More January Sledding

The schools were delayed an hour on Wednesday, so Spencie and I stayed home while the big boys were at preschool.  We made Rice Krispie treats as a surprise for them and Spencie loved stirring the pot of marshmallows (with his left hand of course...he is definitely a lefty!) and eating one too!  I was trying to use up some extra bags of red, white and blue star-shaped marshmallows that we had from the summer and so the treats came out with a purplish tint to them, which the boys thought was cool.  While I ran back out to pick Owen and Oliver up, Spencie and Daddy played guitar together, however in looking at the pictures, Daddy was not as mindful of our little southpaw in positioning the guitar!  After lunch we decided to do a few quick sled runs before naps, and Oliver later declared that it was the most fun day ever, mainly because of the treats...his "favorite".  Oh and we can't forget the hot chocolate, that was his favorite too!

Two Goofs and a Gaggle

Daddy picked the twins up from preschool on Monday and stopped by the elementary school on the way home to visit the big, abandoned dome that used to be part of an old missile program before the school existed.  As the twins were running down the path, they startled a bunch of geese that were peacefully sitting in the grass a few feet away.  I thought it was a cool video because you can see and hear all the geese take off at once, then the twins look over questioningly at Daddy.  If I were a bird and saw those two running toward me, I'd be sure to take flight too!

Swinging in the Snow

We had a rough patch with illnesses earlier in the week, but by Friday everyone was eager to get outside and play.  The boys wanted to spend time shoveling what was left of the snow and then ride their toys through the white piles they made on the driveway.  They had the most fun swinging that day - dragging their feet through the mud and then cleaning them off in the snow!

Snow Tubing

Last Friday we took the boys snow tubing at White Tail.  The cold temperatures made the conditions icier compared to last year, and the tubes felt like they were flying a lot faster down the mountain!  Owen and Spencer went a few times, but wanted to take a snack break inside by the fire once they had enough of the cold.  Oliver was the winter warrior - not stopping for food or drink until his 2 hr lift ticket ran out of time!  By the end, he was insisting on pulling his own tube onto the "elevator" while dancing to the music on the ride up!

starving for snacks afterward!

Fifteen Degree Fish

Thursday was the coldest day we've had yet this winter, and the first day we headed back to the pool to resume swim lessons.  At only fifteen degrees, hardly any of the snow on the ground has melted and is now mounds of rock-hard ice.  It took a really long time to bundle everyone up and tote about 5 different layers of clothing, toys, food, etc. to the pool, and even longer to blow dry hair and get dressed again afterward (now I remember why I wanted a short break from swim lessons in Nov and Dec!), but the boys did really great today with their instructor Ms. Tiffany.  She commented on how Spencer swims like a fish and is really advanced for his age.  They were all really excited to play with their new pool toys from Christmas after the lesson.  Even though it was well below freezing outside, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and with the bright sun shining through the glass wall to the outside it felt like summer.  It almost looks like a sunny day at the pool in some of these pictures!

snacking  on crackers after a shower

First Snow Day of 2015

Today felt like a true "snow day" for us, because unlike most snow days in this area that are announced the night before, we woke up to several inches of snow (and still falling hard) and Fairfax County schools were still open.  So we got the boys up, dressed and fed before 9:00am, and just as I was coming back inside from shoveling a path to the car I received a call from the boys' teachers that the preschool was not going to open.  Luckily we didn't get the boys bundled up and into the car yet!  We were all fed, dressed and with no where to go - so the snow day really felt like an unexpected reprieve.  Daddy made a fire and we settled in with some new Christmas toys for the next couple hours, waiting for the snow to stop falling so we could go out and play.  Owen was the most frustrated that we weren't immediately going out to shovel and sled!  By noon the snow had stopped and we were ready to go!  Everyone did so much better this year at climbing back up to the top of the sledding hill.  After his first run down, Oliver complained about some snow getting into his mouth and was about to start crying.  I quickly told him it was ok and that it was just water, but like a little snack (and not to eat it on purpose!).  But after that, he loved getting snow in his mouth and wanted to stop and "snack" each time the sled made it to the bottom!

Preparation for this took at least 30 minutes!

Chocolate Santa

The funniest thing that happened on Christmas morning this year was Oliver and his chocolate Santa.  The boys were all very excited of course to run downstairs and see if Santa came, and even posed for a picture or two on the stairs first!  But once they hit the family room, their different priorities were apparent.  Our resident sweet tooth was first to assess the leftover cookie situation, getting a hungry Spencer focused on nothing other than eating Christmas cookies for breakfast.  And then he saw them...three strange looking Santa figures, with felt hats and thick, intricately decorated foil wrapping.  Ryan brought these back from his latest trip to Denmark, and they were definitely not something the average person would immediately identify as chocolate.  But Oliver knew.  Within seconds he was tearing the wrapping off and biting into the head!  Spencer and Owen sat back and watched, and still a over a week later have not opened or made mention of wanting to eat theirs (Oliver's entire Santa was gone by the end of the week).  I think he could smell it.  Seriously, he always knows when I sneak a little piece of chocolate into my mouth and asks what I'm eating!  But it didn't take too long before he decided to give it a break and see what Santa brought for him.  The boys all received the items specifically requested: Owen, a Thomas train that can go in the bath tub; Oliver, a fire truck; and Spencer, a new Percy train.  All of these pictures are before we even made it to the tree for the rest of the gifts!

chocolate and a firetruck = happiness