SNOW DAY!!!!!!

Can you tell that we are basically taking December off from school?  I have loads of time on my hands as the kids hide from me thinking I'm forgetting to give them lessons...

 Back in college, my friend, Eve, and I would check the weather forecast regularly to see if snow was on the way.  Just to feel better, we could rely on Barrow, Alaska, to provide a wintry forecast.  In Florida, I gave up on checking for snow (and really I didn't check the weather much at all...it was always some degree of hot).  But, with our move a few lines of latitude north, I knew snow was a little more of a possibility.  A slim one, but a possibility all the same.  Which I told the kid.  And Will has latched on to this.  Basically asking if it was going to snow ever since July 25th.

 Well, a little over a week ago, I noticed the temperature was going to drop on a day where we also had a high chance of precipitation. I continued to eye that day (Friday, December 8th) to see if snow started to be a possibility.  And by Thursday, we had a chance for snow from 9 AM to 10 AM...I'll take it!

 I mentioned this to Eric on Thursday night as I put on my "HOPE" long sleeve t-shirt with a snowflake for the 'O', and he said: That's nice, Honey, and drifted off to sleep.

 The next morning, as my snow cap clad children shuffled into the kitchen, I alerted them to the possibility.  We all looked out at the drizzling rain and calculated how much time we had to 9 AM.  Coinicidentally, our computerized Advent calendar had a snowman to decorate as its activity. 

 I called my parents and thanked them for the timely technological ability to practice and watched the precipitation continue to fall out the window.  Eventually, it started to ice.  Will put on his winter gear, such as it is, and headed outside.  Not wanting to miss a second of the snow that might or might not show up.

 John went out for a brief time, was quickly unimpressed, and came back in to snuggle under blankets.  This is about the coldest he has ever experienced in his 3 years and 8 months.  Though, being the youngest, he has the most access to wintry clothes.

 As the minutes ticked by, I gave up hope that snow might fall.  The ice/sleet continued and the older kids made due with this concoction to have a southern version of a snow ball fight.

Will was particularly excited about the prospect of snow.  Or maybe just pelting people with it. 

 As it was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we headed to base for Mass and the store and lunch.  At this point, I really didn't think we would get snow.  Though, as we entered the restaurant, the sleet would switch to snow from time to time.

 By the time we reached home, it was full on snowing.  And I couldn't manage to get a good selfie.

 But, Eric did!

 The kids spent hours outside.  Will came in that night when it finally got too dark to see and his feet were soaked.  But, he had a huge smile on his face.

 This snowman was made with a lot of love and perhaps a few too many architects.  Sadly, he didn't make it the night.

 It was awesome to look out and see the snow falling from the street lamps.  That has long been a favorite scene for me.  I thought about taking a nighttime stroll through the snow...but, elected to stay on the comfy couch, under a comfy blanket, with a delicious mug of hot chocolate.  This is what Winter is all about, Charlie Brown!

 The next morning, I woke up at 6, and quickly snapped some pictures of our winter wonderland.

 Trust me, I would have declared a snow day even if only a couple of flakes fell.

 But, this was so much more than I could have hoped for.  Our neighbors who are lifetime Alabamans commented that they could not remember ever seeing Christmas decorations under snow.  This is the most it had snowed in nearly 20 years.

 It lasted a little more than 24 hours, and we made the most of it.  We blew up a tube we used in July at the beach, and they got several runs down the backyard.

 Will made another snowman...who also didn't last through the night, but he was better prepared for that possibility.

 And John discovered what all the fuss was about.

 Will did some calculations and we realized we have not lived in a state that got snow since Will was John's age.

It was a beautiful couple of days, but we were ready for it to melt.  And now we are facing 70 degree temps 5 days before Christmas.  But, we have some wonderful memories.  Thanks, Alabama!  You really came through!

Veterans Day Campout

 While looking for pictures for my sister, I realized I had somehow completely missed several from our first family camping trip in November when I posted earlier.  This must be included in our familial history!

 Back in July, while playing a game of Spades with our neighbors (in which the wives totally dominated...natch), we all agreed that campfires are the best.  But, it was way too hot and muggy to enjoy one in July.  And it was definitely too hot, muggy, and mosquito-y to campout in July.  November seemed to be a better time of the year to do it.

 Especially in Florida, it would be perfect.  My neighbor went home and reserved a spot for us at the nearby state park: Rocky Bayou State Park.

 She reserved our spot for two nights, which seemed a little ambitious for two rookie families, but also pretty exciting!  Plus, we had a set date to go back and see our good friends, which always makes saying goodbye easier.

 The day before we were to head down, she called to let me know that it was going to be rainy and cold on the first night.  We both agreed that camping out did not sound idyllic under those conditions and postponed our camp one night.

 It would still be cold by our standards (50 degrees overnight), but not wet.  We headed down and had a beautiful day at our campsite.

 We were across from a park and quite near the water. 

 

We went on a hike and made pinecone people.  Will and I really nailed our renditions.  I really impressed Will, and he upped his game quite a bit to be a worthy opponent.  Because everything is a competition.  Friendly, naturally, but a competition none the less.

 

After the hike, it was time to live out the dream of sitting around a campfire.  Luckily, some neighbor campers added to our woodpile and we had hours of flames.

 

It was a really wonderful overnight, not too cold...though cold enough to appreciate well insulated sleeping bags, long underwear, and stocking caps.  And Hannah and I realized (again) how lucky our husbands are to have such beautiful low maintenance wives.  Camping really suits my daily regimen of...nothing.  Ok, I brush my teeth twice a day.  Easily done at the campsite.

 

We completed our breakfast of burritos with roasted marshmallows, packed up our gear, and the kids got to play for a few more hours before it was time to load up and head home roughly 24 hours after our arrival.  Which was just the right amount of time for our inaugural camping trip.

We feel we are now ready to take on a two nighter.  As long as there are readily accessible nice facilities.  I told some friends that we also use queen mattresses (we aren't cavemen!), but, and Eric is very proud of this, we did not use fire juice to get the fire going.  Just good old fashion tinder that our new boy scouts were thrilled to provide.

Ok...so seriously, next up: Snow Day...or maybe something else.  I never know what I'll find when perusing the random pictures I take.

September in Review

 In September, our schedule took shape and we all felt a little less like untethered balloons in our new home.  We did have one last weekend of vacation over Labor Day weekend.  We started it out with a trip to Lanark which is a nature preserve about 10 minutes from our house.  We toured the exhibits and walked a few trails.  As the boys were re-reading The Hobbit around this time, or maybe they weren't, but giant spiders were on my mind, the millions of spider webs we found along the trail elicited many screams and scurries...much to Eric's chagrin.  But, perhaps he shouldn't take sticks and deliberately disturb the webs??? The man took all of our lives in his hands.  We were barely on speaking terms as we left the preserve, but maybe that was because my throat was sore from screaming....

 The week after Labor Day, we fell into schedule which meant we actually had to leave the house multiple times a week.  It is crazy that some people do that EVERY DAY!! 

 We have been thrilled with everything the kids have produced from their art classes. Along with art, we have piano, Boy Scouts, American Heritage Girls, PE, Chess, and various sports related events.  I know, not much compared to others.  And a few are done during the school day hours, so our evenings are pretty free of activities.  Except Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

 As we are out of the house all morning when the kids have art, the afternoons are spent reading until the neighbor kids get home from school.  Molly would like me to talk about this above picture.  I know I had requested Molly to do something in her room...probably tidy it although it looks relatively clean in this snap.  I heard voices and came in to find her and John listening to the reading CD that went along with this book.  Not a great story, but there it is.  I do love catching them reading.  Which you can probably tell from the multitude of pictures I take of that nature.

 One evening there was a free Broadway concert given in a park.  It just so happened, this concert coincided with a drop in temperatures.  We weren't quite prepared for the chillier weather, but we had a nice time all the same.  Especially when the opening measures of The Phantom of the Opera medley started and Will turns to me with a smile and goes: I can tell this is going to be gooooood!
(side note: the orchestral version of Hamilton is just not very good.  Not a surprise, really, but still a bit disappointing)

 Will drew this from a tutorial our art school provided for free. 

 With the children in scouting, patches are unavoidable.  For a brief few days, we thought we would sew them ourselves.  Eric broke out the sewing machine even.  The excitement was a bit short lived when we realized we had no idea what we were doing.  I broke out the needle and thread and spent an hour attempting to sew on a patch straight.  After two failed attempts, we decided to take it to the professionals.  Everyone is much happier.  That said, I should probably try to sew on Molly's joining patch.  Seems a bit silly to take in her vest for just one patch...what's an hour anyway?

 Dom is learning some culinary skills.  Namely, making macaroni and cheese.  As this is the regular lunch on Thursdays...it has come in pretty handy to have him at least get it started.  I should probably get him to wash the dishes after, too.  I really don't like cleaning out the pot after macaroni and cheese...

 Molly is keen to learn how to do her hair as well as her dolls.  I need to look up some youtube videos, though my braid did impress her for a period of time.  I'll take it!

 There was a period of several days where the kids ran sprints.  For fun.  I recorded most of them and it was neat to watch their form improve.  I really wish I had their energy and enthusiasm for running, too.

 A special treat for these two is taking a bubble bath in the jacuzzi tub.  Heck, it is a special treat for me, also.

 A scene from our park. 

 The boys worked on shading in the month of September.

 They really didn't enjoy it, and Dom asked to stop taking art.  However, now that they have moved to paint they are enjoying it a lot more and everyone is taking it next semester.  I was impressed with their shading. 

 Sometimes we take school outside.  Especially when John needs to be outside.

 Molly still would like to host a tea party every week.  It's funny, because it really doesn't take a lot of work.  We threw one together quite quickly after Mass one day just a few weeks ago which everyone enjoyed.  Granted, Molly is now informing me it wasn't quite what she expected.  She expects the Pioneer Woman's version...that's not happening anytime soon! 

 John with my camera...again.

 These pictures are a bit out of order, over Labor Day, we went back to Florida to attend a friend's wedding.  We farmed our kids out to three families who at least said they were thrilled to host them for the night.  And we had a lovely time at a beach wedding.  With other KU grads no less.  Though, they are slightly younger than us.  Something Eric probably should have thought of before attempting to strike up a conversation with them.  Ah well, we still borrowed their flag for a quick picture.

 I borrowed Dom's sweatshirt for that concert in the park.  Until he needed it.  Then, I probably borrowed John's body heat. 

 John wearing an old shirt of Eric's.  Handsome devil! 

And finally, mid-September, Eric and I attended the Air Force Ball.  We had a great time even if our table was situated in such a way that we couldn't see or understand the main speakers.  And we cleaned up pretty good, too!

Phew! I think that is all of our Fall.  Now, I need to get Eric to upload his pictures we I can share our SNOW DAY!!!!!