Gary was so excited to head to Upper Michigan this weekend for his first race in a long while. This weekend was the last of the Marquette events for him, he's now completed the whole series. (Same as the 100 mile run he did 1.5 years ago & the 50 mile he did this past summer.) This one is called the Polar Roll, a 36 mile snowshoe race through the trails of Marquette.  They really lucked out with weather, the temps were perfect. Gary even contemplated wearing shorts with temps in the high 30's. 

Overall a great run. They trained in snowshoes a lot the past month or two. He said the only hard part about having mild winter temps was some of the trail heads didn't have snow cover so they had to transition in & out of snowshoes. Not hard, just time consuming switching back & forth.

It is so beautiful all times of the year up in that area. The girls & I opted to stay home (their rental was not that big or nice enough for me to justify packing us all up!!!) but after seeing all the photos he sent, I regretted it a bit. They definitely had a beautiful weekend. 

Gary signed up to do the 100 mile run again in September. Something tells me we'll have our share of opportunities to visit again in the future. Glad they had such a great weekend & were able to finish the race without issues! xoxo

 We have had weeks of freezing cold temps. Windchills into the negative 30's, not idea temps to be enjoying the winter. Through it all, my friend Jenny & her family worked to create this amazing igloo in their yard. It took an entire week of freezing ice in plastic shoe boxes overnight, building during the day & then repeating the process until it was complete. Basically a full time job for them! The big girls went north with Veraghens for the night so Gary & I had Maeve to ourselves today & decided to pay the igloo a visit. So much fun! It was so cool to feel how warm it actually was inside... almost 30 degrees warmer than outside. We even stopped for igloo treats that Maeve shared with the Longlais kiddos.

After our fun visit there we made a trip to Barnes & Noble for Maeve to pick out a few new books. She was so darn excited & was reading as soon as we got home. She decided on Chipolte for dinner & of course requested to sleep in our room.... again. She's lucky she's so cute!!!

She's had a fun few days. Yesterday I dropped off a special lunch for her & Mrs. W to celebrate Mrs. W's birthday (Which is Monday but I have to work). They had Noodles & Co. for lunch & some chocolate for dessert. Maeve was pretty excited for her lunch date. Something different & probably much tastier than the peanut butter & chocolate chip sandwich she eats every day!

Tomorrow the big girls come home & Maeve's weekend as an only child will be done. She actually told me tonight that she misses the girls & the house is too quiet! haha She'll be happy when they are home. Unlike her, I actually don't mind a little peace & quiet!! xoxo

 Happy Valentines Day! Tonight we had our traditional candle lit family dinner... minus Marin. She opted for a dinner with her "galentines." This years dinner was creamy poblano soup & a big selection of desserts. More than anyone needed as usual. Always a treat getting this crew to all look at the camera... smiles are an added bonus! Maeve celebrated in her favorite outfit, her pajamas!

Marin & her friends had dinner together as well. No night is complete with out a photo when it comes to these girls. They are all looking so grown up.

Fun evening for all. I am ready for bed after all the eating & sugar! Happy Valentines Day! xoxo

We've had a long winter with no snow... until now. This was our first big snowfall & we were all anxious to get outside. Unfortunately, there is a cold front coming through & the girls were only able to enjoy the snow for a day/night. The littles headed outside after dinner & stayed outside until almost 10:30pm. They had so much fun. Gary was eager to get outside for a run this morning & the temps definitely fell overnight. -30 windchills this morning. He was frozen (literally) when he got home. It took a bit for his eyelashes to thaw out, not sure how he thinks that is fun?!?

Marin was also outside last night with her friends. They had so much fun together. Nice to see them outside vs on a device!!! Looks like she's about to get a snowball to the face in this photo...

Now we're stuck back inside because it is so darn cold!!! The snow was fun for the short period of time, hopefully this cold weather doesn't stay too long. The fresh air felt so good. xoxo

 Big girls have been asking for a second piercing for months. With covid & many stores being shut down for quite some time it was hard to make it happen. Now that the stores are back open via appointment we decided to go get the piercings... finally!! (per Marin) Margaux was brave & opted to go first. She handled it like a champ, not a peep out of her.

Marin was next & she was way more of a baby. Still did well, but she whined a little more about it hurting. Made us laugh. The videos were so funny.

Glad it is done. They'll be anxious to change those studs in 6 weeks. Let's hope they'll keep them clean & we can steer clear of infection. Marin already asked for a 3rd piercing up higher on her ear on the way home. One at a time Marin... xoxo