Snow day #9

As any Michigander knows, this winter has been crazy.  The snow just keeps coming, the temperature occasionally fluctuates just long enough to allow a little melting and then takes a steep plunge into dangerous windchill conditions and icy roads.  Today was our ninth snow day for the season.  Ninth.  As in, one away from tenth.  Yet, because we managed to make it nearly two weeks without a snow day, somehow this one seemed special.  We decided to live it up and make the most of it - starting, of course, with another twist on our traditional snow day doughnuts.

 

 

After breakfast we listened to songs from the movie, "Frozen" while making coffee filter snowflakes.

Later on we had "school" as Caleb practiced his letters on the tablet and Lillian practiced her math fluency on the computer.

 

While the boys napped Lillian and I had some girly fun.  Her favorite character from "Frozen" is Anna, but she has a platinum wig and blue dress, so it was only natural for her to dress up as Elsa.  

Can you tell who painted my toenails?  Bonus points to the person who can figure out the significance of the color scheme.  ;)

It was a fun, festive, lovely snow day!

Weekend away

The kids had winter break so we took the opportunity to head north to Houghton Lake for the weekend.  Thankfully the roads were perfect for the ride up and we had a great weekend with Dan's parents.  We did a lot of relaxing, especially while watching the Winter Olympics!

 

We also made a trek out to the frozen lake to play in the snow!

 

This was Liam's preferred mode of transportation.

Dan helped Lillian and Caleb explore a frozen "cave" along the shore.

Lillian took good care of her little brother.

The winter sky was beautiful!

 

The ice was several feet deep but we discovered a crack that went all the way down to the water.  Lillian had a lot of fun investigating it!

 

We found out that our friends John and Jessie, who live in Tennessee, were visiting family just a half hour away so we organized an impromptu lunch date on Sunday.  It's been great to see them twice in the span of a year!

 

Three days of rest, relaxation, delicious food, and fun with family and friends make for a fabulous weekend!

Valentine's Eve

Lillian and Caleb both had their parties today at school and tomorrow we'll be heading north as soon as I get home from school.  So, today we celebrated Valentine's Eve!  We started the day with some festive, pink cinnamon rolls.

Today happened to be Caleb's star helper day, so I got to spend the morning with him at preschool!

Later on we had our traditional pink, heart-shaped waffles for Valentine's Eve dinner.

 

The kids were excited to open all of their valentines from school.  And, Lillian was excited to use her new mustache straw!

We continued the theme of eating heart-shaped foods with some bite-sized heart brownies.

The kids were very excited to exchange valentines as a family.

Can you tell what book the kids got from us?

I'll give you one hint... "hatee hatee hatee ho!"

Can you tell which part of the song Caleb is singing?!

It was a great Valentine's Eve and we are looking forward to taking off for the weekend tomorrow!

Olympic fun

Here at the DuPuis house we are pretty excited about the Winter Olympics!  After having the KidZone Olympics this morning at church we were especially inspired to continue the fun at home.

 

Liam was rocking his post-nap hairdo.

Notice the gold medals?

Let the fun begin continue!

Public Service Announcement

Liam has a PSA for all of our friends in the blogosphere: The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics take place tonight!  And we are in the Olympic spirit!!

 

Notice the hamburger bun, baby shampoo, plastic knife, vacuum cleaner, and doctor's kit?  We really know how to prepare our boys for the Olympics!

Yes, Liam.  I'm sure that's what all of the athletes eat to prepare for Olympic glory.

And I'm certain they build their skills with alphabet blocks, too.  Let the fun begin!

Wedding date

Today Dan and I were able to steal away to the east side of the state to attend the wedding of a dear friend.  Although we left "bright" and early this morning, we were thankful that the weather (and wonderful grandparents) allowed us to make the trek across the state to be a part of Julia and Greg's wedding.

Julia and Greg looked so happy!  Their wedding was a beautiful celebration of their love for each other and for God.

 

Afterward Dan and I had the rare opportunity to enjoy an evening out together at the reception!  We sipped hot cocoa, ate a delicious meal, and enjoyed each other's company.

 

Congratulations, Julia and Greg!  Thank you for inviting us to join in your special day - and giving us an excuse to make an excursion to IKEA and Trader Joe's as well!  We love you even more than Trader Joe's and IKEA combined!