Visitors from CA

Yesterday the family got together at our house for lunch with Jason and Micah, who were visiting for a few days from sunny and much warmer California. Even though we'd had a January Thaw previously in the week, the temperatures took a nose dive just in time for their visit.

Toad loved seeing his godfather. Uncle Mike made some hot hot chili. A good time was had by all and the house survived. We've got another big party next weekend, so hopefully we can maintain this week and not have too much cleaning to do before the Super Bowl.

One more week... Hammer Guy is frantically finishing a few things up before the carpet install on Friday... and then the basement will be finished! Hurray!

MIA and MOA

Toad and I spent last Sunday at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It was Target Family Day -- Sun and Moon. Toad and "Grandma Shirley" -- a very nice lady who inspired Toad with her depiction of the Sun -- got along well. He also made a very cool headdress.

The work week was long and stressful for both me and Hammer Guy, and we're very glad it's the weekend! Today I was able to meet the UMD Ladies at the Mall of America for our annual lunch and afternoon of shopping. It was absolutely wonderful to see them and catch up. Even Baby A came along and was very well behaved! Highlights of the day included visits to the American Girl store (sigh! I can't wait until Birdy is old enough to choose her American Girl!), Hanna Andersson's spring sale and clearance event, DSW, and the Lego store. We had ice cream at the tail end of the visit, as we always do.

Tomorrow we plan to enjoy some football and relaxing here at home. Update on the basement: it's almost finished! It should be ready for tours during our Super Bowl party!

Deep Freeze

It's been a while -- changing jobs, the holidays, vacation -- it all passed by so quickly. Here it is 2009 already. Before I know it, Birdy will be celebrating her second birthday and Toad will be leaving Kindergarten (and CdB) behind.

We're in a deep freeze here in Minnesota -- this morning the temperature was negative 25 before the wind chill. So here are some recent photos to warm you up!








Stay tuned. There's more to come.