It Snowed!!!

So far here in Greenville, we have had three snow/ice storms this winter...each time falling while Rebekah and I are at the hospital! This time (finally) we had all snow and no ice - perfect for the boys to get outside and play! They had so much fun....I'll let the pictures tell the story. :)

Caleb wasn't sure what to do with the snow. Drew said at first he kept trying to step over the snow and then picking his feet up not sure he was supposed to be stepping on it. :)

The boys have never had a sled before, but some good friends of ours brought one over Friday afternoon. They had a blast pulling each other around in the snow. Well, mostly Zachary pulling, but they still had a great time.

Aaron had a fun time, but got tired of the cold faster than the others. When he got cold, he was done! But he did have lots of stories to tell me about the snow.

Zachary and Justin playing with the sled again.

Caleb looking at the snow...trying to figure it all out.

For some reason, Caleb was fascinated with the snow on his boots. He told me about it hours later when he was at the hospital to see us.

Making snow angels! It looked like so much fun! :)

Zachary, Justin and Aaron.....I think they were a little covered in snow by this point! :)

Caleb and Aaron sharing the sled!

Caleb is ready to slide!

Justin sliding!

Weekend Fun!

The weather this weekend was beautiful, and we took advantage of it! Caleb ventured outside for the first time as a walking baby (not just being held or in the stroller or crawling), and he did very well keeping his balance in the grass. He loved walking to the fence and looking through to the neighbor kids down the hill from us.

This was also the weekend that Justin decided the training wheels were coming off his bike! Once Drew took them off, that was it....Justin was gone, never to look back. He is loving having the training wheels gone just like his big brother! :)

Aaron was being his cute little self and posing for a picture. He is also doing well riding his bike (with training wheels). He is also very good about remembering to wear his helmet without me having to tell him. Most times, he's better at remembering than Zachary is!

Aaron, Caleb and I have all been struggling with allergies this weekend, so I stayed home with the two little boys today. They had enough of a runny nose (and Caleb has a low-grade temp) that I did not feel comfortable putting them in the church nurseries. Aaron did a lot of cuddling, and we read a lot of books.  We spent almost an hour looking at his favorite - Where's Waldo. (Remember this post?) Aaron has been studying that book and can find most things faster than I can! He usually can find Waldo, Wenda, the Wizard, Od-waw, Woof (which is just a tail, by the way, not the whole dog!), the camera, winnokwers (binoculars), the key, the bone and the stroll (scroll). He also likes to spot the Waldo watchers on each page. I enjoy looking at the book with him just to hear his comments and watch him study the pictures. It's fun to see it from a three-year-old perspective!

Zachary and Justin decided to get in on the posing, as well, and wanted to show off their new haircuts. Zac said short, so I cut it short, and then he told me it wasn't short enough! He said if Caleb could pull his hair still that I didn't cut it short enough. So, we went for Round 2 with the clippers and cut it as short as Mommy will go. It is kind of fun to rub his fuzzy head now. :)

We are headed for a busy week and a trip to see Papa and Nana by the end of the week. Drew told the kids today, and they are beyond excited!! I'm fully anticipating Aaron waking up in the morning ready to pack his suitcase! :)

Nancy

It's SNOW!!!!!

You know that it doesn't snow here much (if at all!) when the Sunday evening entertainment was lining up by the door and watching the snow fall....and fall....and fall!  In all, we got between 3 and 4 inches, which by the boys' standards, was enough for a blizzard!! :-)  They especially enjoyed the ride home from church in the snow.

We were all dressed up to go outside!  We had to get hats, scarves, gloves, mittens and the whole nine yards.  We so rarely get to use all of this stuff that the kids wanted it ALL!!

I just LOVE the little footprints in the snow........

Aaron had so much fun "shoveling" snow and pushing it around in his wheelbarrow. 

Justin's biggest thrill was throwing snowballs at us....very sneakily, I might add!!

Aaron was just so excited to be out in the snow.  I think this is really the first time he remembers snow, and definitely snow of any measurable significance.

Zachary's biggest dream was to have enough snow to make a snow angel.  It was really kind of crusty, so the angel didn't come out great, but he was thrilled to be able to do it!!

Daddy showed the boys how to make a snowman.  They have never had enough snow to make a snowman before, so they had a lot of fun.  Justin named ours "Mr. Snow Manny."  I know - how original! :-)  He was about two feet tall, he had black jelly bean eyes, a baby carrot nose, some icicle hair spikes and a blue scarf.  The kids considered him the coolest snowman ever!

And after fun was had by all, Mommy made a warm bubble bath in the big bathtub for us all to play in.  Caleb was napping through all of the outdoor activities, but he did join the boys for a bath.  Unfortunately, Drew didn't get a really good picture of all four boys in the tub, but this one of the older three was pretty cute!

Lest we leave Caleb out completely, I'll put in this picture I took last week.  The older boys were outside playing, but Caleb was just about to lay down for a nap, so I didn't take him out.  He stood at the window for ten minutes or more just watching his brothers play.  :)

Justin doesn't know yet, but school is cancelled again for tomorrow.  He will be thrilled, but it's back to the books for Zachary!  One snow day is enough for any homeschooler!!! :-)

Nancy

Bath Time Fun!

For the last year or so, the only person in our house taking baths has been Caleb.....until this week!  We had to ban baths in favor of showers when there was more floor (and walls!) getting wet than boys.  But, Justin was given a set of Thomas the Tank Engine bath toys for his birthday, and this is the result.....

Three silly monkeys having fun in the bath tub!

One very unhappy monkey in the bath tub with his brothers.  Contrary to what it may appear, this very unhappy face occured only when I pointed the camera in Caleb's direction.  Once the camera disappeared, so did the very unhappy face and out came the laughs, smiles and splashes.  It was very funny!  I wish I could have gotten some video of it.  :)

All in all, the kiddos had a great time in the tub and I was able to clean their bathroom!  :)

Just a little fun...

These are some pictures we took Tuesday afternoon after the kids got home from school.  We had a lot of fun playing on the swings.

By the way, it seems that Caleb is coming down with a cold again.  :(  He is stuffy with a bit of a runny nose, and a little more fussy than usual.  But he had mashed potatoes and applesauce for supper tonight and loved it!  :)

Sandbox

The kids were thrilled to help Drew build a sandbox today!  The sandbox was a birthday gift to Justin from Papa and Nana, and today we were able to put it together.  As you can see from the pictures, Justin (and Zachary and Aaron) was thrilled with the results!  Aaron was so disappointed when we had to clean up the toys and come in.  Through many tears, he finally told us that the sand had to go "night-night."

By the way, Aaron and Caleb both have colds this weekend.  Aaron kept telling us today, "My nose keeps running out."  :)  

Nancy

Friday Night Fun!

This is what Friday night fun looks like in our house!  Drew and the boys (mostly Drew) have patiently built each of their Lego City sets so they could set up their Lego town.  It never fails to amaze me how Drew can find a specific tiny piece among 1000's of Legos.....

Meanwhile, what the picture did not show was MY Friday night *fun* - a huge mountain of clean-but-not-yet-folded laundry!  So, that is what I will be doing tonight.....

Nancy

P.S.  Kudos to anyone who can define "sunrising" as depicted by the Lego people Justin arranged on top of the fire station.  :)

The view in my living room.....

It's overcast and sprinkling outside and what do my children want?  To play camping!  So, Mommy obliged and erected a tent in the middle of the living room.  We have had hikes, bear hunts, and campfires all from the comfort of our home.  J and A are loving playing in the tent, and Mommy is actually getting some ironing done (or I was until I sat down to write this post)!

Z had a really great day at school yesterday!  It was the first day that he completed all of his classwork correctly and received a sticker and a Skittle.  He was so excited and so were we!

Back to my ironing....I just wanted to share our morning activities! :)