A Taste of Winter...

When it seems that our winters now consist of very little snow, let alone any big storms, we have taken to enjoying the little bit of snow when it does come, especially since we never know when some, or all of us, will be too sick to be able to enjoy the snow. So today the schools dismissed early. The storm was only going to be 1-3 inches but it was all supposed to fall between noon and 4pm, so before Gavin got on the bus this morning I had already received the message from the school about the early dismissal. I let Gavin know so he wouldn't be as disappointed when he got to school to find out he was only there for the morning. I was excited to have the afternoon for the kids to play outside. It was fun to have lunch with Gavin and Dane napped early so he was up not long after Gavin got home. It worked out well and we spent a huge part of our afternoon outside. The kids explored the woods, used Gavin's sled, made snow angels, and had a blast just rolling around in the snow.

We went in to warm up some, play, and start dinner but the kids came back out with me when it looked like the snow was nearly finished to quickly push the light fluffy snow off the driveway. They had fun helping and playing a bit more before we headed in for dinner. Although in most ways I wish it was warming up because I prefer the warmer weather, it is a special fun afternoon (or day) with the kids when we get to enjoy some snow!

Germs, Germs Go Away!

Kindergarten germs are no joke. Gavin, thankfully, hasn't had to miss too much school but the poor kid has had a stuffy nose on and off (mostly on) since school started. I know it is par for the course but we are at the end of January with nearly 5 more months left in the school year. Rough. Last month the poor kid had Coxsackie and then I had the displeasure of also having it. You would think he would get a break after that, nope, as soon as he returned after being out for a week he had a new cold that was then passed to us all. Yay. Now in the last week and a half we have all had the flu. Awesome. I guess I am grateful the kids recover so quickly and only seem to be down for a day or two but man it has been rough on all of us. I have discovered I am not a fan of getting older and am choosing to blame that in part for the icky germs getting me. Add in lack of good sleep, not enough exercise, not enough fresh air, and the roller coaster weather, it has been rough. We are ready for a break, ready for spring, and ready to enjoy life again!

Anyway, despite this (and the resulting far too much TV time), we are trying to make the most of the almost healthy times. Gavin and I blew up his sled yesterday and used it on our hills of ice out back, it was a blast!

Gavin and Dane have had lots of sweet moments trying to take care of each other and the poor sickly adults in the house.

Dane and I have had lots of snuggle time when Gavin has been in school.

So here is to hoping for a turn around and long break from all the germs for us.... It's time, right?!?!

Another Warm One!

The car was in desperate need of being washed and since today was supposed to be warm (for January) and the car goes in for inspection tomorrow (and we don't want a filthy car going in to be scratched up as they do the inspection), I had to wash the car. Scott took care of power washing to rinse the worst layer of dirt off as well at the wheel, wheel wells, and underneath before he went to work. The rest was up to me. Dane was off happily playing with trucks, riding his bike, and driving the power wheels. I filled the wash and rinse buckets up with hot water so I didn't freeze my hands off and started working. It wasn't actually too bad, far easier than the last time I washed it by myself with two very unhelpful children trying to help. It now looks all nice and shiny. Hopefully it will stay that way for a while because I have no intentions of washing it again, that will be Scott's job next time.

Dane and I then had lunch and played before his nap. I ran around during nap time cleaning, making cookies, airing out the house, and finishing the interior of the car. Then Dane and I played until Gavin came home. It was nice to be outside and have it not be freezing. It may still be January but the weather has been all over the place. Freezing cold a few days, then warming up, back to freezing... A roller coaster! It feels like it should be March when it warms up! Dane and I much prefer the warmer days to spend more time outside!

Teamwork...

The boys playing daddy's new racing game together. It was super cute and hilarious. Boys.

Fun Day Off!

Gavin had the day off from school so we decided to go do something fun. The boys received movies passes from some friends for their birthday so we used those to go see Sing. It was really cute. The boys loved it. It was a fun afternoon out!

We went outside to play at home for a bit since it had finally warmed up a little. They had fun playing, digging, exploring, and I enjoyed staying warm by the fire!

Playing!

Gavin had a half day and the sun was out, even though it was much colder than yesterday, 40 degrees in the sun felt quite nice compared to the cold cloudy days we had before yesterday! The kids rode their bikes and drove their power wheels truck around. It was nice since most days we don't get as much time outside as before Gavin started school. Despite it being a little chilly Gavin was glad to be able to ride his bike around and Dane was thrilled to have Gavin to play with outsdide. Gavin was disappointed to find that he is no longer able to fit on the seat of the power wheels but he still enjoyed driving it for a bit. It was a lot of fun but also great when we came in to warm up because the wind picked up and that was getting brutal.

Just a Nice Spring Day... In January!

The weather has been crazy the last few months. Warmer than average with some very below average days as well.  After a very cold weekend, it warmed up this week. Wednesday felt warmer given it had been below freezing for the last week or so and then today felt super warm, even though it was raining. It reached 55 degrees! Quite unusual for January. Dane and I went out in the afternoon for a bit while we waited for Gavin's bus and despite a few passing sprinkles, it was really nice. It felt more like March or April than January. It would be rather disappointing to not have more snow but the warmer days feel great and make it easier to not feel like shut ins because of cold and bad weather. Dane was thrilled to not be required to wear his coat, hat, and gloves!

Weekend Away!

We decided to spend the weekend at our friends house. It is a great place away from civilization and lots of fun space to explore. They love riding motorcycles and swimming in the summer but it is also fun to go explore, hike, and sled (when there is snow) during the winter months. Even though we haven't had any snow this week there was still some on the ground so we decided to not wait until more snow finally shows up.

We ended up driving through snow to get here because a storm that was supposedly passing south and east of us, was farther west than they thought. It was especially interesting since we had to make some stops on the way. Gavin had left his boots and good gloves at school (they have to be suited up to go out for recess - he has an extra pair of snow pants to leave there but sometimes he leaves his boots and gloves so he doesn't have to haul his bag home every day) so we had to try to find him a spare pair of each that he would then be able to leave at school. Surprisingly hard despite winter just having begun. I ran in to two stores on our way and managed to find something adequate and not ridiculously priced. Then we tried to locate new tube sleds since we only had the toddler sled from when Gavin was a baby. We lucked out there too and found two cool ones! 

We unloaded and ate quickly and then suited up and headed out. We found a place right next to the house that has enough of an incline that works as long as Scott catches them to prevent them from sliding down a huge drop off down to the creek. The tubes worked really well on the old snow because it was still relatively smooth but slick on top from melting and refreezing. 

We walked down to the creek to explore a bit. It would be great if it was this high during the summer months, it would feel great when it is hot out! The kids had a great time breaking what little ice they found and poking around with sticks.

We came in to warm up and play inside for a bit. The kids had a blast running around because there is so much space. After dinner, they went back out with Scott to sled in the dark since Gavin wanted to try out the lights on his tube. They had so much fun. It was even snowing a little.

Today, we waited for it to warm up slightly, since it went down to 8 degrees last night. After showers we bundled up and headed out for a while. I pulled Dane around out front on the toddler sled and then we headed over to the pond. It was frozen solid. I called Scott to bring Gavin to come check it out and he freaked out that we were on the ice. Apparently he didn't agree with my assessment of the state of the pond. It was fine and lots of fun though.

 

We will probably go out for a short time later but we came in for lunch and to watch the Steelers game. We have to head home after dinner because Gavin has school tomorrow but it is nice to come and play here for a couple days. We are hoping for more snow to fall so we can try more sledding places out around the property! A fun weekend away from home!

New Year, New Goals

Well, after being neglectful with posting pictures and stories for most of the last 4 years, I hope to at least improve going forward. I rarely bother to truly make resolutions going into the new year but this year I had a few things I wanted to focus on, one of which is being much better at documenting our journey (taking pictures, telling stories), ensuring proper backup of all photos and video (lesson learned after the sad fate of my Note), and enjoying life in the moment more (rather than whatever crazy expectations I had). I also have a few other things I need to work on like being more patient, more creativity with the food in our lives, and ensuring we are all eating healthy balanced foods and getting enough activity/exercise. Always important areas to improve!

So, a quick post to get the new year going, after a crazy holiday season with gross germs (darn kindergarten germs) and traveling. We still managed to have lots of fun and enjoyed seeing some family.  The kids had a blasting having time to play together (they come up with such crazy and imaginative games when they play), play board games as a family, play with some cousins, hang out with Pappy, and enjoy some snow. A few pictures of our adventures included with more to come and more frequently,  I hope!