Mud Room, Pretty Please

Oh how I wish we had a mud room...

I am tired of gloves and boots and scarves lying all over our living room floor.

And oh so tired of the snow and ice and mud being tracked through the house.

I am really not a fan of wet socks, and of chaos.

Trying to figure out how to be thankful for the wet, cold, mess, noise and chaos of life at the moment.  If it were gone I'm sure I'd miss it.

Trying to focus on the smiling faces of my children with their requests for hot chocolate, to listen to the enthusiastic reports of how long they managed to stand on the snow board, and to bundle up myself and go out to share in the joy of their snow creations, forts, and trails.

Someone needs to remind me not to complain about the heat this summer!!  :)

Snow, Snow, And More Snow

The snow has been beautiful, but there has been a lot of it!

I read we had 40.5 inches of snow in January and that we have had 14.5 inches so far in February, with more snow forecast later in the week.

The shrubs are pretty much completely covered.

This is the view out our sliding glass door on the back porch.  Our grill is hiding somewhere under there!

Snow piled up in front of the garage door (door to the back yard)

The kid's climbing structure.

The trampoline.

Swing Set - The kids have been using the snowboard on the slide!

Daddy and Grandma trying to get some of the snow off of the roof!

Alex

Our little monkey, Alex, has loved tree climbing in the snow.

He's also been willing to pose for the camera.....

Sort of!

I love how happy he has been outside.

He's been trying to persuade me to let them jump off the roof into the snow.... um, that's a definite no!

Little Snow Man

This little man

absolutely loves the snow!

He likes going mountain climbing, as he calls it.

He likes to go digging for ice with his shovel

and this is what he thinks of my picture taking!

The snow piles are nearly twice as tall as he is, but it doesn't slow him down much!

You can see how high the snow piles are in comparison to Elizabeth.

Such a serious face!

Snow Board Fun

THIS piece of red plastic is what the kids have been so excited about lately.

Daddy built them a platform and Meme gave them a snow board.

God gave them plenty of snow.

Actually, these pictures are from a couple of weeks ago, so there is much more snow on the ground now.  More about that in a future post!

Wiping out doesn't seem to faze the boys.

And I'm getting used to it... except for the tree at the end of their run!

The kids are actually getting pretty good at balancing on the board.  Even Nathan has given it a try or two.  Me....  I'm not planning to try it any time soon.  :)

I Heart Faces - Innocent Wonder

The theme of this week's I Heart Faces photography challenge is Innocent Wonder.  This is a picture from last Spring, but I love it.  It was the first year Nathan really got it as far as an Easter egg hunt goes.  I love his enthusiasm for life.  It always makes me smile.  I also like the fact that Elizabeth is zooming by in the background.

Head on over to I Heart Faces to check out the other entries.

You are my snuggle

Last week when I went to drop Nathan off at preschool he insisted on holding my hand.  I didn't mind that one bit.  Then he told me that I "had to" hold his hand.  I asked him why and he said, "Because... you are my snuggle".  How sweet is that?  I told him that I love being his snuggle...  I sure hope this stage of life lasts a long time.  I love my daytime and bedtime "snuggles" with my youngest boy!

I Heart Faces - Winter Wonderland

I haven't joined in an I Heart Faces challenge in a long time.  The theme this week is Winter Wonderland.  I love the expression on Alex's face in this picture.  He was having a blast playing in the snow pile.  Check out the other entries here.

We got 23 inches of snow last week and are predicted to get more tomorrow.... along with a thick coating of ice.  Nice!

You know you don't iron much when.....

You know you don't iron much when your 3 1/2 year old doesn't know what an ironing board looks like.

I have been interviewing for a new job (my current job will be ending soon) and when I do, I have dressed up more than I usually do.  My husband knows how much I dislike ironing (I will go to great lengths to avoid it!) and offered to iron my clothes for me last week.  Nathan observed Daddy taking out the ironing board and asked, "What that thing?".  Daddy responded that it was an ironing board and Nathan asked, "What you use that for?"  Daddy got a kick out of the fact that Nathan had no clue what he was looking at.  I informed Daddy that he is equally to blame for Nathan's lack of education in that department!  :)

Winter Wonderland!

We woke this morning to a Winter Wonderland and it is still snowing now.  The kids were and are thrilled... the parents... not as much.  The storm is set to wind down soon and snowfall totals are close to two feet.  We haven't had such a big storm in many years!

This is the view out our front door (as seen from Nathan's height)

Three older kids getting set for their "adventure"... off to dig a trench and build a fort.

Andrew sporting his new snow clothes (Christmas gift).

The two older boys... best buddies at the moment much to the chagrin of Elizabeth who oft times feels a bit left out.

Sweet Elizabeth checking out the snow ramp built by Daddy and the boys last week.  Their sled ride down the hill isn't as fast with all the snow.

Alex demonstrating how high the snow is.  He is standing in the trench they built for their new snow fort.

Alex asked me to take this picture to demonstrate how much snow is on the roof of our house!

Nathan was so excited to discover that the snow was up over the top of the mailbox!

I didn't make any New Year resolutions... cuz I never seem to keep them.  :)  But, I do hope to do more blogging.  I know that I will enjoy looking back on all the pictures and stories some day... and if I don't write things down these days, I don't seem to remember anything!  :)