Snow day #6

Today marked snow day #6 for our kids.  As I mentioned yesterday, we've been eating snow day doughnuts so often that I've been getting creative with the toppings.

After breakfast and playtime at home we made the trek to my parents' house to take care of some things and let the boys nap.  Afterward we traveled to Grand Rapids to visit my mom, who is recovering from knee surgery.  She looked great but is dealing with more pain today than yesterday (prayers are always appreciated!).  We were very glad the weather broke enough for us to make it out to see her!

Big day

Today was another big day for our family.  My mom had a total knee replacement this morning. Her knee was in pretty terrible condition but the surgeon said the procedure went great.  Today was also another snow day for the kids and me.  Since we've started each of the five snow days with our traditional "snow day doughnuts," it was time to get a little creative with them.

 

 

After a well-balanced yummy breakfast, we went downstairs to watch some cartoons.

 

The snow really is quite impressive.  It now officially reaches all the way up to the top of the railing.

To give you some perspective, last week all of the snow was hauled away from the middle of our cul-de-sac.  We have gained quite an impressive snow pile in a matter of days!

The only unfortunate part of the day was the fact that the interminable snow forced us to make the decision to stay home, rather than brave the roads and travel across several towns to visit my mom in the hospital.  We hope to go tomorrow, but until then the kids had a message to send their Grandma.

We ended the day with a delicious dinner (thank you, Aldi for yummy, cheap ham!) and a little Mouse Trap before bed.  We're looking forward to snow day #6 tomorrow!

Beautiful, snowy day

I am thankful for days like today when we can enjoy simple things together as a family.  Even our neighbors united to help everyone get out of their driveways after the foot of snow we received last night.

 

The snow on our back deck is almost as tall as Liam!

 

After watching his big brother and sister outside, Liam wanted to suit up too.

The snow was so deep and heavy that Caleb's boot got lost in it!  He made a mad dash inside to warm up!

The rest of the day was a wonderful mix of movie watching, playing, cooking and fun.

 

 

 

 

Cause for celebration

Today we celebrated the kids' fourth snow day and the fact that Liam did not have to spend the morning in surgery!  For those who didn't see the update on facebook, Liam was scheduled to have tubes put in and adenoids taken out today.  This was due to persistent fluid in his ears and recurring infections, which started at the end of September. Earlier this month, Liam developed a rash and I decided to call the doctor. A bit to my surprise, the doctor wanted to see him (I thought maybe she wouldn't since he had no other symptoms). When she examined him, she commented that his ears looked fine. I called the ENT to let them know and see if they still thought surgery was necessary. I brought him on January 14 for a tympanogram and his ears looked great! As a result, we spent today enjoying a snow day in our jammies instead of at the hospital with Liam!

Can you tell that what kind of "snow day" doughnuts we made for breakfast this time?

Dan made coconut shrimp for dinner, which is a family favorite!

 

Although we were trusting God to heal Liam through surgery, we are thankful that He had other plans!  And thankful for the blessings of a snowy day together!

And, until I figure out what program can rotate video clips, you can enjoy this sideways clip of Liam saying "love you!"

Lillian's tooth

Lillian's front teeth on top have been wiggly for a few weeks now.  Yesterday she and Caleb had the day off school and were home with Dan and, as the story goes, Lillian gave Caleb permission to try to pull out her tooth.  He was unsuccessful but a short time later Dan gave it a try and the tooth came out!  Lillian was very excited!  It's still strange seeing her with a gaping hole in her mouth (she looks so old!) but it is just so cute!

Last night Lillian had trouble sleeping because she was so excited for the Tooth Fairy to visit!  Eventually morning came and she was very happy to find a note from the Tooth Fairy (Lillian had written her a note) and a shiny half dollar!

Photo bomb!

Birthday party fun

We spent today at our nephew Landon's birthday party.  The party was at a roller skating rink and the kids had a BLAST!  All three kids loved playing in the giant climbing structure, Lillian and Caleb enjoyed roller skating for the first time, they played arcade games and enjoyed the prizes they won, and of course they loved the pizza and cupcakes!  Thanks for hosting such a fun party, Dave and Jen.  And, happy 4th birthday, Landon!

 

 

Snow day #3

It is rare to receive a snow day phone call the night before.  It is even more rare for it to happen two days in a row!  The roads have been just awful with more than a foot of snow, subzero temperatures, and high winds.  So, I was not exactly surprised to get the call yesterday afternoon.  We made the most of it today and had a great time together!  We started, once again, with our traditional snow day doughnuts.

 

We had lots of playtime and Caleb and I put his new puzzle together.

And while the boys napped Dan and Lillian got some "work" done.

I was slightly productive once again and got Liam's name put on the wall of his room!

Liam has been in the room for over a year and Caleb just moved in a few weeks ago.  But, ironically, Caleb's name was on the wall all along!  Now everyone is settled!  Don't you love the cute photo bomb?

After dinner we made fireplace s'mores.

 

We didn't have any graham crackers on hand so we used Nilla Wafers instead.  They turned out delicious!

 

And so ends another wonderful snow day!

Snow day #2

Dan has been watching the weather for a while, knowing that a big winter storm was on its way.  Sure enough, last night the school closing started pouring in, including Zeeland and Coopersville.  So, Christmas break got an extension!  We started the day in our usual way, with homemade snow day doughnuts!

We spent the day in our jammies, enjoying lots and lots of play time.

 

Dan and I got a few little odd jobs accomplished around the house in between the playing.  I finally got Lillian's letters up on the wall of her new room!

Later on we went outside to check out the snow and try a couple cold weather experiments.  We tossed hot water in the air and it really did turn into snow mist!  Unfortunately the video is not loading, so perhaps we will share it another day!

 

After dinner we had one more snow experiment to try - snow ice cream!  I think I'll tweak the recipe if we try it again as it was overly sweet.  But, it was a very fun experience to have with the kids.

 

 

I am thankful for an extra day for us to be together and relax as a family!