heat wave

 

Kids were outside with no coats today! Lovely day. 

brother Kurt gets a promotion

 

This is from Twitter as Kurt is being nominated for a position in MN FSA. He’s pretty excited!

And here brother Kent’s response to Kurt:

sunshine!

 Good day with twinning with Sara, beautiful sunshine at outdoor PE, gorgeous sunset and a nice workout. Wonderful day! 

our spring break plan

 

family connection

My brother Kurt is a kind genuine soul…he shared this on social media:

Sometimes it’s hard to see the bright side of a -19 degree day, but last Monday I began reading one of my Dad’s old hard covered western novels written by Zane Grey.  It was an extremely good read filled with description of characters and Colorado scenery including an unlikely romance.  It had me captivated until the last word.  I found a signature from my great grandfather, Henry Houselog from Woodstock, Mn.  The book is 104 years old.  I was telling some friends about this last week and got connected to some folks from Woodstock and was informed Darrell Houselog plays pinochle every Monday and Thursday in town.  I found Darrell (my Dad’s 1st cousin) today and a nice hour long visit.  Darrell is 92 and sharp as a tack.   I showed Darrell the book and his eyes twinkled and said Henry was his grandfather.  He recalled many memories, dates and stories about our heritage.   I’m looking forward to our next cold snap!

rub a dub dub scrub scrub scrub

I was inspired to scrub our kitchen lower counters and floor today. Also hit the baseboard and some of the walls that needed love. Wow does it feel incredible!

Brad left on a Florida work trip and Anders, Ally and I went to a cool yarn store together as that’s what I got Ally for her birthday. We went to a late lunch at Matt’s, the home of the juicy Lucy. 

Then we came home and Anders and Osten had lots of fun talking football. I love when the kids have great connections! 

inspiration shopping

 

Today I went window shopping and found some fun things as I looking to put some finishing touches on decorating the bathroom. 

cold snap and lovely daughter

 

My walk with Petra this morning was very cold and beautiful. Speaking of beautiful, our 19 year old is such a beautiful woman! So thankful to have a warm home and warm clothing to wear. We are very fortunate. 

a little warm up

It’s January. It’s cold. The daylight is getting longer, but I was missing warm sun. I decided to get a tanning package from a spot downtown and I’m loving it so far. I’m going twice a week until we go to Florida for spring break. 

and the other butter dish

 

Not to leave out the other butter dish by Oneida. 

extra long weekend

It was so cold today that our school was called off last night! We were able to enjoy a 4 day weekend. Today I hiked, cleaned, packed up the office Christmas tree, made lunch and dinner, bought 2 butter dishes (both second hand), went tanning, baked banana bread and did more dreaming about spring break! 

MLK pondering

 

quick trip to see Blomgren branch

Brad, Osten and I packed up early this morning to lunch with Kyle, Kim and Kurt and then spend a few hours with Mom. She led us on a tour of Good Sam and then we visited in the sitting room and in her room. We said our good byes then stopped in Mankato for a quick hello to Katie. Now we’re back home and winding down from a fun weekend. 

On our way past the airport, we noticed Anders had just landed! Can’t wait to see him again. 

final stretch of her teen years

Our lovely daughter is now in the final year of being a teenager. We didn’t physically see her but we called and sang her Happy Birthday! Here are some photos from previous birthday celebrations