February 17, 2014

Ben's 4th birthday party

Shortly after his 4th birthday, Bennett decided he wanted a pirate birthday.  Given so much time to brainstorm and prepare for the part, I still chose to wait until the last minute.  It's just how I do things.

Here are a few of the party highlights.

Most importantly, the birthday boy, complete in his pirate Halloween costume:


 

Dessert table:

 
 

The "grub" . . . we served hot dogs, beans and typical picnic fare.

 

The decorations:

 

  The games:

 


February 5, 2014

Winter

I do not like winter.

I really have tried to like it.  I've tried to appreciate the beauty of the snow and ice . . . the way it makes everything look so clean and sparkly.  I understand why people love it.  I'm just not one of those people.
The cold just feels suffocating.  I like to send my kids outside to play.  I like to leave the house without having to deal with boots and hats and coats and mittens.  I would take a 100 degree day over a -10 degree day anytime.

This January, we set records for lowest temperatures and most snowfall.  We've had 5 snow days, and I think our district has had fewer than any other so far this year.  I was so excited for February, but so far it looks a lot like January.

We had lots of snow over the weekend and in my opinion, today should have been a snow day.  Because we live south of our school district (and the school district we actually live in was closed today), I expected roads to get better as we went further north, but they just got worse.  Cars were all over the sides of the road and I saw a school bus almost take out a minivan.  It was one of the worst driving days we've had all year . . . though I'll admit that it seems less of an issue now that everyone has had so much practice driving in the snow.

Kyle and Ben both had a stomach bug over the weekend, but Jack, Claire and I managed to avoid it.  Being cooped up in a house with two puking boys makes the winter feel even more suffocating.

While February often starts to make me feel a little more hopeful, I've decided to be more realistic this year and just count down to April.  We might still get snow in April, but it won't be THIS bad.  At least I hope it won't!