More Painting

Well, if Ben is going to do something, then Nick has to do it too. Nick got to paint one of his painting pages but really, he just painted with water. Ben tried to show him how to use the paints, but Nick just wanted to do it his way. He was pretty happy when Ben left him alone.

A Post Christmas Craft

Saturday Ben did a post-Christmas craft. Grandma sent some sun catcher painting crafts up, but we didn't have a chance to do them before Christmas. Ben did ok with the paint - he spilled some, but he did paint a few of the ornaments before he was done. But really, it was just an excuse for me to practice with my new speedlight...

Ben's Alligator

Ben drew and colored this alligator all by himself

Monster's Christmas Vacation

Monster spent her Christmas vacation at Rover Come Over, a doggie day care we have been using since she was a puppy. This was her first time there for an overnight. The pictures below are from their Facebook page. She apparently had a pretty good time because she's been sleeping non-stop for the past 5 days.

Sledding Time!

The boys headed to Grandma and Dzaidziu's on Sunday with daddy. Adam was going to install the running boards on his truck (so, you know, I can actually get in the darn thing) and take the boys sledding on the hills in the backyard. And I got a morning to myself to clean (woohoo!). The boys both had a good time sledding. Nick just liked lying down and being pulled around on the sled. Snow is a magical thing. It brings bed time at least 30-60 minutes earlier every day the boys play outside. Almost makes it worth putting up with the cold. [Pictures courtesy of Grandma Lee]

A Cul De Sac Snow Party

So Saturday basically turned into a cud de sac snow party. It started with Ben and I outside. Then our neighbors John and Lexi (who just turned 5) came out to build a snow man. Well, John was much more energetic than me - he tackled the circle! We ended up with a mini sledding hill in the cul de sac circle that was the hit of the neighborhood! We had all the kids out there and some saw the fun from the other end of the street and came down to the fun side to join in. There was snow flying everywhere, sleds whizzing by and at the end of the day, some very tired children!

Ben and Lexi took time out from the action in the fort

The bigger girls were great targets for snowballs. However, their softball camps have been paying off because they can whip a few good ones, themselves.

After sledding, we went over to Lexi's house to play for a bit and somehow all the dads ended up in my garage. Then they moved onto Al's garage to fix it and then to Randy and Candi's basement to play pool. I think I'm going to just sent up lawn furniture in the circle this summer because these 11 kids are going to be running from one house to the next to the next (not that they don't already).

Snow Angels and Snow Men

Saturday afternoon, after running errands in the morning, Ben and I went outside to make a snow man. It wasn't the bestest snow for snowmen. We used the bilibos to pile up snow, but were not super successful. Ben made snow angles (a first, I think) and threw snowballs and just had fun in the cold. I don't think he has cold receptors in his brain. 

Our newest neighbor, John, made this snow fort out of the driveway snow. It's pretty cool! But Ben didn't quite understand the purpose at first. Lexi came out and showed him later.