Kitchen Dance Party

Moose takes some great videos of the kids on his phone.  Here is one of Jack and Will dancing to Will's song, "I Love It."  Make sure you watch the end of the video, the girls attempt to end the boys' fun.

Ice Caves

Last Sunday we ventured, along with thousands of others, to the Apostle Islands near Bayfield, Wisconsin to see the ice caves.  They have been featured on national news twice in recent weeks.  Lake Superior last froze over five years ago.  We decided to take advantage of the nice winter weather to see these wonders.  We trekked about a mile near the shores of  Lake Superior.  The kids rode in the sleds most of the way.

At the beginning of our journey.  We parked along the side of the rode that leads to Lake Superior.  We wouldn't have made it if we parked on the road.

There are three paths that lead to the caves.  We chose the middle road on the way there.

Along the way, we explored other ice formations.

We climbed in, out, and through the caves.  It was a memorable day.

We felt triumphant to have crossed the ice at that distance with four kids.

6th Birthday

Guess who has moved onto the next hand...Jack and Will turned today!  They had a great afternoon at The Edge Waterpark in Duluth with three of their friends.  Thank you to Grandma Linda and Papa for coming too.  We needed the extra hands.

6 year old brothers.

Brothers plus sister.

They need two hands to show their age now.

The Forces unite.

Blowing out their candles, sort of.  Will got them all.

Waiting for wristbands.

The boys had pop for the first time today.

The girls were right in the action with the boys.

Hungry boys.



The crew.  They had a fabulous time.

1st Hockey Tournament

Last weekend the Hermantown Pioneers Mite 1 team participated in the Duluth Heights Mite 1 Tournament.  They had a great community building with two outdoor rinks and a stocked concession stand.  The boys loved every minute of it, even though the temperatures were in the single digits.  They played one game on Friday night and two games on Saturday.  With much needed encouragement from Moose, I brought the girls to the tournament in between games.  They joined right in with the other kids, running around and having fun.  We watched the first half of the second game before we headed out to finish up our Saturday errands to Target and Sam's Club.

On our way to the game.
It was so bright, we just had to wear our shades.

The 2013-2014 Hermantown Pioneers Mite 1 team
plus random Duluth Heights kid.

Frozen Tundra Breeds Cabin Fever

After a great snowfall on the Sunday before Christmas, the Northland sunk into a deep freeze and the Benners went little stir-crazy.  Below are shots of pillow jungle.

All cushions and pillows off of the couch.

First rule of pillow jungle, no jumping on couches without cushions.  Jack can attest to that.

Will "pushing" Jack into the jungle.

They decided to jump together.

Ready...

Set...

Go!

 

Sydnee forgot to jump.

Group shot.

They wanted to attempt another group jump with Allison.

Jack snuggling between his sisters ' as he opens his gift from Grandpa and Grandma Benner.

Will prefers to work alone.

This is what I found when I checked on the boys last night.  Reading in bed with there headlamps.

Christmas Day

 Over night, our house was not only visited by Santa, but the Tooth Fairy as well.  Will lost another tooth yesterday and immediately put it under his pillow.  Three of the four kids were up around 6:00.  Sydnee needed some convincing from her dad to join us downstairs.



Jack and Will found their scooters right away.

Allison and her new Biscuit book.

Sydnee was happy that she got one too.



Will investigating his stocking.



Jack and his bubble tape.

With some help, Moose got to open a few presents too.

They are going to love this more than we are
(65 pieces of Transformer fun).

The girls doing some teamwork to open their Doc McStuffins kit.

Their best TMNT pose.

She loves her Steppers.

Allison really likes her Steppers and her headlamp.

One of my favorite gifts.

 After lunch we headed outside to explore the lake.  Giant fluffy flakes had fallen all morning and the snow was soft and deep.  The temperature was perfect for a winter wonderland adventure.

Christmas Eve

This morning the kids were up early (6:30ish).  They were on a self-directed mission to find Allison's slippers.  It was cute listening to them work together to find them.  Sydnee was the leader.  In the end, Rich set it up so that Will was the one who found them.  Then I left for a workout and a little shopping at Old Navy.  Strange I know, but I had a ton of Rewards from my Gap card and a great coupon for Old Navy.  Plus, their prices were crazy.  Meanwhile, Moose cleared the deck of snow and the boys played outside for awhile.  After lunch we watched Despicable Me 2.

Then the preparation started.  Now that the kids are a little older and it seems to be more manageable, we thought we would attempt to attend a Christmas service.  We went to Grace Lutheran in Hermantown this afternoon.  I had an idea of what I wanted the kids to wear.  I was 0/4.  At least Will put on a "handsome" shirt.  We made it to the service and lasted until the offering.  After at least 4 trips to the bathroom, it was time to go, literally.

Allison, Sydnee, Jack (minus a front tooth), and Will
ready for church.

Will being Will.

Sisterly love.

 After church, the kids put on a "show" with their stuffed animals.  This year's theme was "A Star Wars Christmas."

Sydnee and her best ninja for Charades.