A Taste of Spring

 

We are anxiously awaiting spring, yet the kids are still excited to play out in the snow every day. We have been making the most of the ice rink and sledding as much as we can.

They were hoping so much for spring, it inspired a Friday night beach-themed dance party.

But then when the weather did suddenly warm up (to 45), and the kids were so excited that after biking in the morning, they insisted in playing out in summer clothes!

Warm weather and rain meant lots of puddles. The boys couldn't help themselves and got soaked in the filthy water. A much needed bath followed.

Happy Valentine's Day

 

We held a combination 100 Days of School/Valentine's/Going Away party Thursday for our neighbors down the street who have four girls and also homeschool. They are moving to Florida, which we are all extremely sad about, so they have been spending as much time as possible together. I executed my first "escape room," which was a huge success. We made Valentine's cookies, did a few hundred activities and made best friends charms to remember each other by.

This weekend, the challenge was keeping the girls busy enough that they didn't have time to be sad about missing their best friends. We made a giant fort and (almost) slept in it, had a Harry and the Henderson's movie night, went sledding with friends, opened Valentine's presents and had TWO kinds of fondue for dinner on Valentine's Day.

Glasses for This Girl

A couple weeks ago MiniME started complaining about her eyes. First it was blurriness, then brightness. Then we discerned it was really one eye that was having a problem. We went to the optometrist and found that she needed glasses- who knew?

They arrived earlier this week. Aside from making her look even older (stop growing up so fast!), they are definitely making a huge difference. We're lucky that she wanted glasses all along, so she isn't shy to wear them when she needs them.

Lots of Time Outside

When there isn't much else to do, even when it's much too cold, we play outside. This weekend we were lucky enough that a few friends came by to play outside.

Fun Outside and Inside

 

Snow forts and tunnels, rockets to the moon in the basement, and evening movie cuddles.

Skating All The Time

This winter, since we knew we wouldn't be going anywhere fun or doing much of anything, we knew we needed something to engage the kids at home. Backyard ice rink! While it seemed like a crazy idea at first, and after we failed at flooding the first time and we got all that snow and the water under the ice came up and soaked the snow making it almost impossible to shovel, and after it seemed like it would freeze and unfreeze every other day, the weather has finally kept it frozen and smooth. The kids use it almost every day. The boys are getting steadier and the girls are working on fancy skating and tricks.

They've even been doing a fantastic job helping to clear it when it snows. Today it was snowing so hard, they had to shovel while skating just to be able to keep going!

Happy 2nd Birthday MrT!

We didn't have much to look forward to as we battled the "post-holiday-blues," but our little guy turning two is a pretty momentous milestone! We celebrated with Gram and Grumpy. It wasn't a big celebration, but there were certainly plenty of presents and cake and singing. I think he is one happy two-year-old!

MrT, you are smart, funny, cuddly and the source of much of our entertainment while we stay at home. Watching you and SlimJim play and wreak havoc together is exhausting, but the highlight of our days. Your toddler antics and growing vocabulary are so much fun. We can't wait to watch you grow. Just hold off on the terrible twos, okay?