King Cake

We made a King Cake to celebrate Mardi Gras. It was a yummy treat for a very cold day!

Willa got the baby!

More Volunteering

We packed meals again as a family activity. I love that the girls are used to volunteering now. We packed 1,944 meals!

Winter Olympics

We finally had a snow day where it was warm enough to play outside! The neighborhood kids hosted a Winter Olympics.

Lots of snow and ice = Lots of water

We've had a lot of snow this year. It resulted in major ice dams on our roof. We briefly had some warmer weather and what do you know? We had water pouring into two rooms of our house: Jia's room and our office.

We began the migration of everything in Jia's room and our office to the rest of the house so we could start water mitigation (tearing out walls and ceilings). Unfortunately, the repair needs to wait until spring in case there is more water damage. This means Jia may be bunking up with Willa for a few months. Once the girls heard this, they and a neighbor friend decided to surprise us by moving Jia's mattress to Willa's room! Now bring on the never-ending bedtimes!

Boba Tea

The girls LOVE boba tea. Today, we tried making our own! The flavor: Lychee green tea (my fave).

Verdict: Yum!

Siberia

Where better to go on a freezing cold day than an exhibit on Siberia? 

It was pretty amazing.

Happy Valentine's Day!

For many years, Joe and I adopted manatees for each other for Valentine's Day as we wanted to do something more meaningful for our gifts, and it is fun to share that tradition with the girls! They were very excited to choose their manatees tonight from http://www.savethemanatee.org/adopt_tampa_bay.htm. Jia picked Elsie and Willa picked Flicker, whom we may have seen on one of our Florida trips. (And, after some discussion, Willa now understands that we are not actually getting the manatee as a pet and it is better off staying where it is.) 

 

 Happy Valentine's Day!

Newest family members

We introduce our newest family members, Jessie and Josie, and their very happy owners.

Josie's name has since changed many times. My favorite thus far has been Pickle.

Are fish a gateway pet to other small animals? Only time will tell.

RV and Camping Show

Our girls loved last summer's tour of the Winnebago factory, so we went to the RV show. We spent the day looking at things we won't be getting, but it was fun anyway!

Never, ever, ever getting this.

 

Or this. Look at that price!

Maybe we'll rent this one day! 

 

What They Said

Jia (discussing her food preferences): "I'm not picky, I'm just misunderstood."

Me to Willa (who wants to be a vet): "The Minnesota Zoo is having a career day where you can learn about working with animals."
Willa: "I want to go! After you're done working with an animal, do you get to keep it? I'd really like a giraffe." 

Jia and Han walk in giggling.
Me: What are you laughing about?
Han: We can't say!
Me: Why not?
Jia: There's an inappropriate word in this book.
Me: What is it?
Jia: Perspiration.

Willa: Mama, can babies watch tv?
Me: No, they shouldn't.
Willa: Why? Will it kill them?
Me: No, but it affects how their brains develop.
Willa: Oh, so they'll be a nerd when they grow up.

Joe, in the car: Jia, the band we're listening to is called Grizzly Bear!
Jia: That's silly.
Joe: They're really good though.
Jia: Well, their name is silly.
Joe: What about the Beatles as a band name? That's pretty good, right?
Jia: Nope.
Joe: The Rolling Stones? They and the Beatles are probably the two most famous bands in the world.
Jia: Nope.
Joe: OK, what's your idea of a good band name?
Jia: "Girls Are Awesome."
Joe: That is good. There was a band once called Girls Against Boys.
Jia: The girls would win.

Willa (talking about the character "Madeline"): I'm like Madeline. I'm dramatic and I have really good plans.

Me: Jia, spell "photocopier."
Jia: What? That's probably not even a real word. They made it up just to frustrate kids on spelling tests.  

Willa: Mama, you know how Valentine's Day is about death?
Me: Um, no, it's about love.
Willa: Yeah, love and death.
Me: How so?
Willa: Well, I want to put these angel wings (dog costume) on Peanut for Valentine's Day.
Me: Why?
Willa: Because I've seen all these babies with angel wings on the wall at school for Valentine's Day, so I want to dress Peanut as an angel!

Me: Jia, you can't wear that. (As she puts on tights and short shorts.)
Jia: But mom, it's VERY fashionable.
Me: Jia, it's ten below out. Plus, when you put on your jacket, it will look like you're not wearing any pants.
Jia: Fine. I'm wearing summer capris over my tights then.
Me: Ok. But you'll need to wear your boots.
Jia: Deal, but if they're big clumsy ones, I will HAVE to reconsider.

Willa (coming in for a cuddle): Mama, whenever I get hurt, you'll always be my band-aid.

Jia drew a flowchart of Willa's behavior after Willa threw a fit about wanting a puppy. Willa's cycle, according to Jia: Start...calm...stressed...angry, upset...crying, blowing up...Willa can calm down by cuddling...happy again, happy end. Her little pictures make me smile.

 

Tubing!

We went tubing at Buck Hill. It was the girls' first time and it was a huge success! 

Everyone loved the "Buck Hill Special" where the attendant gives you a super fast spin on the way down!

After tubing, Willa looked at her shirt and said, "I'm wearing hearts and snowflakes because I love winter!"

Willa is the one on the left with her arms in the air (of course)!