More Snow

So last week, we got some more snow. You might have heard about it. There was snow, there was ice, there was more snow - which added up to a lot of white stuff. There was a little bit of trouble with traffic when the snow hit. Luckily, we all did just fine, without any power outages or travel problems. Jason left the office about 15 minutes before all the problems began and made it home just fine. Hayden was delivered off the bus as the snow started to swirl so we were able to hunker down as a family and just enjoy it. There was more sledding, some shoveling, and a couple of snowmen. Plus we even managed to celebrate Valentine's Day! We've gotten some good use out of that snow suit and H and E are pros at layering up now.

Molly, as the snow fell Wednesday afternoon. She was not a fan.

Eliza, amidst the blizzard Wed afternoon.

Powdery soft snow meant we got the snow tube out to sled!

can you see what I stamped out in the snow?

our snow tube is big enough for two!

Molly still didn't like the snow, especially as it turned to a wintry mix while we were out sledding.

hiking back up the toboggan run

Thursday morning, all that powdery snow was covered in a layer of ice. pretty, but now the snow was crunchy.

Molly helped to dig us out.

posing on our very own snow bank by our crossroads! I didn't know these were possible in NC!

After the ice came more snow, and then more playtime. We built a friend!

Actually we built two friends! And Molly danced behind them.

Eliza helped Jason shovel around the cars. So industrious!

On our Thursday afternoon explore, we discovered you could sled down the snow bank! A short but sweet ride! 

 

Friday morning was Valentine's! No school or parties for the kids, but we did do pink, heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.

Then homemade bagels for lunch!

Plus we admired the beautiful banner I created. (but wasn't able to take a very good picture of!)

 How did you spend your snow days? I wonder if we'll have any more this winter! I wanted some snow but I think I've gotten my fix for now. Today the weather is sunny and in the 60s - Eliza told me the 6 weeks are done. (referring to the ground hog's prediction). I didn't have the heart to correct her but hopefully she's right!

Giggles and Guffaws

If you are feeling blue or down in the dumps, I hope this will make you smile.  If only they made sit-n-spins in adult sizes!

PS let me know if you can't see the video. I had a horrible time trying to get it uploaded and finally went with a link to youtube. Hopefully it works!

Snow Day!

At long last, we finally got some snow last week. We'd had some cold days, cold enough for a 2 hour delay, but no snow. But last week, with the looming threat of a snowtastrophe for the South (did ya hear about Atlanta?!), we finally got a whopping 2 inches. Those 2 inches were tough though - they closed school for 2 1/2 days! (not to mention getting the kids out early when it was supposed to start snowing at noon, but didn't start till 7 pm!).

Whether it was truly a giant snow event or not, the kids were THRILLED. And there is something fun about a snow day, no matter how old you are! We went sledding in the street, met some neighbors, made snow angels, and then had hot chocolate. Molly was the perfect size for the last of our real snow gear from our time in Pennsylvania, and the older girls bundled up as best they could. We had a blast!

Hayden's snow wish was to make a snowball - we barely succeeded, the snow was very finely flaked.

Eliza's snow wish was to do a snow angel - there was just enough to make an impression!

Once outside, Molly was adamant we clean the cars off.

"I got SNOW in my snow suit! AHHHHHHH!"

This was the first morning. We tested out the sledding potential with Daddy-power.

Say "Snow Day!"

After coming inside for hot chocolate (we didn't last all that long), we all did yoga to help with the extra energy.

The next day we found icicles!

Icicles are awesome!

sledding with icicles may be dangerous but we live on the wild side!

more daddy-powered sledding!

In the afternoon on the 2nd day, we tried a new sledding spot. It went right to the road and Jason had to catch them before they went off the curb.

Cute snow bunny who is ready to go back inside.

Eliza needed some convincing to sled, but she finally came around. (Notice how much snow is left, we made the most of it!)

Even Jason got a chance to sled/snow board!

Activities

The kids keep us busy in general, but even more so now that we try to get them involved in activities.  While we have tried not to over-schedule them, both to ease our wallets and our schedules, we still seem to have lots going on. Dance, soccer, music, and art have all been a part of our weekly schedule in various forms.

We tried soccer for the first time last fall for Hayden and Eliza. We were able to enroll both of them in a Friday-only program for 3-5 yr olds that was a basic intro to soccer. You just practiced and did some scrimmages with your own team, and only on Friday evenings. We were excited to finally have the girls play soccer since it is a favorite sport of our family. One of them liked it a lot, one of them did not. I'll let you guess which was which after you see the pictures...

Hayden chases down the ball

Eliza opts out of chasing the ball down. Check out her outfit...

Water is VERY important for good soccer.

She drinks like a pro

official pic - note the emotion on her face

official pic - note the emotion on HER face

entertaining Molly during practice was a sport unto itself

best part of practice - when it was over and sisters could play!

Molly works on her skills

 Can you tell?! Hayden LOVED it, Eliza was not a fan. It may have partly been the coaches - they were on different teams and Eliza's team was huge and did a lot of standing around waiting for turns - but I think it is partly just personality and age. Hayden loved getting to run around like crazy, bumping into people and being rambunctious. Eliza didn't want to wear anything resembling soccer attire or run around with these crazy people. I think both of them could be love it in the future - Who knows which one will be a soccer star? 

so proud of their medals!

More recently, Eliza got to take gymnastics on Saturday mornings. She was much happier going to gymnastics than going to soccer! She liked running around to warm up, learning to do different movements and skills with her body. Today was their mid-season showcase so the parents were invited in for the whole class and the kids showed off their tricks.

on the bar

such concentration on the beam

Finally, Hayden has been taking ballet on Wednesday afternoons with our carpool buddy. She seems to really enjoy it and last week we got to watch them put on a little show. Hayden was one of a brother and sister pair who played in the woods, then fell asleep and got woken up by dancing fairies. It was fun to watch her perform!

watching the rehearsals from the doorway before we were invited in

taking a big bow at the end

And of course, we also keep busy with our own activities. Like visiting playgrounds while we play with our new camera lens...

just hanging around

catching the wind

playing on the bumpy wall

who's up there?!

who's down below?

 Sometimes we even let Jason in on the fun - like when we dress up as puffy vest buddies! 

That's all for now. I'm sure it's time to go pack up some snacks and water bottles for our next adventures!