Cabin Fever? Us? No Way!

Well, it's been subzero for many days here in Minnesota, bottoming out at -24 yesterday morning. (For our friends in Saipan that's 104 degrees colder than you!!!) How do Jonah and Benjamin pass the hours cooped up inside???

Campouts in the living room




Typhoons in the bathtub.



Building, destroying, and rebuilding the marble run

A visit to Pipsqeaks in Rochester - an indoor playground

Making alien cupcakes with Aunt Jane

Reading loads of books.

Adding an extra layer and jumping on the bed - it just makes sense right now!

We're having a wonderful time indoors....but wouldn't mind if it warmed up soon!

Marrrrrrrcussssssssss

Our nephew Marcus was here last week. They boys loved having their cousin around, especially Benjamin who kept calling for "Marrrrrrrcussssssssss". We were able to celebrate his first birthday on January 20. Here are a few pictures from his visit.

This is his camera-ready face:

Who needs cake? I'm going after Great Grandma's dishes.

Oh, they grow up so fast!

Tasi Tamasa It's Ta Vacation!

Listen to the song Jonah is singing...sound familiar?

Ok, we had no idea either. But if you were a girl between the ages of 8 - 12 you would recognize a faint resemblance to the song "What Time Is It" from High School Musical 2.

What time is it?

Summertime

It's our vacation

Come on and let me here you say it now right now

It's all the rage with the girls at daycare...and, we have to admit, with Jonah as well. He hasn't seen the movie, but he's very familiar with the soundtrack!

P.S. More about the Spiderman suit in the next blog! :-)

Jonah's Udstuen's 4th Birthday Rap

JJ Dynomite and DJ Dee Jay D recorded a birthday rap for Jonah. Here he is enjoying his 40th viewing :-)


Thanks Aunt Jen and Uncle Dave!

Ben's Morning Workout

Ben's morning workout: Ben's been doing about 10 jumps every day. Please note his fine form and balance, as well as his counting. And rest assured, those are his hands - not his face - hitting the floor on the dismount!

Happy Birthday Jonah!

Jonah turned 4 on the 13th. We celebrated with 4 year old essentials: meatballs, lefse, presents, and a dinosaur cake.

Thank you Jane, Jim, and Marcus for the OBNOXIOUS bike horn. Jonah opened it in the morning before church, and after 15 minutes of constant honking Mark decided it was time to attach it to the bike in the cold garage. You can bet we'll be returning the favor in a few years for Marcus!

Ben was as excited about Jonah's birthday as he was - he clapped and cheered everytime Jonah opened a present.


The night before we took Jonah to Happy Joe's. Unfortunately we had explained that this was a restaurant where you celebrated birthdays (true), but we had not anticipated that there would be a 30 person Diego Birthday complete with balloons, a huge cake, party favors, and presents for a 3 year old named Jay. Jonah was convinced the party was for him, despite the fact that he knew no one at the table. We did manage to pull him away from the party long enough to blow out his own candle.

Some markers, a box, and two boys...

An empty Amazon box, some markers, two boys playing together for 30 minutes. What could possibly go wrong?

This....while I was putting Ben to sleep! Jonah claims that he is a "sport". Not preparing for a sport, or in a sport, just "a sport". No idea what he means. I do know, however, that washable markers wash off the floor and clothing immediately...and the body...we'll let you know. It's been been five days!

The Christmas Recap

The Christmas holidays were wonderful. We spent time with both sides of the family, as well as Mark's extended family on his dad's side. Lots of food, presents, excitement, and great conversation. Fortunately the message of Christmas was not lost on Jonah midst the presents and Santa's visit: on Christmas Eve as we were doing prayers he said "God Bless God for giving us Jesus." :-)

The boys not only skipped naps on Christmas Day, but both were going strong and resembling mini-tornadoes at 9 p.m. at Mark's parents in Chatfield. We decided to forgo spending the night and packed the boys in the car. We thought they would crash as soon as we left the city limits. Instead they held hands across the back seat, talked, laughed, and sang Jingle Bells for 30 minutes nonstop! Although exhausted, we had to admit from the front seat there was no other way we'd want the day to end.

Ben and Elmo



Knights and Castles!



Ben loves the new kitchen



Power Rangers! Ben got a great deal on this costume post-Halloween for his big brother! :-)

Great-Grandma Winnie and the boys

Naps? Who needs 'em! Just give me a huge piece of chocolate cake and can of Sprite and I can go for HOURS!!

The family all looking at the camera at the same time - Amazing!

And here's how the boys spent the morning of the 26th...new presents everywhere and they are playing with water in the sink! Notice Ben's clothes and the windows - both are soaked with water!