February 29th, Michigan Nordic Fire Festival

The actual highest temperature that we saw today was 35F.  That was 2 degrees higher than the estimate, which was nice, since we spent approximately four hours outside at the Viking fest!  We saw no precipitation, but lots of sunshine!

Before we left, Juliet dressed up like her doll, Blaire.

Alice tried to crash the photo.

We left around 9:15, stopping for breakfast at the Potterville McDonalds.

This year we opted to park across the street versus taking the shuttle, and I'm split on whether or not it was an improvement.  We were not waiting in the cold for the bus, but it was muddy and snowy and busy in the park, plus we had to cross a busy street.  We'll see how we feel next year, since both have their drawbacks.

They have improved so much since last year!  This year there were four tents, a trailer ticket booth, more port-a-potty groups and food everywhere!

Everyone loved their capes!  I wore mine for a short while, but having the backpack on my stomach was uncomfortable, so I switched to my coat fairly quickly.

Billy, Alice and I tried out the axe throwing.  Alice was the only one who actually landed a 'stuck' axe!

Mine kind of stuck, then fell.  This was before I lost my gloves. = (

William found the warm spot:

Each of our children had $10 to spend as they saw fit.  William picked a hammer of Thor.  He was happy to show off his skills. = )

Face painting was a little more themed this year.

Alice picked a fox tail, and was excited to show it off.

Emily passed on the face painting and sword fighting.

After three hours in the cold, we were all ready to go. = )

We stopped at Dairy queen for hotdogs and hamburgers, but my memory was faulty* and they don't serve hamburgers (or chicken tenders) at the Michigan Dairy Queens. = 0  So, we settled for some hot dogs and nachos, and then went to Wendy's for those who weren't yet fed.

After walking around in the snow (and mud) for hours, all of our cloaks needed a good washing.  For the most part we just spent a relaxing evening home.

For dinner we had a crock pot beef, potato and carrot meal.  It smelled divine when we walked in the door!

later days

*our first year up here my mom and I went to the Dairy Queen in Charlotte** for some chicken tenders and white gravy because I wanted a taste of home so bad, but all they had were hamburgers and hot dogs and lots and lots of ice cream. = (

**Because the other Dairy Queen I know of in Lansing closes for the winter season.  It is strictly an ice cream place.

January 16th

The high today was 31F and we hit it before we woke up this morning. = (  The trend was steadily downward, and the light 'mist' we would have had were tiny snowflakes almost all day.  The wind was particularly cold.

I had a letter to drop in the mailbox. Since I was already in the parking lot, I went by Carl's and bought Billy some of the ice cream sandwiches he's been after.

After dropping off my little ones, I came home to sew.  Sadly, I had a notification from Alice's teacher that their library day was moved up to today, so I grabbed all the library books to bring up.  Alice, Grace and Juliet all went today.  Sadly, William's schedule did not fit into the move, so he did not go today.

I started with Alice's cape.  Her fabric sewed like a dream!  I was able to put decorative stitching on the hems and had more than enough fabric to work with.  Then I started on mine.

I fought the velour fabric for hours...……..  it is so strange, it managed to shrink and stretch on each piece.  ugh.  It came out a little smaller than I would have liked, but the fabric is just sooooooooo pretty, I really do love it!  Here's a before picture of the first piece on top of one of the original Pottery Barn Teen curtains:

When the kids came home they were excited to try on their capes and by all the goodies that Aunt Rocky brought over.

I still need to make Grace and Juliet some capes, and Billy if I can find the fabric!

Juliet was super excited to show me her library book when she got home. It has a picture of a butt in it, which is hilarious when you are 5. lol.

For dinner we had spaghetti and meatballs.

After dinner I took out the trash, and worked on the ties of my cape.  I am waiting until Sunday before procuring the strap for Emily and I need to find some gold colored D rings for Alice's.  So as of right now only mine and William's are finished products.

We also added some songs to our summer playlist.  = )

later days

January 13th

Today was cold, but we did make it above the freezing mark!  I was expecting a high near 40F, but the warmest I saw while driving was 34F.  We must have gotten some snow yesterday in addition to all of the ice, because it was pretty thick on our stairs when we left this morning.

After taking my dear little ones to school I checked the mail and then took the recycling over to Sarah's.  It was still before 9, so I stopped and got gas at Meijer, then headed to Aldi.  It's been at least a month since I've been able to do my normal shopping rotation Aldi/Meijer, so it felt good to be back at it!

From Aldi I headed back to Meijer to finish the rest of my shopping.  They were quite busy compared to my normal trips! Maybe there were some Sunday people there?

Next on my shopping route was the VOA on cedar.  I perused their aisles, but only ended up with a couple of books for Leon, a replacement sewing ruler (toddler Alice broke mine 6 or 7 years ago!) and a curtain for my latest project.  I decided against a blanket for a project for Emily, but messaged Sarah later in the day and she went back for it, since she lives kind of nearby! <3

When I arrived home, it was already afternoon.  So I quickly sorted all the things I'd brought home and started on my sewing project (a different one than I started yesterday of course.)  I wanted a cape for the upcoming Viking fest, but they wanted $30 for the ones I priced out, and when I was looking at it thought: "I could probably make that!"

So, I did.  I didn't quite finish before it was time to pick up my children, but I finished sewing it before the PTO meeting tonight.  I still need to attach the buttons, but it came out cute.  It's a little shorter than I wanted, so Alice might be getting it, and I'll find another curtain to repurpose.  I'll also need to pick up Emily's blanket to make hers sometime this week.

For dinner we had Taquitos with sour cream & veggie bites shaped like dinosaurs (from Aldi!) I thought that they were pretty good.

The PTO meeting had so many upcoming dates and events! I'm already tired just listening to all the plans, but we'll make it happen!

It was a shot night, and since I didn't get back until almost 8, we rushed through bedtime, because Emily has to be at school early tomorrow for a Student Council meeting.  And right before bed, we called Enisi to wish her a happy birthday!

later days

P.S. Oh, and it's been a year since I organized my drawer, Marie Kondo style.  This is how my drawer looks tonight.  I love it!

Viking Fest!

The final weekend in February is the Nordic Fire Festival in Charlotte.  It has been a cold, snowy February,  and today's weather was finally calm enough to brave the above freezing temperatures!

Just like last year, we parked at the high school & hopped on the shuttle.  There was a bit of a line when we arrived, but we were done in no time!

We met up with the Pritchards, who had already arrived.  (Grace was so excited, she didn't want her picture in the Viking cutout above.)

We ventured inside after viewing the Viking settlement recreation.  They were serving up hot chocolate and had games and crafts set up for all of the kids to enjoy.

Hay was a welcome floor cover inside, since the ground outside is currently a mixture of snow that has melted into ice, mud and water.  The kids entertained themselves while waiting for a turn at the face painting station.

The artist this year had some fancy jeweled designs for the kids to choose!

As they finished up, they paid a visit to the Viking on stilts for some extravagant, portable balloon art.

From here most of the group headed out to enjoy some physical activities.  I waited for Alice to finish her art, and then we went to collect some of our all time favorite candle scent, but they sold out of them yesterday night. = (

We grabbed some food, and met up with the others.  Since my hands were full, I didn't get a single picture of the sword fights this year. We were pretty worn out at this point, so we sat down to eat, then headed in for one more craft.

As we were leaving the line to attend was at least 20 minutes deep!

There were more vendors and exhibits than last year, and even more patrons.  I'm so happy to see them grow, and already excited to go visit next year!

later days

Viking Festival

After what feels like an eternity of winter, and spending the vast majority of our time indoors, we were all looking forward to venturing out to a local festival.

For months I've followed their updates, and with this being the 3rd year, we were very excited to see what the day would offer.

We tried to get McDonald's from the one near us, because our children are like many others, and think that McDonald's is some great treat, but they were not yet serving lunch.  So, we stopped at the same one we'd visited when we went to the County Mill last fall.  By the time we arrived at the festival, the kids had finished with their meals.

Full bellies, ready to go!

We took the free shuttle to the park, and stood in a short line to get in.  The vendor tents were heated and warm, and we quickly found the kids area.  Merida(?) was on stage singing and teaching the kids a jig.  Billy went on a food run to the BBQ stand.

Afterwards, they posed for pictures.

Once we'd finished our Viking food, we went over to the battle area.  Everyone wanted to take a turn, so even Daddy got into the ring!

Daddy lost.

Everyone was warmed up, so we watched the sled race, on a non-snowy hill.  It was pretty funny, and I'm pretty sure there was cheating going on.  We did a little bit of shopping in the other tent, then headed back to the kids area for face painting!

 

We went back out one last time for a few more sword battles, at least for William and Alice.  Emily, Grace, Juliet and I caught glimpses of the Belly Dancing Competition.  Grace and Juliet showed off their own moves:

The longer we stayed, the longer the lines became, so when Alice and William had their fill, we headed out.  We all smelled like a campfire when we loaded back into the car.

We found our traditional Christmas ornament, some sweet smelling candles, but our most surprising purchase was girl scout cookies. = )  I'd brought a backpack, now that we are stroller free, and it was  useful!  Next year, though, I need to pack some extra napkins.

It was quite fun, if a bit chilly.  We lucked out, because the next morning, it was so windy here that power lines were being blown down.  It would have been a miserable day to be outside.

We are already looking forward to going back to a bigger, better festival next year!

later days