-35 Below? Utah is sounding better everyday!

So, it has been COLD here in Minnesota. As the title shows, with the windchill it has been getting down to -35 below 0. Our poor car's battery officially bit the dust and we have had a couple friends cars' that have had the electrical totally go out due to the extreme temperatures. But, despite the weather, we're still getting very sentimental over the great times we have had while we've lived here. Our move is officially on for February 10th and we have a ton to do before then, so we'll probably be sporadic with our posting. Here is Rachel with her friend Kara at the play place in the mall. It's a cute area to get some energy out and it's even more fun with good friends! We ventured out for the last time to the Mall of America in search of some birthday presents. Rachel made a pretty good Lego car and here she is (probably illegally) sitting on the racing track after a run.
These huge plastic dinosaurs are terrifying!
Ian has continued to be a champ these past couple of weeks despite the fact that he's cutting his four front-top teeth. Here he is posing for dad after the drive back from the mall.
Rachel rarely takes naps anymore, but after all the fun here she is in the car. Because we dreaded waking her up, we ate lunch in the car and ran some errands so she could have an hour nap. Are we wimpy parents, or what?

Even though Rachel still drags us outside at least once every other day to "tromp" through the snow, we have had to pull out lots of "new" things to do inside. Balloons have been a major hit this week and it's kept Bridget on her toes to keep them away from Ian. And the styling pajamas are all Rachel's choice.
Rachel went to a really cute party this week where they painted faces. You can't really see in this picture, but she was a cat and kept it on the rest of the day. She's also loved these fun pinwheels and has kept them in a "vase" (cup) on the kitchen table since the party.
Ian is getting cuter and cuter by the day! He is so close to pulling himself up and he loves kneeling by things. Here he is at the stairs about to get up on his knees.
Rachel is getting so big that she can fit into more of the fun clothes that Nana saved from when Bridget was a little girl. Here she is in a kilt from Ireland.

This book has a little window in the front that originally housed one of her tutus. She has turned it into a "tv" where she watches her movies. She props this box up at the table and will stare at it for quite a while. If your parents are mean and won't let you watch it for real, this is a great alternative!
One day, this little homeless girl snuck into our kitchen and started licking the egg beaters. Okay, we'll claim her! Lately, little girl hair and clothing have been quite exciting when we're hanging out at home and the messy face just tops it off. While we were making these brownies the egg beaters blew a fuse (there was a bang sound and a spark - so maybe it was a fuse?). Anyways, this has become quite a story with Rachel and she will happily recount about the "fire" while we were making brownies. One rendition included a stick that we used to cross a river to see the fire. Cooking is always an adventure!
Little Ian has found some fun ways to add to the chaos at the Lee home. Here he is being very proud of himself because he's wriggled out of his pants.
And crawling under anything is very exciting! His favorite tunnel is under the piano bench.
Uncle Brady has one more week in the Missionary Training Center before he ships out to Oakland. And, while he's been in the MTC he's learned a lot more than Spanish. He's learned out to crochet! For our birthdays he sent us a package with these beanies. We are very impressed with his skills and they hold up remarkable well to our extreme cold. And, he didn't hid the fact that he has a favorite in our family...Rachel's was the only one with a tassel.