January: new bed, the sickies and Iowa

We decided it was time to get the kids a bunk bed. I searched on craigslist until we found one that was cheap and that we liked. We liked this one because it doesn't have a ladder... so Zola cannot climb up to the top, its not that tall - in case someone fell off, and it was a super sturdy, home made bed. 

 As you can tell, the two kiddos LOVED it! It was surprisingly easy to transition Zola into a big bed even for nap time.

 We went shopping with Grandma one day in Minneapolis and Zola got this awesome shirt! She absolutely loves it and will pick it out often to wear. Thanks Gram!

 Zola got super sick in January. We thought it would last a couple of days...but that turned into 12 days! She was such trooper and it was sure nice to have our happy, talkative girl around again... I had almost forgotten what a joy she really is. VIDEO (you will need to go to the actual website to see the video... not in email)

She was pretty cute... for a couple of days... 

 We thought that Zola was getting a little better and we had a trip planned to meet up with our best Saint Louis friends in Iowa - so We went... It was so nice to see our friends. Nothing has changed... we still love each other. Zola was terribly sick though. She and I only got 3 hours of sleep one night because she just couldn't get comfortable laying on top of me. This is really hard to do with 4 kids and two momma's in 1 hotel room. After I took Zola for a drive at 3am, she fell asleep.

 We will have to do it again when everyone is feeling well. And here are some pics from the never ending sickies.

 Her eyes were totally crusted shut every morning.

 One day she consented to riding in the backpack so that I could get some things done around the house.

 Dennis, in the meantime, is totally awesome. He is such a good brother and a easy son to have. He started writing a journal where he kept a log of everything that we ate: pesa (pizza) aed (and) Brokle (Broccoli) BSKD (spaghetti) Chikin (chicken) uiod (wild) rice

Sometimes... we don't nap in our bed. One day I went in her room to wake her up and the door hit her head. She fell asleep trying to look under the door. 

January was fun.

Fun at the Cabin!

We love going to the cabin. No distractions... just a bunch of family with good food and winter fun.

 We had some good indoor fun with play dough when everyone was pooped from being outside.

These kids had a blast sledding down our hill. It is steps away from the cabin and its the perfect length and speed for both kids and adults. Seriously, can't have a better setup than that.

 Chrissy and Owen

 Climbing the hill (see the cabin in the background).

 Zola went down a couple times with our friend Stephie! Thanks! She loved it.

 ...who wouldn't love it when you get a free ride to the top!

 The boys just loving the speed. They would wipe out and get up and do it again... all smiles!

 We also did a lot of skiing! Both James, Dennis, and Ryan got new skiis for Christmas!

 The both went a long ways... all the way to the other side of the lake and back. James actually went around the entire lake following his daddy.

You can see James in this picture and Dennis a little further along.

 Bill and Stephie using the ski attachment on the chariot.

I got a ski attachment for Christmas! Thanks to Maree and Kevin! We have a blast. In this picture we have three harnesses going on. Randy and I are pulling chariots and Ryan is pulling a sled. Super fun and a great way to put babies to sleep. 

 We also played a wicked game of broom ball. We have an annual game with the John Kannas family (my dad's cousin). We finally won! And we get to keep the winning Sauna ladle. We will hang it with pride in our sauna. There was definitely lots of Sauna-ing... one of the best parts of going up to the cabin.

Here is the crew! 

 Then we got to play with the new snowmobile that Randy and my dad bought. The kids sure love to ride behind in the sled.

The three boys: Dennis, Owen, James

James, Owen, Zola

We (the kids and grandma) built a super cute snowman... that was quickly destroyed in an epic snowball fight that everyone joined in on except my dad and me. 

The family that was able to make it... we sure missed Reed and his family. They had a much warmer Christmas in Texas this year. 

 The best of friends: Owen and Zola

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We had a blast!

Hey Funk Family... we could always do a Christmas at the cabin! ...any takers?