We have snow!

Last year we had to drive to the mountains to go sledding because it didn't snow all winter. This year, it's not even Thanksgiving and it looks like Christmas. We had a big snow storm which means the whole city shuts down, school is canceled, and we get to spend all day playing in the snow, sledding, and drinking hot chocolate.

My big kids played for hours out in the snow. This didn't surprise me at all. They made a whole city and the cutest baby snowman you ever saw.

What did surprise me was little Austin.

Since we didn't get snow last winter, this was his first experience. I almost forgot until I saw his face as he began running around the yard kicking the snow and giggling with excitement. My other children at his age were very hesitant about the cold and wet and I remember having to convince them to play, Austin just ran for it. He played and played and played. I couldn't believe it when he stayed out with my older kids for almost 2 hours.


He especially loved sledding. He took a pretty good face plant and even after being cold and scraped up, he just wanted to get back on the sled and go again.

Having kids is so much fun. I love the simple pleasures and excitement something like snow can bring!

Dog-Sitting

Dog-sitting is a great solution for people like me who don't really want a dog, but have kids who are desperately begging for one. After a full weekend, they got their dog fix and then we got to send them home.

These Yorkies were absolutely adorable.

Reagan & Dutch

The dogs left this morning and I must admit, I was sorta sad to see them go. We had a fun weekend together. They were well-behaved and my older kids handled them quite well. They took them on walks and even cleaned up their "backyard messes" all on their own.

Austin loved Reagan and Dutch, but he got frustrated that they would run from him. He'd chase them and then throw himself to the ground and cry when he couldn't catch them. He meant well, but was a little rough with them and we had to watch him constantly. By the end of the weekend, Hunter said to me, "Now I see why you think Austin is too little for us to get a dog."

Thank you.

Mud fun!

It rains in Washington. I chuckle when people who move here from California or other warm places assume that when it rains, soccer practice or games might be canceled. They learn quickly that if we canceled every time it rained, there would be no soccer. The kids are used to playing in the rain, and us parents always keep an umbrella in the car, just in case.

Sometimes it gets a bit messy. Last week I'm not sure you could even refer to the sport they played as soccer. The field was more of a mud pit and the ball didn't move much when the boys kicked it. Sometimes the mud flew further than the ball. Several of them even tripped in the mud, eeeuuuuwww..

Look at how their feet just sunk into the mud. It was slippery, wet, and cold, but the boys didn't seem to mind.

In case you were wondering, those socks did NOT come clean.

Here is Hunter with a couple of his buddies. This picture must have been taken early on in the game because the boys were not this clean by the end.

It was a great season and what a fun way to finish, playing in the mud.