sledding

That 4-letter word.... SNOW!

We had a blast in Minnesota with the snow - was very, very cold most of the time, so we made the most of our time outside with some sledding and snow-shoeing... Ben wasn't sure what to think of the snow at first (notice the picture - Ben vs. Snow), but quickly got into it. It also just was luck that the weekend we were there for my grandmother's memorial was the Vasaloppet ski race. This is the 2nd largest Cross Country ski race in North America and it's held in my little 4,500 person town in Northern Minnesota. It's our "claim to fame" and It's a huge community collaboration/celebration and we went to the start of it at 8 am. It was FREEEEEEEEEEZING, but very very fun to be a part of the hoopla and tradition!

Some fun pics in no particular order....

Goodbye Grandma

My Grandmother lived for 100 years, which was amazing - she passed away in late December and since my parents were already here in CA with us for the month of January and she was cremated, we had her memorial in MN on February 13th. It was a beautiful celebration of her incredibly well-lived 100 years on this planet. The memorial was held at her Methodist Church where she was faithful for many, many years in attendance. As is the tradition in Minnesota, after the service, the "church ladies" cooked up the most amazing Minnesota potluck luncheon and gave us the opportunity to eat and gather together over Grandma's favorite dish - Ernie's hotdish and scalloped potatoes with ham. It was divine! I would never be the person I am today without having her presence in my life and being her only granddaughter, I held a very special place in her life. Steve created an incredibly powerful video montage of her life in pictures, video and music - there wasn't a dry eye in the church. We all felt so fortunate to be in Grandma's life and are so happy that while her physical life has ended -- her spirit lives on in all of us that she touched on so many levels... here's a few pics of the special day.

Singing

Ben's latest thing is to bust out in random songs -- here's his latest!

Goodbye Grammy & Poptop

Well, the time had to come sooner or later when Grammy & Poptop would move on and make their way out of their adorable beach bungalow in Carpinteria back to Minnesota... we miss you guys already - here's some of my favorite shots from your time here!