Snow Days!

The second half of February was very, very snowy. We hadn't gotten much snow at all up to that point, so maybe the weather was trying to make up for lost time. I think Lance missed about 6 or 7 days of school. It. Was. Awesome.

February 17th we went to Jump with Scott, Abbey and Lance and after that Lance came home with us. It was snowing already and by the afternoon it had dumped about 5 or 6 inches on the ground.

Lance insisted on playing outside like this:

This was Bender's first real snow and he was having a blast!

While Lily was taking a nap and George was sleeping off a night-shift, I took the boys down to the park to go sledding. We took Bender which was probably a mistake as all he wanted to do was chase the sledders and bark and everyone he didn't know, which was everyone.

Poor dog earned himself some time-out, but Lance was kind enough to hang out with him so he wasn't too lonely.

Jude found himself a friend and went sledding with her. This kid can make friends with anyone he meets. It's great. Watching them interact, you'd think they have been friends for years instead of minutes. I love it.

Snowball!

We let Bender off-leash once most of the other people had left and he was having a grand time.

Lance asked me if he could fill up our cooler with snow. Sure? This is what he did with it:

He said he wanted to know what it felt like. I guess now he knows. Crazy boy.

Lily thought the snow was great. I put plastic bags around her legs and hands underneath her fleece snow suit and she lasted about an hour before the wet seeped in.

Sledding down our driveway. Cole was sweet and held Lily all the way down.

On Feb 22nd we were supposed to celebrate Chinese New Year and Cole's Birthday up in Ashburn, but we got snowed in again!

The kids were happy to play again, especially since this time it was warm.

For some reason, Lily decided the nasty plowed snow was for eating. Gross.

Cole had been begging to build a snowman, so he and I stayed out and built one after Jude and Lance were finished in the snow.

He was very excited and made sure we had a carrot nose, stick arms and a hat.

He loved his snowman.

Moustache!

While it was fun to have snow, we were all looking forward to warmer weather right around the corner.

February catch-up!

A quick February catch-up:

On Feb 3rd Lance had his Blue and Gold banquet. It was very fun! They had a photo booth where you could pick your props and get a picture taken. Cole immediately grabbed this chinese princess hat and wouldn't let it leave his sight the entire night.

You want to know how to entertain 3-10 year olds? Give them a stage. They will be running and jumping for hours.

Because sometimes one lollipop just isn't enough.

Lily is going through a lollipop stage right now. She'll get into the pantry, climb up on whatever she can find to grab our lollipop bag. She is such a stinker.

Want some cake with those candles? Seriously, I could feel the heat from 10 feet away.

On February 4th, Lance had his "share day" at school and opted to bring Molty to show his class.

I love coming and being part of this. It's very neat as a parent to see your child thrilled to be in the spotlight and excited to show his classmates something really cool.

The kids all thought it was awesome. 

We've been working on learning the alphabet with Jude. It's slow-going since he's not really interested in reading or writing, but he's coming along. I think Cole may know as many or more letter than Jude now. Cole is my artist. He'll sit and color for 30 minutes at a time.

Our goal for when Jude starts Kindergarten in the fall: write his name without help, know all his letters and how to write them and the sounds they make.

Wish us luck!

I think Lily is our best eater. Well, at least as good as Cole. This girl loves just about any food.

Yum, chicken bones!

Spaghetti!

This year for Valentine's Day, George and I did a date swap with some friends. We went out on the 13th and then watched our friends' kids on the 14th so they could go out as well. It was perfect! We had our Valentine's Dinner at Parallel 38, a new Mediterranean tapas restaurant. It was amazing! The pictures don't do it justice. 

The best thing we had there was the pork belly. It was like a dessert, only bacon that melts in your mouth but still manages to be crispy on the top. The chef is a magician.

Feb 17 Scott and Abbey invited us to join them and Lance at Jump, a trampoline park that just opened in Charlottesville. We had a great time! I left my cameras at home, so these pictures are all courtesy of Abbey.

Scott was so helpful with the boys! Jude and Cole both enjoyed jumping into the foam pit, but couldn't get out on their own. Scott and I were both on fishing duty while they jumped.

Abbey was great and watched Lily for me while I jumped with the boys.

It was really fun! Even Lily got to jump with me. She thought it was fantastic. We're already planning our next visit.

Feb 18th was my mom's Birthday! George was working, so I drove up to celebrate with the three youngest kids while Lance spent the night with his dad. It was snowy, but the roads were fairly clear so we made it no problem. 

Laura and I treated Mom to Sweetwater that night while Glenn watched my kiddos. Thanks, Glenn! Amy was out of town in Boston at a convention so she missed it. :(

Aunt Linda also flew in that night so I got to see her before she drove down to SVU to watch Kailey as the lead in a play. It was so nice to be there with my mom, eating pineapple cheesecake and visiting with Aunt Linda. 

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you!

The second half of February was very snowy. I think Lance missed about 6 or 7 days of school because the roads were just too icy.  I loved it! Since he didn't have school, the kids got to stay up late on those nights. I was working on the computer one night and turned around to see this:

Jude and Bender were both asleep snuggled up together.

So sweet.