back home for the rest of the holidays

we're back in minnesota after a special christmas week with nana and papa. lots and lots of snow here--and more on the way, supposedly, later in the week. thank goodness for our friends tim and wyatt johnson who took care of snow removal while we were gone.

we had a very special time with nana and papa (as well as dennis, deidre and the boys--the jackson 5, as nana calls them) in Cape. good eats, some puzzles, and lots of scrabble and christmas records (old-school, on a turn table).

gift-giving also fun too (although listening to the graphic, anti-consumerist young adult novel "Feed" on the way home gives a bit of pause on that front): ben gave emma a video of burning yule logs, and she gave ben a box of little Debbie's oatmeal pies. more seriously, emma got softball equipment (sliding pants, a catcher's glove, and batting gloves), terri a hockey bag and an enamel cast iron pot, ben fancy new head phones and a digital audio recorder, and doug got pickled pig's feet and some retro zubaz pants. we gave papa an electronic rain gauge to go with the thermometer from the jackson five so he'll have a full-blown weather station out back.

Nana's presents were a bit bumpy: we gave her an enamel cast iron cooking pot like terri's that didn't work on her glass top stove and a book she had already read (Mary Ann Glendon's "Home"). And the J-5 got her some shirts that didn't fit. Luckily, we were able to go to the mall after church on sunday and find a new book (Tinkers), exchange the clothes, and trade the pot for an immersion blender.

lots on tap for week ahead: hockey and bball for emma as well as her job taking care of our neighbor's cats and a suite at the Wild game on weds with her friend Stephanie (doug hoping to tag along too); ben's planning on jamming with his band buddies (which group not quite clear) and taking the test to get his learner's permit. Doug and Terri will be trying to get some work done and will be (hopefully) picking out a new mattress over at Macy's. Probably some snow shoveling in there too--another big storm predicted on new year's eve.

Oh, and we all got phones and a family plan so if you want to call or text any one of us, we'll be happy to send you the numbers.

winter weekend--now extended

breaking late news: no school in st. paul, minnesota tomorrow! only the 2nd or 3rd time since we've lived here. not a huge surprise at this point. biggest blizzard since we've been here fell on saturday (and bitter cold ever since). somewhere between 18 and 24 inches in our yard. (hard to tell with all the blowing). ben did much of the snow blowing with the rest of us stranded in baldwin wisconsin at emma's hockey tournament. it turned out to be kind of fun: emma's team made it to the championship and though they got second, they played a great, physical, fast-paced game that ended up 6-4. (emma knocked a few folks around and even had an assist). speaking of hockey, terri's team squeezed in a game late this afternoon and got their second win. even more exciting: terri had a hat trick! (that's 3 goals, for those of you new to hockey.) don't know what tomorrow will bring--besides school, emma supposed to have bball game, and ben driver's ed. but we're guessing it'll be a fun morning...and lots to look ahead to for the week anyway: mmsa band concert, more hockey, ben's test to get his learner's permit, ben's parent/teacher confs, etc. what a time of year to be dealing with several feet of snow.

Pictures from Italy

Emma's favorite pizza in Rome.













Terri and Emma at the Duomo in Milan.








Emma outside of the coliseum. This was one of Emma's favorite sites in Italy.



Emma eating spaghetti outside of the Vatican.