Lovely Wintertime

Temps are supposed to get below zero tonight and that is fairly normal for January in Northern Minnesota. It can be cold but it is oh so beautiful and invigorating too. I truly love it here. Even when the wind feels a little nippy and my eyelashes get frosty - I love living here. 

 I thought I would share a few of our winter doings so far this season....

The top picture is of Malcolm and Thomas - biking in the snow. People heavily discourage me from doing that after my tumble last winter but I guess it is okay for Malcolm when he has his Daddy's help.

Several weeks ago my parents brought their wood splitter and my brother Peter and Niece Jatan over for a Saturday morning. Thomas, Malcolm and Jonathan also came and they along with Aaron, Megan and I worked on doing up a nice amount of wood for us and some for my mother-in-law, Sharyl too. What a blessing that was! We love having our cozy fires and wood is needed for that.

Mom and Dad make a pretty good team! They have been working that way for over 50 years now.

We got two loads like this for us. Yay!!

I am not sure how much this guy did to help but he sure is cute!

He, Megan and Jaten were the stacking team.

A couple of weeks ago I invited my friend Amy over to hang out with me on a Saturday when the kids were busy doing other things. We enjoyed breakfast (Aaron was here for that) and then a lovely walk in the woods followed by sewing on a quilt together.

The woods were lovely but even more lovely is friendship. I am so blessed.

We have gotten quite a lot of snow this year and we have really been able to enjoy the winter wonderland look!

The next day after church and lunch Aaron and I decided to do some back country downhill skiing. Aaron had checked out this area the week before with Megan.
There was a trail from the road that we were able to follow to get to the hill. 

Once we went down the hill of course we had to take our skis off and climb back up. It was fabulous exercise.

It was around 2 degrees that day but the sun was shining, I dressed warmly and with all the exercise I got so hot!

Kitchi is always happy to be a part of things.

Aaron is a great skier and sometimes seems like he has endless energy.

A few days later I got this picture of Megan when we were out on a walk. It was pretty chilly that day (below zero I am pretty sure) so she wore a trench coat over her snowsuit. I guess there is a book out (which I have heard is a good one) called "There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather" (by a Scandinavian Mom) that then also says that there is just bad clothing. I generally agree. If you dress for the weather you can truly enjoy time outside in all kinds of temps.

My goal is to get outside and get some exercise of some sort at least 5 times a week. I think it is really good for you - mentally and physically. 

How is your winter going? Are you enjoying it? What sorts of things do you do outside in the winter time?