happy new year!

learning to ski at indianhead, in the U.P.


sledding with daddy


ice fishing with grandpa


hot chocolate with grandma


snowshoeing in the tall, tall forest

it's been a fun and busy month starting with christmas festivities at concordia (ethan's preschool), aunt julie's house, aunt andrea's house, aunt elaine's house, then a few days (mostly in our pjs) before we headed off for vacation about 20 minutes outside of eagle river wisconsin. our annual pilgrammage to afterglow is more looked-forward-to than christmas for ethan, and maybe me too. it's a wonderful resort chock full of northwoods winter fun. we went tubing, sledding, cross country skiing, ice fishing, snowshoeing, downhill skiing, supper clubbing, played games, kept the fireplace roaring and the fridge and cookie cabinets stocked with all our favorite goodies.

ethan and kola both enjoyed being the trailblazers in their snowshoes, and although it was a close call with kola's first time out, we didn't have to carry any exhausted preschooler back to the cabin. kola was fascinated by the 8-9" sunfish grandpa was fishing out of the hole in the ice and entertained by the birds at the bird feeder. both boys lapped up grandpa's breakfast cups of cafe vienna and made frequent trips to the lodge to play trucks, foosball, and air hockey. the biggest hit was the closed loop video on the cabin's channel 4, showcasing the resort owners' youngest son, mitch moline, in snowboarding competitions - we watched it beyond the point where it was driving grandma 'goofy' (snowboard pun for the uninitiated.) when we returned home, the boys played 'pete and mitch moline' and took turns sledding on scarves down our (luckily carpeted) hall stairs.

the boys loved the extra attention with grandma and grandpa, and we loved the extra attention from my mom and dad, too! when the kids went to bed, the Over 5 Club's game night began with scrabble, probe, pinochle, and hearts. it was a great way to kick off the new year, illini loss and 6+ hour drive each way notwithstanding. we celebrated kola's 3rd birthday on jan 5th in the great white north, with ice cream cake, thomas and truck presents, and his first pbj sandwich (no nuts until 3!) and will be doing a combined b-day party for ethan and kola next weekend. hard to believe ethan will be 5! kindergarten sign-ups are right around the corner... egads!!

more soon - b/s/e/k