The Good, the Bad and the Ugly .... and Beautiful?

During one of our road trips this last year, Ethan was reading from a "Time for Kids" magazine he brought home from school. It had various Top 5 lists.  The idea of holding a record or being ranked in some way really appeals to Ethan's competitive nature.

As we were driving through the vast plains of North Dakota, Ethan shared with us that North Dakota is listed on both the Top 5 hottest and Top 5 coldest temperature lists. It's hard to believe isn't it? Apparently Steele, ND once recorded a temperature of 121 and (less hard to believe) Parshall, ND has a temperature of -60 on record.

I've been thinking about those lists a lot these last few days as we rode out a blizzard and are dealing with the aftermath - namely the cold, the shoveling,  the snow plowing and utter inconvenience of it all. Living in the north pole really is about learning to deal with extremes and maybe learning to find the good in what at first seems to be bad.

This most recent snowstorm shut down the state - quite literally. The major North- South and East-West highways were closed for nearly 2 days. People either stayed home, stayed at work or stayed away from us all together. The North Pole was closed.

As the storm approached, locals began to prepare. Friends with travel plans either canceled or got out of town ahead of the storm knowing that they likely would be snowed out of their houses (and the state) for awhile.

As 20+ inches of snow fell and then was blown around by 30+ mph winds, we sat in our house listening to Christmas music, watching videos, eating cookies, drinking wine and unwrapping gifts. We read books, played games and checked the window occasionally -  but mostly spent time together.

Once the storm passed, the boys were so excited to venture outside and play in all the new snow. As adults, we were dreading the clean-up. It's amazing what 20 years will do to your perspective on 2 feet of snow. When our boys look at this...

  they see endless possibilities of  sledding, forts, caves and  fun. 

When Dana and I saw it, all we thought of was this...

I prefer the kids' perspective.

Perhaps it's because I'm on Christmas break and don't have to be anywhere this week, or perhaps, like the Grinch, my heart has grown to three times its size; but I have been trying to have a different perspective these last few days and you know what ?

20+ inches of snow and 30+ mph winds can also do this..

and this...

and this...

come on - that's cool.

Would the North Pole be my first choice of places to live? Absolutely not. Am I miserable? Not a chance.

I've got this...

 

and this...

We are happy and having fun. We are growing and thriving in the dead of winter.  The North Pole might actually be making me a better person. You should come check it out  ... I'll let you know when we're open.

Narrating and Welcoming and Piano Playing - Oh my!

It was a big week for us last week! Both boys had speaking parts in school programs. Ethan was one of the narrators for the school production of The 12 days of Christmas and he had a piano recital. Avery gave the "welcome" to the school mass and was a active participant in the choir during the Christmas Program.

Speaking Parts
After years of speech therapy, watching both our boys get up to a microphone and speak in front of a crowd in the same week was a BIG deal for us! We are so proud of all of their hard work. To those of you who have been a therapist and/or a source of support - thanks! You helped us get here and your hard work and love is NOT forgotten.

The picture isn't great - but it's the words we want you to hear! ENJOY EVERY LAST ONE!

Ethan as narrator for the Christmas Program




Avery welcoming everyone to the school mass.




Piano Playing
This is Ethan's 3rd year of piano lessons and he continues to amaze us with his confidence and musical ear. His chosen selections for this year's recital were Silver Bells and The Imperial March.

October Adventures

October included a lot of travel and family time for us.

We headed to Minneapolis the first weekend in October to be a part of the last Twins game in the Metrodome. The Twins even gave us an exciting win!

Ethan's last seat at the Dome.

Avery uses his hankie to rally the team.

The second weekend in October we spent in Spokane, WA. Dana's cousin got married and we were able to see the whole Harsell clan for a reunion. It was the first time the boys and I got to meet our new niece/ cousin Iona. We are in love! Avery came down with flu for a good chunk of the trip so he and I spent most of our time in the hotel recuperating. Despite the illness, we had a great time spending time with family.

Ethan and Iona - cousins and instant friends

Proud Uncle Dana

How Avery spent most of the weekend...

Ethan hanging out with Grandpa Mick

Finally - all the cousins are in one spot!

I took a trip to NY for the fourth weekend to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday. It was fun to have a grown-up trip and spend some time with my parents, siblings and cousins. It was a wonderful time to reconnect and celebrate!

Happy Birthday Gram!

And finally - we make it to Halloween! We decorated our pumpkins just under the wire on Halloween morning and then took our two favorite Jedi's out for trick-or treating.

Carving pumpkins

Jedi Knights

MONTANA!

We headed to Missoula for some much needed time with grandparents and mountains. Dana even got to go to his 20 year high school reunion.

Ethan and Avery had an opportunity to be spoiled by grandma and grandpa. Whether is it was watching movies, reading books,  playing outside, swimming or just hanging out on the couch ... the boys had so much fun just being with them. They also really enjoyed trying to catch the cats.


Avery trying to catch Meghan

 


Ethan laughing at grandpa

We took every advantage of the beautiful summer weather and proximity to the mountains by taking several bike rides and hikes. We also did some of our favorite Missoula things including farmer's market, breakfast at Food for Thought, coffee from Break Espresso and hiking to the "M". 

 

The top of the "M" on Mt. Sentinel

Biking on campus

Resting on the Rattlesnale   

 

Avery even lost a tooth on the trip!

 

                                                           

Summer Update

Here are some of the highlights from June and July...

June 29th - We celebrated Dana's birthday by heading to Fargo for the day for  a bike ride and play time in the park and some Indian food for dinner. The boys made daddy a cake and he even got some Twins tickets!

July 4th - We celebrate the fourth with parades, picnics and fireworks. The boys decorated their bikes for the local parade. We had some fun ejoying the downtown festivities and then headed home to enjoy a barbeque and fireworks with friends.

ready for the parade

 July 20th -We survive T-ball and baseball. It was so fun to watch Avery learn the game. With every hit, he'd ask "Did you see my home run?". Ethan's team ended up taking first place in the final tournament - he's just a bit proud.

Cousin Fun

My brother and his family came to visit this week! We were SO thrilled that they made the trek from Yakima, Washington to the North Pole. It was such fun to watch 6 cousins having summertime fun. I don't have much to say. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

  

  

 

June

June was filled with some much needed fun and travel. We took off on the last day off school (with Starbucks in hand) for a west coast adventure. We had a great time with friends, my parents and my brother and his family. We also had 7 consecutive days of sun in the Pacific Northwest which is not typical.

Friends...

We started our week catching up with friends in West Seattle. Great food and even better conversation was a perfect way to start the week!

Some of our best friends in the world had the nerve to move away from the North Pole in October . Much like some parents need to leave a trinket for their kids to hold on to while they are away (it's said to help minimize separation anxiety), we urged our friends to leave their pop-up camper behind. We promised to bring it to them at the start of summer; giving us a great excuse to head west and see them again. It worked wonders for my grown-up-missing-your- best-friend version of separation anxiety. I stared at it all winter dreaming of it all popped up on some beautiful seaside campground. I could practically taste the wine and hear the sounds of all our kids playnig on the beach. I got my wish at the beginning of June as we set-up camp at Seaback Park.

The view from Seabeck Enjoying low tide

The fam...

We made a quick stop in Yakima to see my brother, sister-in-law, 2 nephews and 2 nieces. The kids got along as if they were next door neighbors (the kind that get along). I got a girl fix by holding our youngest niece and painting our 3 year old niece's toe nails.

The cousins...

You can't say Seattle at our house without saying "Poppa and Grandma-D". We had a fun-filled week watching the boys get totally spoiled. Visits to parks and playgrounds, trips to beaches and to get ice cream, playing in sandboxes, helping grandma plant flowers, running in sprinklers, roasting marshmallows and sleeping in sleeping bags in the living room. It's no wonder they don't like coming home to a house with vegetables, rules and bedtimes. It was exactly waht a trip to grandparent's house should be!

Poppa and Avery in the ocean

The grand finale...

We ended the week going to a Twins-v-Mariners game (where the boys got to run the bases after the game) and an all boys excursion to downtown Seattle.

After running the bases at Safeco field

On top of the Space Needle

Happy Mother's Day!

We're having a pretty great weekend here in the North! The weather has been consistently warm ... ish. After 7 (YES 7) months of cold and snow, warm-ish is fantastic! Winter in the North Pole is not for the weak. It takes a positive attitude, true grit and anti-depressants :) I am SO grateful for extra sunlight, being able to sit outside and the appearance of buds on trees. It has been a long winter.

With Spring comes soccer at our house and we're in the midst of soccer-mania! All the men in my life play soccer -- I am a real life "soccer mom". I have lawn chairs, blankets, Kleenex, baby wipes, first aid kit and extra snacks permanently stocked in my mini-van. This is SO not how I'd ever thought I'd describe myself! Who ever heard of watching a sporting event without beer?

My favorite soccer players are having a great season so far! Avery has been playing for the last two years. He has really blossomed this season! After two years of staying out of the fray and just running along side the kids with the ball, he is getting in there and taking charge! He scored two dribble-down-the-field-kick-it-in-the-net goals on Saturday and it's so cool to see how proud he is! Ethan and his 2nd/3rd grade team have grown up so much. They play some serious soccer. Slide-tackles, head-hits -- it's amazing to see how quickly they figure it all out! He loves to brag about his team and is happy to report they are undefeated (even though they don't keep score). D's adult league is playing right now and I just hope he just comes home without a major injury.

As for me, I am proud to report that I completed a marathon relay with a group of friends this weekend. I did my 5.5 miles in 58 minutes and it was fun too! That is a big accomplishment for this mom! Of course, my greatest accomplishments are the two beautiful boys you see here.