The snow is really here!

Here is a picture outside our garage. Josh and Natalie have quite an operation going. They strategically placed the climbing structure so that it would provide the critical support structure for their complex tunnel system. I took the picture before a tunnel was built.

The blizzard that came through on Friday night and Saturday was in the top 10 biggest blizzards for our area. Check out the mound of snow at the end of the driveway.

Natalie bundled up and loved playing in the snow and cold. She didn't have issues with the cold. Michael and I cozied up to some good books and stickers.

Right before the storm hit, we were able to ride the Canadian Pacific Holiday train!! Choo! Choo! It was a blast! Thanks Uncle Jim! Below is a picture right before we were about to board the train in LaCrosse.

Off to Winona! We had an hour ride along the Mississippi River. We had lots of candy canes and hot cocoa. The kids got to color pictures and hang them on the windows. Below is a picture of Natalie, Michael and Lizzie looking out the window. Santa was on-board!!! It was quite a treat to see him!!!
Here is a picture in front of the train when we arrived in Winona. At night, the train is awesome! I don't have a good picture of the train at night, however, if you are interested, look up the Canadian Pacific holiday train on-line.
To finish up the busy day, we had pizza in Winona and enjoyed countless rounds of "Ring a Round the Rosy" with Grammi Barb.

We hope you are staying warm! Hugs and kisses to everyone reading this!

The snow is here!

The snow is here and it doesn't appear to be going away. We got dumped on about 1 week ago and I was keeping my fingers crossed that it would melt...no luck. We've had a couple of days slightly above freezing and it rained instead.
Here is a picture of Natalie and Michael in the first snowstorm this year. Natalie loved the snow! We had a great time making snowmen and women. Michael, on the other hand, is still deciding whether he likes the snow. Michael doesn't like that his feet sink (and sometimes stick) in the snow. At school, Michael stays on the sidewalk versus playing in the playground (on the snow). Poor guy!

Well, what do we do on cold yucky days? We cook. Natalie is quite the chef. In this picture, she made a mustard, oatmeal, water, salt, pepper, honey and sugar PIE! She tasted her work of art and she thought it was good!Michael is also fine tuning his cooking skills. He is becoming an expert in stirring, pouring and dumping.

Lastly, I thought I would share with you the picture below. We were in downtown Minneapolis going to a show (Curiuos George). Take a look at Princess Natalie's outfit for the concert.

She is beautiful (in so many ways)!
FYI - The concert was super cool! Natalie loved every minute (except the intermission). Michael managed to watch about 1/2 of the show.

Happy turkey day!

I hope you are enjoying this time of year....no matter what the weather is like.

The Great Pumpkin Adventure

The Great Pumpkin Adventure started with picking the right pumpkin. As you can see from the picture below, we didn't have much of a selection to choose from. However, we did find just the right pumpkin for everyone in the Wiffler household. Seriously though, this is the biggest pumpkin patch that I have even seen and it was just a couple of miles from our house.
Michael's criteria for the perfect pumpkin...it had to be orange and it had to be the right height to sit on (like a horse).The Great Pumpkin Adventure got into full swing with the carving. Josh led the efforts to clean out the pumpkins. Natalie and I focused on the carving. Natalie was extremely precise. Michael provided us with morale support.

The pumpkins found their home on our front steps. Lots of excitement surrounded the first night of lighting the pumpkins. On the night of Hallow's eve, the pumpkins led the entrance to the house where there was a big ferocious lion and a wicked - but friendly - witch. The lion and the witch teamed together to conquer the neighborhood and gather mounds of candy.

The End.

It's that time of year...

It's that time of year for hanging out in big ducks....(quack, quack)
for cooling off with your cousins in the water mister....
for making new gardens....(nice work Josh)
for picking and eating tomatoes...(yum, yum)
for hanging out in rope tunnels...(cute boys)

We hope you are also enjoying this time of year!

Busy setting records**

Michael and Natalie set new land speed records as they ran into the water at the beach!

Josh set a record for balancing on one foot the longest with a frog on his foot. Go Josh!
We set a record for most frogs in our pool! Super frogerrific!
We were just froggin' around.
Natalie and Michael set a record for the most consecutive days of taking a bath in a bucket out on the porch.
**These records were officially voted on by the Wiffler family board of adventurers'. If you have a record to set, feel free to post your comments. The Wiffler family board of adventurers will let you know their vote.

Summertime = Family time

In the past few weeks we have been able to hang out with a lot of family members! It is a great time of year to catch up with everyone.

We had an excellent visit with our Colorado family - the Gartners. It was a wonderful couple of days and Natalie and Michael cannot wait to spend more time with their cousins (-:

"The 2 wheel bikers" - Natalie and Barrett.

"The wagon riders" - Greta and Michael

Here is a picture of my mom, Eric, cousin Oregon Jeff, and Auntie Debbie during a recent retirement celebration (Dan and Eppie). It was great catching up with Jeff, Janell and especially Bryce! We cannot wait to see them again!

The highlight of the celebration was a 15 minute downpour which left nice puddles to play in. In this picture, you see Lizzie and Bryce playing with Natalie (and Uncle Ken admiring the mess).

Michael mowed the whole park with his new lawn mower- thanks Uncle Eric and Auntie Amanda for giving Mikie this lawnmower! It is getting very, very good use.

We were very fortunate to have a visit from cousin Taylor. We were delighted to hang out with her for a couple of days (at the MOA and underwater aquarium). Taylor, come again soon!

Michael is a big snuggle bug and quite the charmer. He has won over the heart of his Grammis. He lovingly gives kisses and hugs to make sure that his Grammi's still love him. Below is a picture with Grammi Pat.

I celebrated another birthday on July 4th. My mom had an excellent party, however, I don't have pictures. It was a wonderful day with all our family and friends.

Also, Uncle Eric, Auntie Amanda, and Lizzie stayed for a few days - it was a good time all around. Thanks for your help!

Once again, we look forward to seeing everyone again soon! Love you!

Summer time is family time (-:

Growing takes a lot of work....

Mikey is growing every day and it takes a lot of energy. One pancake down...

Second pancake with a little banana....
All done....

Then a much needed bath....

Natalie is also growing a lot. Her bones hurt because she is growing so fast. For Natalie, growing requires lots of sleep. This is a picture after she rolled out of bed at 9am and she is giving Josh Michael's Fathers day card.
Here are a few highlights from the past couple of weeks. A squirrel in the bird feeder...
Throwing sand in Daddy's face...
Feeding the chickens....

And last of all, Natalie is attempting to ride a wheeley. Needless to say, I did not encourage or acknowledge that she was doing this, however, she did yell to me, "Bing, bang, boom. Momma, I got my front tire off the ground." The scary part is that she really did get her front tire off the ground. Nice...

Hugs and kisses! We hope you are enjoying this wonderful Fathers Day!

New tricks for Natalie

Oh yeah...Natalie's new tricks....
It was quite a morning at the Wiffler household. Natalie asked Josh to pump up the tires on her 2 wheel bike. Once the tires were pumped up and after about 30 minutes of instruction with Josh, here is a video of what she could do. We are simply amazed and the video is only a small snapshot of her skills. Go Natalie!

All dressed up

Natalie's is all dressed up in her new gymnastics leotard...

Natalie's biking outfit....
And yes, it is the parents of the 2 kids you see in this blog. It is a rare appearance, however, Josh and I got dressed up for a nice evening out. The kiddos ran the house while Grandpa and Carol stayed with them. Thank you Jim and Carol for coming up and watching Natalie and Mikey. We had a fabulous night out!