We're Back!

Hey everyone! Again, it's been a while! We hope that everyone is healthy and doing well after the holidays. It's been a busy winter as usual! For Christmas break, we celebrated the first half in Minot then the second week in Rapid City.

We had quite the adventure in Minot due to the large winter storm that occurred! We left early to beat it and were glad to be off the roads on time. Bjørn's sister Kinsey was sick the day before we arrived but recovered quickly. However, Bjørn became ill around Thursday night. We thought, "Oh, no! Another flu epidemic this year!" (We had had one a couple of years ago during Christmas where almost everyone got sick within a few days). Bjørn was sick in bed all day Friday but then made a full recovery after 24 hours like Kinsey. Miraculously Leif and I stayed healthy! The Nelson and Dyrud families made it safely to Minot, but unfortunately the Lykes (from Red Wing, MN) made it all the way to Fargo then had to turn around and go back home as literally all the major highways in ND were closed!

The snow kept piling up in town and only a couple of the main roads were plowed. Eventually Minot received over 2 feet of snow in only about 2 days! The Nelson family ended up getting stranded at the Steen household and so we were all split up in different homes for a couple days before the snow let up! I found it amusing that we couldn't even drive from house to house--I've never seen so much snow in town before! Bjørn and his dad spent a majority of the week snowblowing/shoveling and did an excellent job!

Unfortunately, we were only able to visit Bjørn's grandparents briefly the day before we left. We felt like we were driving through a snow maze on the way to their place! On Sat. everyone was finally able to reunite and we celebrated, ending with our nephew Stuart getting sick. We think Leif may have been chasing him around too much! (It was quite comical--both boys were chasing each other and screaming at the top of their lungs). He also recovered quickly. Fortunately, no one else got sick! So strange!

Overall, we had a good time! It will definitely be a memorable Christmas! We thought it was funny how our brother-in-law, Luke, explained it: "A way to avoid conflict in families at the holidays is to have a large snowstorm that keeps everyone separated. Then, you throw is some illness to further divide members. To cap it off you can send people home early or block them from coming altogether. The net result should be very little conflict."

Here are the pictures:

Leif and Stuart loved Kinsey's hockey and taekwando equipment!

Bjørn took Stuart skating for the first time. He was so excited to "play hockey!" His parents told us that he couldn't sleep the night before they came because he was so excited for skating with Uncle Bjørn!

Leif got a try on the ice also!

Grandma Hanson gave all the grandkids cute, colorful sock monkeys. We thought it was cute how Micah and Leif both had monkey pajamas with the opposite colored monkeys.

Snow pictures!

Newfoundland dog, Koda in the background...She's a large dog and and actually got stuck in the snow at one point!

Randy starting on the sidewalk

Best buddies!

The kids all received cute fleecy blankets from Aunt Becca. The boxes and wrapping, however, were the biggest hit! These guys all climbed in their separate boxes all on their own. Leif started to lean back in his box...

Surprise! It was pretty funny when it broke...

Leif's favorite box...We would give him his monkey and he kept throwing it back out of the box. He could have been content playing with boxes and wrapping all day long if we let him.

More snow pictures...we weren't going anywhere!

Kinsey had her own snow bench!

We stuck Leif out in the middle of the backyard.

Here comes Koda!

Now the Rapid City trip! We had a good time with my parents, Kayla, and Kevin. We did a little hiking in the snow on this trail, hoping to see mountain goats but they weren't there this time. We tried pulling Leif in the sled but he kept rolling out! Mom and Dad always have new places to show us!

The view at the end of the hike

Leif liked the Disney character ornaments! They move and play music.

Kayla and Kevin

We got to see the neatest Christmas lights! Storybook Island, a main tourist attraction for kids, was completely lit up with different displays. If all the lights were put together, they would stretch for a few miles (I can't remember the exact mileage but it's impressive).

At the end of the week we all went skiing at Terry Peak. A girl, Lauren, that I used to baby-sit when she was just a baby, baby-sat for us!

Look for us in the Olympics;)

Grandma and Grandpa (Leif is very good at saying "Papa!" Don't be surprised if you get called papa if you are a middle-aged man.)

Hanging our personalized ornaments on the tree (Grandma made them for us--they were very pretty!)

After the trip: Leif collided with the edge of a Duplo Lego. Daddy patched him up with Steri-Strips. It has healed nicely but is a definite scar for the meantime! I've realized that I have to get used to the idea of his perfect skin becoming flawed. He does take after his father, after all with an interest in sports! (Leif likes watching the Olympics--everything is "hockey" to him!)

Usually kids have a pet name for their pacifiers. Mine was "fafer." Leif's is "yoyoyoyo!" Not sure where he got it...but we now call it his "yo-yo." He is going to have a tough time parting with it eventually!

Despite his traumatic injury, Leif still loves his Legos. We put most of them away, however, because he would continously dump the bucket all over the kitchen floor then leave them. Aunt Erin bought him a Lego table, however, so he does stack the few that we kept out!

Leif supports Gopher and Sioux hockey!

At the end of Jan. Leif and I went to Fargo for Aunt Becca's baby shower. Leif liked playing with the ball pit in the basement of the Nelsons'. Bjørn went to Minot during the time to work on his parents' basement bathroom.

Leif and Kate are nearly the same size! It's so fun having all the grandkids so close in age!

Sitting in things as usual:)

Cousin Riley wanted to take a few pictures with Leif when we were playing in the basement! She grabbed the stools and placed them side by side then gave Leif the monkey. It was pretty cute. Leif thinks that all bigger kids are named Riley.

She loves feeding Leif!

My cousin, Jennifer and Gary had a baby girl in December! Meet our goddaughter, Lila Kay! DJ and Leif enjoyed playing together.

The large icicles outside our bedroom window!

This is Bjørn's old wrestling singlet when he was around 6 years old! (It's tied up in the back)

Showing off the muscles!

We are always amazed with how much Leif is learning! His vocabulary is continously growing and he will try to say anything we ask. His new favorite word is "Please" whenever he wants something. It's difficult saying no to him as he says it so seriously! He also reminds us to pray before every meal. He puts his hands together, mutters gibberish under his breath then says "Men!" I'll say a prayer and immediately after he wants me to pray again. He has also discovered his love for sticking my keys in random holes. He is starting to learn his alphabet, thanks to his favorite book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" which we read every night (his "Boom Boom Book"). One of his favorite foods is spoonfuls of peanut butter (the doctor said we need to fatten him up!).

See you all later!