accents but there wasn't too much to worry about there. They were too busy playing to bother with differences in speech.

I loved Ruth because she accidentally left stuff at our house.  I do that all the time to other people (and places) - I can't seem to go anywhere without leaving behind mittens, stuffed animals, special blankies, wallets, etc (I promise I'm trying to get better at this.)  So right away I just knew that Ruth was a kindred spirit.

I got used to her being around, and then all of the sudden . . .

 . . . they left and went back to New Zealand.  Somehow my brain wasn't really computing that Ruth and her family would . . . leave. 

Do you know how interesting it is to see America through a New Zealander's eyes?  So fascinating.  And I was blown away by how the whole family embraced the bitter cold (they willingly left New Zealand in the summer!  Southern hemisphere, you know - opposite seasons down there) and literally did more sightseeing in Minnesota than we have ever bothered with.  But more than just enjoying Ruth's perspective, I immediately appreciated her sunny spirit and sweet kids! 

Now, we have friends on the other side of the world, which is such a treat.  It's a tiny bit sad that it's about 24 hours of air travel to get there, but I am so grateful we had the opportunity to meet! 

You and your family are a real blessing, Ruth!

Lost episode: Viggo's birthday! (part 2)

Even though the kids were super-tired from playing for hours at the Children's Museum, we decided to make a quick stop at one of Viggo's most favorite stores on earth - Cabela's.  He was so excited when he woke up and realized where we were!

 

 Yes, it's massive.

It even has a freshwater aquarium.

Catfish!

And here's something you don't see every day - an albino Northern.

The aquarium there was a big hit!  Elin was amazed there were "sunken ships" in it (canoes).

 The girls declared the pink-and-purple tackle boxes worthy of princesses.

 Can you spot the fisherman amidst the rods?

And did I mention the mountain of animals?
They were not alive.  At all.  (I had to tell Elin that).

 Taxidermy Mountain was not limited to creatures of the northwoods.

We went to the arctic.

And Africa.

We had a knowledgeable and heavily armed guide to show us the way.

 Oh, and there was a bear who unfortunately got in the way of some bees.

 There was a plane on the ceiling.

 After Cabela's, Viggo chose to have dinner at Perkins.  He ordered his favorite thing on the menu:  shrimp.

Then . . . it was dark, late, and we finally came home to dessert (peanut butter pie).
I know, it really felt like the never-ending birthday celebration!
You only turn nine once.  So we squeezed happy-birthdayness into every single minute.

We love you so much, Viggo!  You bless us every day with your funny, goofy, sweetness!  Happy, happy birthday!

Lost episode: Viggo's birthday! (part 1)

 Viggo turned 9 . . . some time ago . . . so better late than never, let's observe that today!

Viggo wanted to go to the Minnesota Children's Museum, so we were up bright and early to make sure we had plenty of time there.

 



 

 First up was a cabin-themed room.  Complete with fishing vests!

There was so much to do, the kids weren't quite sure what to do first, next, and finally.  It was a little crazy.

 Viggo as a medieval smithy.

Then there were the hula hoops.

Levers and pulleys and how things work.

 Where can I get one of these signs?

 Viggo took care of business moving around some stuff with a robotic arm.

 It was a little tedious but he managed just fine!

 There may or may not have been a little outside help.

 Nate and Svea experiment with the magic of water pressure.

Viggo got busy constructing.

Svea loved the local neighborhood dog.

 Everyone, especially Elin, loved the Chinese restaurant.  Elin was an enthusiastic cashier.  Every single thing I ordered cost $50 apiece.

 

Before we left, Viggo had to be the boss one more time.

 

We had lunch at the museum and spent hours there.  It was so much fun.



 



 We were in the car - what, ten minutes?  And I look behind me and see this.

 And this . . .

And this.

They were tuckered out. 

But wait, we're not finished yet!  Hold on for the second birthday installment!