SNOW break (part 3)...

We did more than just play in the snow while we were off for the week.  With no school for Emily and no work for Daddy it seriously felt like we were on a winter vacation. Bryan did have to get some work done from home occasionally and it took a little more effort to entertain the kids knowing that he was so close upstairs.  I turned on a Laurie Berkner CD (one of the kids' favorites) and Emily and Jack immediately began making up their own little routine while I started in on the mounds of dishes...

We spent the rest of the afternoon painting...

While we were painting I was complaining to my SIL, Jen, about how much paint Charlie consumes while he is painting.  I buy nontoxic paint but I never really feel good about how much goes into his mouth.  She suggested MAKING edible paint for him.   There truly is an answer to everything... especially on Pinterest.  I quickly ran upstairs and printed out two recipes.  One was for edible paint (we made that later in the week) and the other was for edible play dough.  I added in a little syrup to the recipe and it sweetened it up just right.  The kids LOVED it!  I will admit that Emily and Jack looked at me like I was nuts when I kept ENCOURAGING them to eat it but once they did they were impressed...

After a full morning of activities the kids began to get a little restless so we headed back outside so that Daddy could keep working upstairs...

Emily decided that my snow hat looked better on her than on me...

Charlie was fascinated with the lilac tree.  He kept yanking the branches and laughing hysterically as the snow came tumbling down...

Emily kept busy mending the snow fort...

...while the boys headed straight to the baby slide.  Jack kept yelling, "WIPE OUT!" as he crashed into the snow.  Have I mentioned before that WIPE OUT is the ONLY show we allow the kids to watch on regular TV (besides PBS kids and Nick Jr.)?  They are totally addicted!

SNOW break (part 2)...

The next morning the kids woke up to a very special surprise...even MORE snow!  I loved looking at them all gathered together, pining to go outside so early in the morning...

After breakfast we enlisted the help of Grandma Emily to watch Charlie and we headed to do some sledding...

 Emily made the first run down...

 Then Jack and I took a turn...

 But I think the best rides were those with Daddy...

 Jack won the prize for fastest on the slope...

 

 while I think Emily got the prize for best moocher for rides back up the hill...

Our little hill became popular this year so after a few more rides down we decided to head back home for some safer fun in our own backyard...

 Charlie woke up just as we got home and headed straight out back to play...

LOVE this next series of pictures. You can almost hear what was going on in his little mind...

Uh oh!

Frosty needed some serious help after his fall so Daddy got right to work...

When Frosty was finally complete I think he fared pretty well: cucumber eyes, a carrot nose, hazelnut mouth and branches for arms.  He was definitely a little puny this year but for some reason the snow just wouldn't pack....

Then the big guns came out and Bryan started in on a snow fort for the kids.  This just might be their favorite thing to do in the snow.  Last year Bryan used little storage boxes to make their fort but there was no messing around this year...he went straight for the Rubbermaid bins from the garage...

The kids stayed out in their snow fort for the rest of the afternoon (hours to be exact).  They played all sorts of games, letting their imaginations take over....

 I think Emily was "peering" (her new favorite word she learned while reading her chapter book) outside to see if the monsters were coming...

 Daddy set up a draw bridge to keep them safe...

 When the sun finally set these two headed back inside for some tasty hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and rainbow marshmallows...

We packed up the kids later than evening and picked up a pizza on our way to Grandma Emily's house.  It probably seems silly to take a picture of our kiddoes eating pizza but I wanted proof that this moment did indeed exist.  To Byran's dismay our kids are not big pizza eaters but they must have worked up quite the appetite because on this evening all three of them devoured it...