Endure

I have decided that the way to describe winter in Minnesota is "Endure".  When I get really tired of having to bundle up every time I go outside, I try to remind myself that winter will end some day, maybe not soon, but it will end.  And then we get a day like today.  It was 42 degrees and Megan walked outside and said it felt like summer!
 Here is a picture of our van.  A majority of the cars on the road are just as filthy as our van, it only shows better on a white van!  It doesn't make sense to wash the van when sand and salt are constantly being splashed on to it. Also, the doors freeze shut if you wash the van when it is below 20 degrees.

Notice the dried up salt on the garage floor that has been building up over the last few months.
It is supposed to get back to the teens and below tomorrow, but we just have to remember, this too shall pass.

Minnesota teen passes driver test in snow storm!

Amber proved she is a true Minnesotan today. She passed her driving test with four inches of fresh snow and more falling! She almost postponed it until the weather was better, but decided to have a trial run anyway. She was so nervous, but she did great! I think the tester gave bonus points for trying to test in this weather. He mentioned a rolling stop that could have prevented her from passing, but he passed her anyway. She is floating now. She immediately texted her whole phone book on her cell phone to spread the news. Here are some pictures from the exciting event!

Wish me luck!

Waiting to start the test

Taking the test

"I did it!"

We are very proud of Amber.  She is a very good, safe driver.  Congratulations!!

Ice Skating

We went ice skating in downtown St. Paul on New Year's Eve. It was so cold! Only 6 degrees (that's Fahrenheit, not Celsius!) We were a little shaky, but it was fun!

Sledding

We decided to take Stephanie sledding, something she won't get to do in Texas very often. It was a blast!

Steven

Amber and David

Even Dad got in on the fun!


Megan
Marissa

Stephanie had a hard time going forward at first.


Can you tell we are having fun!