Lake Mendota Igloo

Since Richgels lives within blocks of Lake Mendota, the kids were anxious to check out the frozen lake when we stopped in for a visit this weekend. New winter sport.... stamping out pieces of crusty snow and ice and seeing how far or high you can toss them and then watching 'em shatter.

We spied a huge pile of snow in the middle of the lake and of course had to race over to investigate.

It took awhile to realize that this was an igloo and it was inhabited! They were skating on the ice patches and we were all rather surprised to see 3 adults slither out of a back door. I should have noticed the wine bottle opener and bottle of red sitting on the ice but I think I was too cold. The igloo makers were very friendly (sure the wine helped) and they invited us inside. It was big enough for both kids to stand in although Bryn's face was a look of horror (see below pic). I think she was thinking what I was thinking.... (escape route for when the ceiling falls in on us). It is a tad disconcerting to be completey surrounded by several feet of snow and ice.

Once Jay and Richgels joined us with the dogs the kids were psyched to show them the igloo.

By the afternoon's end I was finding it difficult to form words due to my freezing lips and I could no longer feel my toes. When I asked H and B if they were ready to head back, they both shouted "NO" but at some point the bitter cold caught up with them too. I'm sure the fact that we forgot their snowpants hastened the departure.

It only makes sense that they sleep in an igloo at home too. Finn has been loving the tent, as you can see he takes up most of the space with B and H shoved off to the sides but noone seems to care.

Henry, Bryn, Maya and Jocie having a blast on the beds. No injuries to report from this session, other than Bryn wedging herself between the bed posts. Thanks to Sandra for prying her free.

...and then they took to the hill.

The kid's obsessed

I really didn't think it was possible.... I'm getting glimpses of life in 10 years from now, and it scares me.

We were out at the Pickhardt's to watch the Rose Bowl, and all the dads and kiddos spent a chunk of time taking advantage of the Pickhardt sledding hill out back. The dads, for old time sake, kept trying to "surf" down the hill standing up. Henry must have definitely taken some notes. Ever since Jay brought up a plastic sled from our basement that loosely resembles a snow board, it's been non-stop chatter from Henry regarding his future goals of carving some hills. The second he wakes up from a nap he asks me about his "surf". Kid keeps confusing surfing/snowboarding and as he says "cwoss cwountry" skiing. He wants to know when it's supposed to warm up (anything above zero would be nice) so he can start surfing. Miss Kristi also happened to mention to Henry that Mr. John snowboards. Well, lessons are already planned out in Henry's head so Mr. John better dust off his board... I mean" surf".

This is how things seem to work these days. One track minds. Just a few days ago they were crying because we denied their request for hockey pads, helmets, stick, pucks, etc... and now it's all about snowboarding? Bryn is excited too (but not so intensely addicted to it as H) but she just goes along with the hoopla, and knowing her, she'll probably end up figuring it out in one day and be an expert.

Here are two videos from when they awoke from an afternoon nap.

My creative boys

Henry first. The other morning we were sitting around the table having coffee and he started talking about his pontoon boat. We had no clue he had a pontoon until we looked at his little project. Little dude found one of Bryn's barrettes and clipped it between his two boats (made by Grandpa Affeldt) so it resembled the double hulled boat that he wanted.

Jay next. Yesterday he placed the signs below on Bryn and Henry's door and it stayed shut until dinner time. The three of us kept ourselves busy sledding with friends in the a.m. and then spending the afternoon at another neighborhood ice rink.

The finished product!!!

Now let's give credit where credit is due. Karyl made the valences to pick up the brown polka dots in their comforters and said adios to their duck themed ones. Love them!

Can I just say how hard it is to find boy/girl bedding that kinda matches? It's either super girly or covered in mean looking cartoon characters.... Anyway, Jay spent the day painting some pretty cool mountains that completely wrap around the room and covered up all the bright orange/blue and green walls they used to have. The kids love it and so do I. If we can't live in Montana we may as well have a painted version upstairs. The peaks have been named. Bryn's is Avocado Mountain and Henry's is Mt. Sled. Thanks Jay!

Yes, that is Henry's rear end sticking out from under his bed.

When all you have is a driveway of ice..

...you turn it into an ice rink of course. We made the most of the frozen rain that coated our entire yard and have been skating on it for hours. Jay and I figure we weigh just a tad too much to slide oursleves around on our skates so H and B have the driveway to themselves. It's been a twice a day activity and I heard rumors that we have more of the stuff coming later this week. That will be perfect to fill in the spots that they have cracked through.

Poor Finn, he HATES the stuff and spends his time laying on the crunchy snow.

Bryn showing off for Richgels.


Yes, they do manage to fall, but not as they would without the skaters. It's hands off for mommy and daddy. They refuse any help getting up, turning around and have been seen attempting tricks already.

Who knew the guy could do splits too?

Jay took them to a Badger womens hockey game with the Pickhardt kids so they will sponteously shake hands during their trips up and down the driveway and say "Good Game" to each other.

Now they want a Zamboni to come spruce up the ice........

Making the most of the Holidays

Whew, what a couple weeks of activity for this family. Now that we are back home I figured we needed a post to show all we did. You won't believe it when I say that the majority of us were sick at some point and we had coughs that wouldn't stop and noses that kept getting wiped but it didn't slow us down until Bryn had a fever up in Green Bay. Plans changed and Jay (who remained healthy during all this) and Henry drove to the cabin and I hung out with my parents until it looked like Bryn was fever- free and then we joined up with the Affeldt gang. Thanks to everyone who put up with the hacking coughs and running noses.

The festivities began at home with a little cookie decorating. Then we watched as H and B struggled to remember who was supposed to be "on stage" with their new puppet theater from Grandpa and Grandma A.

Shannon and Liam passed by on Christmas on their way back home so the kids exchanged gifts and played for a bit before they headed back to Iowa. Shannon made them each play scarves intended for their dress up box. Not a chance; they have been wearing their "fancy scarves" every time we go outside since.

Shannon and Liam playing with his new fishing pole.

And more dress up clothes!! Henry as the UPS man is a pretty good fit. He delivered us all boxes once he was dressed in brown. Bryn was the Queen Bee, of course.

After Henry told us that he wants to skate EVERY morning we spent time at a rink not far from my parents house and skated, skated, skated.

Grandma's birthday!! Happy 64th mom.

My mom found her tea set from when she was little girl. It's just like the one in a Frances book they have love so they were pretty stoked to sip some tea (hot cocoa) with Grandma, complete with fruit and little sandwiches!

Belting out "Jingle Bells" in front of Bruce the Spruce at the Green Bay Museum. They were holding hands and their scarves as they sang, I wish I captured it in the photo.

Baby Allison, bundled up and ready for a ride in the sled.

Toboggan run with Grandma and Grandpa Affeldt at the cabin. No worries... we never made it onto the pier, but we came darn close!

Aunt Jen showing Henry how to fold and make a paper box.

Henry sitting on Santa Norbert's lap most likely discussing the North Pole and such.

Bryn sitting on Santa Henry's lap.

Baby Mia, seeing if she can solve the cryptoquote before Grandma does...

Our other sliding hill we found at the cabin. I lost count after about 2o runs. Uncle Shawn is doing head injury prevention duty.

Photo shoot with Mia and Allison, takes 50-53......















Thanks to our parents for hosting our drama-filled family. At least it's never a boring trip when we show up..... We loved the time spent with our families eating, skating, sledding and just hanging out.

Belbin and Agosto

Turns out Santa got their letter, and this morning they found what they were hoping for under the tree. They spent the rest of the morning, including breakfast, wearing their skates around the house, and despite the zero degree (yes, zero degree) temp our fledgling duo took to the ice.


Thanks to Mr. Steve for the PVC "skaters" to keep them off the ice as much as possible!

The new camera...and a new snowfall record.

Hey all...it's Jay. Well, to make a long story short, Sarah's parents wanted to get us a snow blower for Christmas, and Sarah, always doing things the old-fashioned way, talked 'em out of it. Despite her efforts, I'm still hanging on to our gas-powered lawnmower and a chain saw, but it's a never ending fight. Our camera had started doing this thing periodically, where the lens would get stuck and nothing would work...and it of course had a tendency to do so just at that perfect photo moment. So, we researched and read, and Hinsas helped us out with buying a new camera instead. The camera arrived during the sub-zero phase last week, and we had nothing better to do than to play around inside trying to figure it out. Here are a few of the first batch of shots...









So, shortly after we ordered the camera, the snow started to fall...and fall...and fall. Just this afternoon this officially became the snowiest December in Madison's history, and we're only 2 inches from the snowiest month ever, with 3 inches in the forecast for tomorrow night. Needless to say, our "pipes" are getting stronger by the day, and at least we have a camera to document the whole ordeal. The days below zero and the subsequent lockdown in our house somehow brought out this nasty little cough, complete with runny noses and goopy eyes for H and B, but with all the shoveling to do, we were finally able to get 'em outside for a little fresh air.


The dump truck was converted to a snow plow this morning to keep up with all the snow.

The first Frosty of the season.


And last, but not least, we have Henry...dreaming of a new pair of skates as he watches the people skating two days ago at the Shell. He and Bryn have officially asked Santa for ice skates this year...and not by sitting on his lap; they're still a little too afraid for that. Henry was almost ready, but Bryn called it off. So, we wrote a letter, and asked our mailman Frank to deliver it to the North Pole. No word yet on whether or not Santa got the message, but we'll likely find out tomorrow morning. We'll keep you posted, and also for the record...all we want for Christmas is two healthy kiddos whose noses don't run like faucets so we can make the trips to spend some time with our families over the next few days. Merry Christmas to all, and may it finally stop snowing for a couple days.