The TUNDRA Known As Home

We made it home to are back to the negative wind chills and "squeaky" snow. I guess we get so use to hearing that sound of really cold snow I forgot about it when we were in MI. Most of the snow had stayed and a fresh coating was waiting for us to shovel. Underneath the fresh snow was a nice sheet of ice on the driveway. Lovely trying to unload the car!

It took a bit longer to get home than planned. We had smooth sailing through ChicaGO and no TRAFFIC headaches (GERRIT IS PLAYING WITH the caps button, can YOU TELL?). We stopped to go to the bathroom and it took us 15 min extra to get back on because there wasn't an on ramp at our exit. (Note: if traveling to MN, don't stop at the Hillsdale exit- just beyond IKEA with the outlets - that's the exit that doesn't have an on-ramp right there!) After seeing much of the countryside around Hillsdale, we were back in business until Madison where we picked up snow. We knew we could encounter snow, we were just hoping it would stay north of us. Nope. LUCKILY FOR us, WI does know how to prepare their roads for snow etc. so it wasn't slick. The snow was coming down pretty hard and it was about dinner time so we stopped in the Dells and had a nice dinner at the Damon's by tHE KALAHARI. WE WERE ABLE to check out the new indoor theme park too. Anyone up for a road trip to the Dells? Looks like fun! We checked radar - again, got to love wireless - and noticed we would be driving in snow for a bit longer, but it would let up so we continued on. We saw numerous cars/trucks in the ditch and even one was sideways! Once we got to Tomah/La Crosse area it was much better and stopped snowing. The wind picked up but that was minor. We did notice the temps dropping as the car seemed to get colder the closer we got to MN.

It was 9:45 when we pulled into the driveway. We left at 11 (MN time, so not our quickest trip). Gerrit fell asleep at 7 MN time which was nice but made me think he was going to be up early which didn't sound nice to me at all. At least I didn't have to entertain him anymore. He slept well and woke up around 5 15 our time. I took him into bed like usual and we stayed there till 7:15. Very nice Gerrit! He seems be be happy we are home and back to familiar territory. All of his new toys are sitting in the living room and what does he go to? Yep - his balls and starts shooting hoops. Guess you can't blame the kid for wanting to play with a toy he hasn't seen in a week! If you are wondering, he still has the touch too. :)

Off to start our day. Gerrit returns to daycare to get back into the swing of things and I get to unpack and deal with Christmas stuff. We had a great time with family and friends but there is nothing like being home again.

Santa Visit

Gerrit did get a chance to see Santa. He came for a visit to our library the week before Christmas. I had a hair apt. so I met Adam there. Unfortunately for me, I missed most of the action. Adam forgot the camera but luckily Nikki had her's and took a few pictures for us.

I think it might be a while before Gerrit will warm up to Santa!

It was nice to have Santa right in town - no lines, nor did we have to pay for a photo and I knew he wasn't going to like the idea of sitting on a stranger's lap.

Sledding Christmas Day

This is the final post for the night. If you scroll down, you'll actually get the beginning of the events starting with our Progressive Evening.

Grandpa Bob had a lot of snow at his house. Adam took Gerrit snowing right outside the house. It took a while, but once the trail was broken in, they did go fairly fast!

Taking a break and Gerrit is actually standing:Gerrit now knowing how to move! Oh, how I would like to have that much snow in my house at times; I could get sooo much done.

Say cheese:

Ahhh, freedom, walking down Grandpa Bob's driveway:

The sledder:

Christmas Day at Grandpa Birr's

Gerrit got a cool MSU junior football for Christmas. The bummer was that the house was not set up for a rubber football. We had to hide the ball after a while!Sporting his new jersey too! He looked so cute wearing it over his sweater - looked like he had pads on.

Deep in thought - I think this is such a cute photo!

Playing blocks with Grandpa Bob:

Sporting our "Christmas Sweaters":
(no, I didn't knit either sweater, I bought mine and Gerrit's was once worn by cousin Max)

Stremler Family

We had Christmas Eve at my brothers house - a bit more room for the growing little ones. It worked out quite well. Here Gerrit is showing off his cool jeans and thinks he's pretty cute.Ella and Gerrit posing for a nice Christmas photo:

Gerrit and Opah playing with is new blocks. Gerrit had more fun dumping out the container and putting the blocks back in. By the end of our visit he was getting pretty good at stacking the blocks and making towers:
Gerrit and Mia each got a Curious George - Mia did a better job loving him, Gerrit thought it was another item he could throw (in time....):
My brother's family is trying to make a hockey player out of Gerrit (his whole family plays hockey - even Mia who's not quite 3 - well, she is learning how to skate.). They gave Gerrit a cute little hockey set that will work great in our living room and a hockey shirt. They can try, but hockey is during basketball...I would prefer to sit in a warm gym instead of a cold ice rink (I did plenty of that this vacation):
The family at the Griffins game - the minor league for the Red Wings - it was dollar hot dog and beer night...guess what we all had for dinner?
Sunday we hung out with the cousins again. We wanted Gerrit to get as much time with his cousins as possible. Mia wanted to sit next to Gerrit during dinner. Here they are waiting for the pizza:
Can you tell who ate more? Cousin Max even said Gerrit can be a pig at times based on the amount of food he eats compared to him and his sisters.

PBA All-Star

Gerrit bowled for the first time on Christmas Eve. The first frame he scored a 7. Not bad! He soon loved the idea of pushing a ball on the ground but was bummed he couldn't hold the ball - it was too heavy. He liked bowling so much he even started to chase the ball down the lane but soon found out just how slippery the lanes can be! He fell and actually hit his head on the bumper.

Choosing the right ball:

Took a step too far and slipping on the lane:

Getting help from dad:

Admiring the real pro - his dad (he got a turkey in his first game!)

Winter Wonderland

This is what we left in MN to head to balmy MI!

Progressive Evening

I'm finally posting pics from a few weeks ago! Sorry for the delay. Here are a few pictures from our fantastic evening. We had everything from squash soup, tamales, turkey and cranberry sandwiches, and an assortment of yummy desserts. The gift exchange was fun too. We ended up with a 'lovely' painting of some Native American with a bull. Adam will put it in his office as he gets comments that his office is bare! Should be quite a conversation piece!

Rita, John, Deb, Nikki around our dining room:

The living room: Anne, Dave, Pam, Dave, Matt, Adam
The boys kept busy playing hoops. Gerrit showed them how to play!

Shows you just how cold it was that night - what happens when you leave beverages out on the porch overnight!Dave sporting the Rockne treasure: yep, boob mugs (these have been passed around at least 4 white elephant parties!).

Relaxing during dessert at the Langley's:

In the Car - Again

Gerrit did not want to take a nap today but of course fell asleep on the way to my brother's house. So, just like on Christmas Eve, one of us is sitting in the truck while Gerrit is sleeping. Christmas Eve was Adam's turn and so today is mine. Luckily I was smart and packed the lap top and can get my brother's wireless signal. I was able to catch up on other blogs - glad to know I am not the only one neglecting to update it! With the computer being in the room where Gerrit sleeps, I have had little time to write what we've been up to. We had a great time Christmas Eve with my family, headed to Adam's dad's on Christmas day, had breakfast with friends, and went to a minor league hockey game in town with the family after hanging with my brothers' family in the afternoon. Sat. we were at the ice rink watching my niece and nephew play hockey and then went to see the Benjamin Button movie - very good. Adam saw Valkery or however you spell it, with my dad and I went with my sis. Grandma stayed and babysat. Today was church - well for the rest of the fam. Gerrit didn't want to be in nursery so I stayed with him so Adam could enjoy the service. Had lunch with the fam. and met a friend for coffee and now back at my bros for pizza and hanging out. My nephew has PS3 and Wii so Adam gets his gaming fix and Max loves playing with him and beating him! I think I will wake Gerrit up and head inside to socialize. We head to Adam's mom tomorrow and then home on Tues. I should be able to post pics tomorrow, don't feel like doing it in the car right now. Till next time...

Typical MI

My side of the family Christmas is today. We are suppose to go sledding seeing there is a lot of snow, but it is raining. So typical of MI! Its is 36 degrees and is suppose to be 40 by Sunday. Yuck. So our back up plan is bowling. Adam is not happy because we did not take his bowling gear. He feels he will have a disadvantage of beating my brother w/o his secret gear. Plus, he'd save my dad a few bucks if he had his shoes! We are eating lunch at my parents and then bowling...but wait, it is snowing now! So we will have to make our final decision when we are done eating. It may be raining by then or we may have another 4 in of snow. Who knows in MI. I think I'll stick to my butt cold temps - at least I know what to expect from Dec. to March! (I may be eating these words come Feb. when I'm sick of bundling up.) Merry Christmas to all if I don't get a chance to write. We are headed to my brother's house for gifts and then Adam's dad tomorrow after stockings.

Michigan Weather – Unpredictable!

We made it! Finally! We had a smooth ride right through WI, IL, and IN. Then around midnight (MI time), in the Benton Harbor area, we came across ice. I was just telling my dad that things had been going great. Gerrit took a long nap, we had dinner in Madison – talk about snow! We have never seen that much snow at one time. We couldn’t even see the cars waiting to turn b/c they were hidden by snow! Chicago was fine, other than a little construction. Who does constriction in Dec in the Midwest? Anyways, I shouldn’t have said things were great and no weather issues because we jinxed ourselves. We noticed the road looked wet but it was sheer ice. Adam was mad because MI doesn’t pre-treat their roads; guess our tax dollars in MN get put to good use. We started slipping a bit and in a matter of 2 miles saw 2 cars in the ditch so we decided to check the weather report. We pulled into a parking lot near a Panera because we knew we could get their Internet connection – got to love technology. So at midnight we were sitting in an empty parking lot looking up the weather and road conditions. The radar looked fine and the road conditions were vague. We decided to get a hotel and not chance it. I called my dad so he wouldn’t worry and we hunted down a respectable hotel. I just wanted a bed at that point but Adam had standards. Plus, we were in Benton Harbor – not known to be the safest place in MI either. We found the lights on at the Red Roof Inn so we pulled in.

Gerrit thought the big bed was cool and he slept between us seeing we didn’t have his pack and play with us. Even though we had this huge bed, Gerrit insisted on laying on me! Adam tried to snuggle with us but Gerrit pushed him off. Adam said to Gerrit: “I’ve known her longer than you!” and rolled over! I had to laugh which caused Gerrit to wake up. As we drove around to find our room, Adam said the lady gave us a ‘cut’ on our room rate. I was thinking 20 bucks or something significant but later in bed found out it was the business rate – 5 bucks off! Another comment that sent my chest a bouncing which prolonged Gerrit’s sleep! Finally I told Adam to stop talking or Gerrit would never get to sleep.

We woke up around 6 our time and Adam looked out the window to see an inch of snow! Uggg. We couldn’t win! We were told the snow wasn’t coming till 10 am! Little did the radio people know…so we threw our clothes on and headed out. We decided to forgo the free breakfast at Sophie’s across the street and deal with breakfast when we were out of the snow. I called my dad and he said it wasn’t snowing by them yet so we figured we just had to get going and we’d drive out of it. Nope. It snowed all the way and is still snowing. We decided that snow covered roads were better than ice covered and didn’t have trouble at all.

Gerrit had to drink the rest of his milk from yesterday which I left in the car on purpose seeing it would act as a refrigerator. The only other foods I had handy were Cheerios and gold fish crackers! What a breakfast. He did get fresh milk, a banana, and waffle when we got to Grandma’s. We knew she’d take care of us!

We have unloaded the car, had breakfast, showered, and all put clean clothes on. We are hoping to get a nap in (all of us) before heading over to my brother’s house to see his family. Never a dull moment traveling in the winter in the Midwest!

Perspective

In Mi. today it was 30 degrees warmer than MN.

In Az today it was 70 degrees warmer than MN.

I'm thankful we will be heading to warmer temps.

We are only packing t-shirts and shorts for our trip to MI.

Finally

Adam (and many others) can't believe I have never seen ET - the movie. I don't know why or how I missed it as a kid, but never saw it. I had to sub the other day for a media class and that was the lesson plan (something about camera angles etc... was the tie in to the class). So I asked the teacher if I could borrow it to see the end. Yesterday I needed to get a long run in for my training so I took the movie with me and watched it as I ran. I'm not quite done with it, I thought it was almost over but then ET came back to life. Seeing I was finished stretching and been gone a while, I shut it off and will try and finish it in the car on our way to MI. So, no more laughing at me for not seeing ET!

So Busy

I should be posting pictures and such but I've been in a knitting zone as well as wrapping zone. We head for MI tomorrow and there is plenty to do yet so updating the blog has been on my mind, just not in the time line of things that need to be done. We had a great time at our progressive dinner with Team Beat. (I'll post pictures when I get time!) Sat. was busy with laundry, watching the snow pile up, watching the snow blow around, and finishing knitted Christmas gifts! I'm one sock short, but will give the single one for now and the 2nd one when we return home. We took time out to watch MSU beat Texas - sweet game and well worth the break. Today we went to church, ya we are tough around here: the bank read -16 (actual) when we past it at 8 this am and now I think it is -7 with a wind chill of -30s! Adam and Gerrit are sleeping, I just finished wrapping gifts, and havn't started packing! I'm going to watch Secret Life of Bees with friends from book club seeing we read the book a few months back. Then I'll have to get down to business and pack. Time is running out!

Hangin' with the Big Boys

Tonight we watched our friends' boys so they could go to a hockey game. Watching them is pretty easy. We combined food to make a decent dinner for all of us and while dinner was cooking, all the boys played basketball in the living room. They raised the hoop and even Gerrit was able to make a bucket or two at a higher height (impressive). After dinner and a yummy dessert (cookie monsters w/ peppermint stick ice cream), we all headed to the basement. When I made it down, the boys were wrestling - Gerrit included! He loves to wrestle with Adam and a few more boys in the house, meant more to wrestle with! He jumped on them and steamrolled them until his cheeks were rosy red. I just hope he can keep the wrestling to the boys and be gentle around his mother (especially in the mornings).

Maybe I Spoke Too Soon

Yesterday and today I went to my friend's house to get a quick run in after work. These are the friends that I blogged about earlier saying how wonderful it was to not pay a gym membership and all the benefits I get. Well, yesterday the 3rd grader joined me in the work out room which meant no Oprah, yes Disney channel! Oh, and in the background was the 3rd grader making dirk bike noises as he was riding his scooter! I was looking forward to running and watching Oprah and the beginning of the news uninterrupted. Instead I watched something about Zach and Cody and Derek's House??? Guess this was a taste for what is to come.

Today I started out watching Disney then was able to watch Oprah and the news as the 3rd grader went across the street to shovel! Finally!

I can't complain because I grateful to be able to run inside. What was I thinking - training for a 1/2 marathon in the middle of the winter!

Welcome Winter!

No snow day today here in MN but if we lived in MI I bet there would have been one today. I knew it was going to be cold so I wore my poofy coat (I hate wearing it b/c it is so big but on really cold days, I bust it out) and put Gerrit's fleece hat on him b/c it covers more of his head than my cute knitted ones. He wore his mittens as did I because my car read -4 (actual temp)! As I drove further north, the temp continued to drop! Yikes. The sun did shine which seemed to make it 'feel' warmer. The wind chill was -30s and this lasted for 2 days so far. It is now snowing and is suppose to get balmy warm 20s later this week! This will feel like a heat wave and I think I will be able to switch to my thinner coat once again. How much longer before spring?

Practicing Already!

Today we made the trek to Sibley to watch a student of mine play basketball. She's in 7th grade playing on the 10th grade team (the team I use to coach a few years back). I went to her JV volleyball game too this fall as her honoree favorite teacher. Adam and Gerrit came with me and we made an afternoon out of it. The only bummer is she must have been sick b/c she wasn't there! We stayed and watched the 1st half of the game and then went to our favorite restaurant for lunch...PUNCH! yum!

Gerrit loved climbing the bleachers, once he figured out how. There was plenty of room for him to roam and he took full advantage of it. At one point he noticed the little basketball I had in his diaper bag and grabbed it. We thought he was going to throw it on the court so Adam took him to the side of the bleachers and let him play there while I watched the game. The side that he took him too had a hoop by it too. Gerrit immediately grabbed the ball and pointed to the hoop. So Adam would lift him up and let him shoot. He even tried shooting from the ground and of course came no where near making it! Adam didn't even show him the hoop, he knew what to do and wanted to shoot.

I'll try and get to a game in which she's actually playing later this season. It was nice to have Adam and Gerrit there to keep me company and fun to watch Gerrit's reaction.

Routine

Since getting our tree, Gerrit has a new routine when we come home. He runs to the tree and looks at the ornaments. Personally, I think he's trying to find a ball and/or bicycle. He will often point to an ornament and start talking (which I have no clue what he's saying). He will check out others' trees too and studies their ornaments as well.PS - he has added a few words to his vocabulary today...hot dog and bye. Granted, he's only said them a few times but none the less, the words have come out of his mouth! If only he'd use his words more than his grunts we might get somewhere.

Big Boy Helper

This morning when it was time for breakfast, Gerrit ran into the dining room and got himself up on the chair (not his high chair). I decided to see how he would do eating there instead of his normal routine of being strapped into his high chair. Things were going well until he climbed on the table! Then he moved to the high chair! However at dinner he again went right for a grown up chair and refused to sit in his high chair. I at least grabbed his portable booster seat which he sat in during dinner. I think it is time to clean the high chair and put it to sleep, we're moving on up!


Following dinner we had to empty the dishwasher before we could load it with the dinner dishes. Gerrit loves to help unload. He'll put all of the dishes on the counter for us and even try to put the tops of his sippy cups on the bottoms! At random times during the day he will take all of his kid silverware out of the drawer and set it on the counter. We have started a bad habit of allowing him to sit on the counter and watch me prepare breakfast. This is when he gets his first gulp of milk in the am as well as his banana. He sits fine and has slipped off only once. Anyways, because he likes to see what's going on I bought him the little step stool that he is standing on in the picture. Little did I know it would assist me in getting the dishwasher emptied! I would've bought one a long time ago had I know that!

Go FISH

Tonight we headed to Fairbault to the Go Fish concert. It wasn't far of a drive and we didn't have to deal with the traffic and hassle of the Target Center in Minn. (we did that before). Adam and I agree, we like the small venue - especially for kids!

Adam and Gerrit before the show:Gerrit checking out the seats:

A few pics of the concert. My camera doesn't do well in the dark, but these didn't turn out too bad. You get the idea of the concert:

Its snowing while they sing White Christmas

Stars in the background during Mary Did You Know:

my favorite is the encore - Little Drummer Boy. Jamie gets the chance to jam to his hearts content:

Always a good concert - not quite the same with a toddler. Gerrit sat for the first 15 min. and clapped appropriately then wanted to run around. Adam and I took turns chasing him in the back, luckily it wasn't sold out so we had plenty of room. Gerrit did calm down and sat with Adam at the end. It was a late night but was worth it. We put him in his jammies so he could sleep and transfer to his bed easily. We stuck around long enough to say hi to the guys and wish them well the next few weeks.

The weird part of the night was we didn't have to sell merch! Actually, I missed not selling merch...it feels weird not to when I go to a concert. I could've handled tonight's crowd with 1 hand tied behind my back too....it was a tame crowd.

The best part of the night was figuring out the delayed start feature on my oven. I wanted to bake a cheesecake for tomorrow's potluck and the recipe I use takes 4 hrs (start to finish). So I was able to assemble it before we left, put it in the oven and had it bake while we were gone. When we came home it smelled like cheesecake and was ready to be taken out! How sweet was that? Oh, and its a really good cheesecake recipe - real healthy for you too with 5 packs of cream cheese, 5 eggs, and sour cream! :)

Santa Came Early

You know you've been married a long time when this is your Christmas present to each other:

Ball Magnet

I realize it has been a while since I last wrote - sorry! It seems lately Gerrit will gravitate towards balls - any kind, any size. He tends to need to take one to bed with him, usually its his Gopher football, but sometimes its a little basketball - whatever is in site when it is bed time.

His first 2 syllable word was (is, its his only 2 syllable word) FOOTBALL! (I'm hoping his 3 syllable word is basketball!)

The other night we were at friends and Gerrit seemed to disappear which didn't bother us because there were plenty of other kids around to watch him. When he did appear, he was carrying a ball. I think I saw him with 4-5 different balls throughout the night. Of all the toys he could play with he stuck to the balls. Go figure...

Then, he was hanging out with Adam as Adam was organizing his bike closet and guess what Gerrit spotted....

Yep, Adam's regulation size basketball! It was as if Gerrit found gold. He played with that all afternoon and had to sit with it even. Here we are watching the MSU basketball game and yes, he had to have the basketball on his lap. He even tries to shoot hoops with it - with his fisher price plastic hoop. I did check to make sure it would fit through the hoop - if he could ever get it up that high. Luckily its pretty heavy for him so he can't throw it far or high.

Besides getting snow and being quite cold, this is what we've been up to lately...playing with balls!

I Am Glad....

we are not beer drinkers!

Note:

Gerrit, please remember:

Wrestle with Dad

Snuggle with Mom

He is ALL BOY!

Ornaments

Putting the ornaments on the tree was a bit of a challenge this year. All the soft and unbreakables are hanging low and all the fragile and 'ball' looking ornaments are high.

Gerrit tried putting this ornament on his head:

He took a liking to all the bicycle ornaments. He took this one and has been playing with it most of the afternoon.I had to have Adam take Gerrit downstairs so I could continue putting ornaments on because as soon as I put one on, Gerrit took one off! I was ready to leave the tree with just lights this year but knew how much I enjoyed putting on the ornaments I have collected over the years. I think putting the ornaments on is one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

It could look better but with a 19 month old, I think it looks pretty good. He hasn't been near the tree since I finished it so we shall see how it looks after Gerrit checks it out again. (The pointy needles don't seem to bother him - nice idea Omah)