Matt's Snow Elf

Admiring his work

Resemblance?

Our "bloody mouth" snowman. Apparently Jolly

Ranchers were NOT a good choice for the mouth. :)

Snow makes me feel like a kid again

Yesterday we got a beautiful snow. Big, fat flakes that made for a very wet snow. This is the best snow. It reminds me of NY snow, something that we don't often get here in KS. The kind of snow that makes me want to get out and play in it. And believe me, I really wanted to yesterday. I had 1 cranky baby napping inside and 1 who said he wasn't tired, so the most I got to do was shovel. Twice. But you know what? I couldn't even complain about that because at least it meant I got to be outside in the beautiful snow and not listening to fussing or crying for at least 30 minutes. :) These first few pictures are the ones I took yesterday. It wasn't even that cold out; I think maybe low-mid 30s. (Boy, how things have changed when 30s feels warm!!) We didn't get much more than what these pictures show, probably only 6" or so, but I loved it. It made me feel like a kid again, I wanted so badly to get out and play in it.


Standing on our front porch, looking
down over the driveway

Straight out our front yard

Looking up from underneath the tree

The view down the road

Our lilac bush

Taken from our dining room window (I opened the

window to get as close to the bush as I could)

Looking out the window into our neighbor's backyard

(& part of ours too)

Our chain-link fence. I thought it looked pretty cool.

Our backyard

The railing on the back porch (before I let Gideon

out to play in it and he knocked all the snow off)


This morning we decided to "bundle" the kids up (and by bundle I just mean adding layers so they wouldn't get too wet, not because it was cold) and take them out to play. Apparently my & Matt's love for playing in the snow has not been passed on to our children. At least not yet. Maybe it was because they are still recovering from their nasty colds and weren't feeling 100% normal yet. Maybe it was because they were both wearing 3 pairs of pants each (I can't bring myself to buy snowpants for them since 1) we rarely get enough snow each year to justify it and 2) they will outgrow them so quickly, I figure it's easier just to layer them up). Or maybe it was because I was breaking a sweat just trying to get them dressed, boots on, and mittens with thumbs on their hands properly. Whatever the reason, they did NOT enjoy themselves. Matt & I had a blast! In fact, he's still out there making another snow creation (I hesitate to call it a "snowman" because he seems to think that being creative with snow is way better than doing a "normal" snowman.) He was giving me a hard time because I kept vetoing his suggestions for the snowman we did make. He said I was a "snowman nazi"? Hmm, I don't know about that...but I realized that we don't have the "accessories" needed to make a really good snowman, so we had to improvise a little...(which you'll see in the pictures). Wish I was still out there, but someone had to come in with the cranky kids. Maybe I'll go back out during nap time. :)

Getting for a ride in the sled around the yard

Ignore the "faucet" nose...it's been doing

this for days

They both look thrilled, don't you think?

She was actually crying "Dada" this point

because he had gone into the garage and she

couldn't see him.

The only enjoyment Tyler seemed to have:

we made a pile of snow and Tyler stuck sticks in

it and then tackled it. (He gets that from his father too!

Matt loves to "build" snowmen and then just tackle them).

Not having fun. At all.

Tackled!

Yes. I know. Strange looking snowman.

And no, his mouth is not bleeding. Those

are Jolly Ranchers. (I told you we had to improvise!)

Tyler was actually crying in this picture

because the snowman's "arm" poked his hat

(but didn't even hurt him) and he was all bent

out of shape about that.

She was ready to go in. It's sad that this little snowman

took so much of our snow...we had to try and pull out the leaves

that ended up making brown spots on him when we were rolling it.

Our week in pictures

Watching Signing Time

Bria was dancing to the little song "Leah's Farm"

My baby girl has a bad cold and yesterday she was

running a temp. of 102.5...poor baby fell asleep on the couch

without any prompting from me.

Look at those cheeks. :)

This was naptime yesterday afternoon...Bria woke

up 45 minutes after falling asleep and seemed to be

pretty congested, so I laid her down on my pillow and

she fell back to sleep pretty easily.

Some fun bed head after her Sunday afternoon nap...

Just wanted you to enjoy the full effect. :)

These pictures don't even do it justice.

She's probably not going to like this picture

when she's 16. :)

Tyler's Birthday Party

On Saturday we had Tyler's Birthday Party. He had given me quite a list of people he wanted to invite, but due to some sicknesses in 2 of the families, the party turned out to be a rather small affair. After he got over the fact that he was the center of attention for the morning (what can I say, I've passed something else on to my son, other than red hair), he had a good time. And we still have leftover birthday cake in the freezer, but he has agreed to take it to church next Sunday night in order for his little friends that didn't get to come to his party to enjoy some.

On another birthday note, Matt's birthday was yesterday. He was adamently opposed to me getting him anything, so I made him breakfast & lunch: Chocolate Raspberry Coffee & Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast and London Broil, mashed potatoes with gravy, asparagus & rolls for lunch and Soapapilla (sp?) Cheesecake for dessert. I need to work on my main dish skills, as the London Broil left a lot to be desired, but he enjoyed the asparagus (yes, we really like asparagus!) and the cheesecake. Apparently the cheescake is tied for one of his favorite desserts, along with Apple & Pumpkin Pies, so if you know Matt at all, you know he was pretty happy about it. :)


By far the easiest birthday cake I've attempted. :)

A friend from church gave us some *free* Cars

decorations, so it really made the dining room look

more "party-like"

Tyler & Philomena

We were singing "Happy Birthday" and this is how

he stayed until we were completely done singing. What

can I say, we've got a super shy little boy! :)

Getting ready to blow out his candles