Merry Minnesota Christmas!

As I mentioned last post, we STILL have 2 feet of snow on the ground - with another addition of 2-3 inches over Christmas.  Not sure anyone in Minnesota ever questioned whether they'd have a White Christmas or not.  Even with all the snow, Santa made it to our house and we had a wonderful Christmas morning with Gary and Vicki in attendance to share it with us. 

Later that day, we hosted the Johnson family Christmas dinner complete with Potato Sausage (Swedish thing) and my grandmother's recipe for Ham and yeast rolls (YUM!).  It was a wonderful get together and had some friendly competition with the white elephant gift exchange and Rook (cards).  As Vicki and I compared our battle wounds and burns from the oven, everyone was actually able to fit in our house comfortably.  Thanks to the newly completed basement, we could all gather together around the tree.  We all (16 of us) sat at the same table for dinner which was a wonderful treat.  I'm very thankful to everyone that made it and didn't complain about my cooking!  Although, personally, I couldn't find anything to complain about - I thought all the food was actually quite amazing (thanks, Mom, for all the holiday lessons).

Day after Christmas, we headed north to the Cabin for about 24 hours to relax and hike through the snow a bit.  I seemed to keep holding everyone up and moving so slow with my big winter boots and the 1' of snow we were trudging through...we had to take lots of photo op breaks for me...

The scenery was amazing and hiking through the 'North country' is always great fun.  Not a whole lot of wind and very minimal snow made for the perfect hiking weather.  Out on the lake, we found a few spots for ice fishing (or in Art's case, getting a drink of water...).  I still can't get over that you can actually drive out on the ice with cars and trucks and even build a little house right on top of the ice!  Out of habit, I always have to check the ice before I walk out - even if there is a car out in the middle of the lake. 

Merry Minnesota Christmas...

Snowed In...

Today is the official start of Winter!  Since starting winter with 2+ feet of snow on the ground this year, we have already spent countless hours shoveling both the roof and the sidewalks.  (Yes, we shovel the snow off the roof in Minnesota - don't ask, I still don't fully understand).  We have so much to look forward to in this winter wonderland called Minneapolis!

Since we've had some extra time inside these past couple weeks, between shoveling sessions, we've spent our time getting the house ready for baby and the Johnson Family Christmas party later this week (post coming on this later...)! 

Our basement remodel is quickly coming together now and we've been able to move some of the other furniture around in our house to get the baby's room set up.  This photo is the current state of where we're at in her room.  The rug was our big splurge - and if I may say so myself, makes the whole room AWESOME!  It's a braided rug with all the fabulous 'girly, yet not girly' colors (Art-approved).  Some of  you may recognize the lazy-boy (thanks to Mike and Amy Garrett), we were able to repurpose this for the perfect chair for me to relax in once the baby's here.  I'm sure we'll be filling those book shelves soon and am very much looking forward to spending lots of time in this corner!

Thanksgiving

We just returned from a great trip to Indiana and spent a total of 30+ hours in the car over the course of 4 days.  The total 18 hours there and back contributed to most of the windshield time, but the 4 hours to and from Muncie every day just about did us in.

Art was officially named the Euchre Tournament director this year and you could say, the tournament might have been the most controversial in history!  Not only were the partners a little suspect, how in the world did Aunt Amy and Uncle Marky actually win?! 

Other than the traditional razzing and fun, the Florida folks were able to make it north and it was a great visit!  The food was fantastic (as I always expect) and all the cousins are growing up so fast.  The newest cousin will be born very soon - Brian and Brianna, we wish you the best with the new one!  And we're not going to be far behind.

Baby Templin at 28 weeks (only 12 more to go!!!)

Surprise! Baby Shower

Thanks to my wonderful family and friends - they tricked me into driving to Muncie on our 'day off' to attend a party for my Aunt Amy who would be in town for the weekend.  Much to my surprise, my best friend, Bree had spearheaded the entire event, it was all for me!  They made the most adorable little bootie cakes (thanks, Laurie!) and had my favorite Pizza King Pizza.  About 90% of the family was in attendance and it was just an awesome way to celebrate baby and celebrate the holiday! I LOVE YOU ALL (even if you did lie to me, Grandma)...

Belly Photo #1

This was the first day I allowed any photos to be taken of my belly...our day at the park.  We just planned to play with my anniversary present (new Canon Rebel T1i) down by Minnehaha Creek, but Art suggested we start taking photos of my belly, now that it was actually noticeable.

This is baby girl Templin at 22 weeks...

1 Year Anniversary

Well, it's been 1 year of wedded bliss!  Baby Templin is 19 weeks along and Mom is feeling great!  Art took us to a fantastic little restaurant on 44th near France Ave and we had a great dinner celebration!  Not to mention, the great camera to capture all of the great moments to come!