Early Winter in the upper Midwest

Fall seems a distant memory, now that we have snow on the ground and temperatures are staying below freezing (mostly).  It has not been nearly as snowy as last year, but the long dark nights remind us we are in the heart of the cold months.  Our winter is filled with the celebration of 4 birthdays in the family.  First up was Wren's first birthday on December 2nd.  Next will be Leif, then Travis and finally Elisabet.  I guess what better time of the year to be filling up with chocolate cake?

We spent Thanksgiving in Iowa with Travis's family and enjoyed some exploring of the farm and the prairie.  We were able to spread some prairie seed on a new patch of ground with a team that included four generations of family members.  The next project in the spring will be a controlled burn of part of the prairie.

The three older kids have been swimming two times a week for a swim club.  They've made amazing progress over the last couple months, learning flip turns and perfecting their strokes.  After a practice last week, we calculated that Elisabet swam at least 24 lengths of the pool- not bad for a 6 year old.

Wren is cruising on all fours and climbing the stairs.  She loves showing off for all of us after dinner- downward dogs, spins, and clapping.  We're starting to hear a few words too.  Important ones like "hot", "mama", "dada", and "cockadoodle doo".

If you'd like to see photos of some of these events, click here:

Fall and Early Winter 2011