A Little Game of Catch Up

A little laptop issue, a change in routine for downloading photo's, editing and posting blog entries but alas... one sleeping child and dad and the others out galavanting, I have a quiet house to play around. 

I left off a month and a half ago or so being a snow day. We have been slow to start Jake with Before Five in a Row books because he hasn't been too talkative. Spunky yes, words, notsomuch. So we took the opportunity of the snow to read The Snowy Day. Jake was introduced by the sweet character of Peter and his fun he had playing in the snow. 

So fun  as I would catch him "reading" when left to his own.

You might notice a wet spot in his jacket. That has a purpose!

We went outside and Jake gathered a bit of snow to make a tiny "noball" to put in his pocket to save for later.

As you can guess, after we read the book, there was  no "noball" to be found but just like Peter, a nice big wet spot where it was.

 Our snow melted on our sledding hill as well but Jon had a weekend off so we headed up to the mountains to the free sledding hill at Beech Mountain. Last time we went, they were making snow and it was nicely groomed. This time? Mud and a fast hill! A moment of quick disappointment about the mud puddles at the bottom turned into laughing and fast sledding.

And I mean FAST sledding! Most of the pics I took had the kids with grimaces on their faces! They would hit the bumps HARD but then laugh hysterically at the end. 

After our almost last run, the man who runs the hill said there were plenty of accidents that day. Broken leg, knocked out teeth, a broken nose just to name a few. Actually they closed the hill a half hour early because of how fast it was. 

I said mud didn't I?

They wanted to go down together and because it was so fast, I had reservations but by the looks on their faces, it was a good run.

Yes, we are crazy parents, but the 3 year old is crazier still. He wanted to do it by himself. We didn't know about all the accidents at this point!

Bit of a wipeout!

Quickly recovered...

And going back for more... That kid.

 He had so much fun too.

Getting more current, Kylie and Luke are studying plants in school so we wanted to get out and check out the local Botanical Gardens in Winston Salem. They had a nice little greenhouse that was warm and enjoyable to check out.

Before we headed to that nice warm greenhouse, we had to climb a big tree.

And run around...

So many signs of winter even though we are so close to spring! We are in March people!!!

The kids commented on how we need to go back and visit the garden in the spring and summer to check out the changes. 

We did see some evidence of warmer weather headed our way.

Yes, this kid is a photo ham. Who says third kids don't get their picture taken? Oy...

More signs of spring!

Inside the greenhouse was beautiful. So many plants that were growing in the protected warmth of the indoors.

Since we have small hands at home I haven't had too many plants indoors. I love the look of plants and really believe they make a home. Taking a look around I noted many plants that we might be able to get now since the kids are getting older and might have more of an interest in their care.

And for little hands? Maybe these might be a good first to try! Ha! They would soon learn right?

All I know is that this little trip with my kids got my blood flowing again. How thankful I am to be able to get out and enjoy what is around us. 

I have to admit, I have gotten in a rut of going, doing, checking things off my list. Am I teaching this? That? Stressing. Reaching, climbing and growing was good and I hope to settle into yet another routine. 

I know that next week it might all change. I hope I can continue to go with the flow and figure out what we all need to flourish.

What are you doing to brighten up your world?

Snow Day!

Behold blue sky and the return of the SUN!!!

What a crazy week we have had. Last Friday Kylie went in and had 6 teeth removed. The rain was coming down and it was cold and dreary. I was thankful for the rain as it allowed a safe, warm cocoon in our home, perfect for rest and recovery which was just what my girl needed. A sweet friend watched over the boys and my girl proved to be brave and strong and got through everything with flying colors. All that anxiety for naught. 

The rain came down and we enjoyed soft food and lots of movies. Cozy to say the least. Then Jake came down with something which turned out to be strep. Then the dominoes fell as it often does with a family and we all took our turns being waited on and needing comfort. Over the weekend the rain still fell and so did Jon and I. Again thankful for the rain which kept everyone indoors in a safe quarantine. Come Wednesday we were all getting antsy, enjoying TV just a little too much and going stir crazy!

Of course the report of snow brightened the mood in our home and we became obsessed. Checking the weather, looking out the windows like every.two.seconds. Then late Thursday night it came and we were greeted with snow covered branches this morning.

So what did we do? All full of energy and very well rested we hit the backyard sledding slope. 

I love our little cul-de-sac of children, all about the same age who get along so well. They take turns, share and sled away.

Kylie bought this snowboard thingie last winter and hardly got to use it so she was excited to try this out. I wish we lived a bit nearer a snow mountain so we could hit the slopes for real and try out snowboarding for real!

Luke trying out the snowboard.

Jake enjoying anything he could get his hands on!

Quite the ham.

I think this kid ate his weight in snow (ewwww!) and later in the morning had mittens that were so soaked. Thankfully it wasn't that cold out so we went bare handed. He had to stop for a brief warm up though.

Not to be stopped for long.

Of course he had to try out the snow board thingie.

Not to shabby!

Wipeout.

That was sure fun!

Crazy kid with short sleeves?

Trying out new styles of sledding. 

These two crack me up. Either they are fighting like mad or inseparable but as always full of passion and emotion. They had so much fun trying out this method.

This snow won't last for long, already we were watching it melt. It was so fun for a nice change of pace from our rainy days. The sun was a welcomed sight after days and days of rain and sickness!