well, for awhile there, i thought we were getting off pretty easy this winter...then february came, and mother nature decided it was our turn....
here they are having fun just a short couple of weeks ago....and we thought it was snowy then...
here is the boys' snow fort, in it's early stages (i wish the photos were bigger, so the details were more visible...) ben is preparing the "snowball catapult"....
the snowball stash...
the catapult in action....watch your back!
and here's the fort, renamed fortress, one week and many snow falls later. note the height of the walls, and the snowball en route to patrick's head (just past the jeep's windshield)....head's up, dad!
another angle, attempting to capture the scale of the fortress...
...standing in the in-law quarters...
i'm pretty sure this part is in the neighbor's yard...
they graduated from snowblock makers to kitchen garbage cans.....
and added the ice chunks from the driveway as shields...
and they continue to be fascinated with icicles-especially ones of this caliber....
and then today, after another 2 ft that we received last nite....
the boys got a "strep day" yesterday, and now a snow day today...thank you, mother nature.
the boys' hiding place, and the toys hiding place...
the mailbox is in there somewhere...
what in the world is that in the sky?
our 4 ft fence, barely visible....so hard to believe there's actually a pool in there somewhere...
this view out the back windows gets me down, when you can hardly see out...our lounge chairs and grill are in there somewhere...
gracie enjoys playing in the snow for short stints, but now it has become too deep for her to negotiate...thankfully she has also discovered our secret to surviving the long north country winters-hot chocolate! mmm...
she was so into it, i couldn't get her to look up!
her eyelashes keep getting longer, and her hair is filling in a bit, too. ;-)
well, based on her face, i think she loves it- a girl after my own heart! and ya know what i love? my awesome family, the fact the february is a short month, and knowing that vacation is coming soon! ;-)
my wonderfully thoughtful neighbor got me a magazine subscription for christmas: Re*l Simple.
i was thrilled! how did she know??
my first issue came today, on a day when i was feeling exceptionally cooped-up, and lamenting that nothing, or very little, in my life is actually... "real simple" at the moment.
there's sweet little gracie: Mom : "gracie, would like crackers with your lunch?" "yes-peeese!!"
ok, hun here they are!" "nooooooooooo!"
and then, "pee on potty, mommy!!!! now!!" and right in the middle of our beeline in there, she turns around and heads in the opposite direction, screaming "nooooo!" sigh....
and then there's the diabetic valentine issue: here comes more candy, when, despite our best efforts, ben's sugars have been way out of whack since christmas. but then, there's his enormous need to feel "normal", too....so now what? while googling around one day, i stumbled upon a blog for diabetes, which was contributed to by several humorous writers, all of which have some close tie to diabetes...and here is something as close to i can remember, that just summed it all up for me...
"and so, in short, please give my diabetic son candy, like everyone else...and also, please don't. good luck with that."
real simple, huh? not so much....
and then there's the highly controversial goings-on at my husband's place of work, where a long-time provider has made a choice that will unfairly impact so many people...as i read comment after comment of the two embattled sides, and the "he-said, she-said" , it is so very hard not to step in with my two cents, for whatever it's worth. do i do this, and stand up for what i believe in? or do i not involve myself in the petty-ness of it all....which is what has been requested of his co-workers and agreed upon...and just be content with our place in the whole thing....
and the irony of it all is-i really need to find time to read my magazine.....
here is the boys' snow fort, in it's early stages (i wish the photos were bigger, so the details were more visible...) ben is preparing the "snowball catapult"....
the snowball stash...
another angle, attempting to capture the scale of the fortress...
...standing in the in-law quarters...
i'm pretty sure this part is in the neighbor's yard...
they graduated from snowblock makers to kitchen garbage cans.....
and added the ice chunks from the driveway as shields...
and they continue to be fascinated with icicles-especially ones of this caliber....
and then today, after another 2 ft that we received last nite....
the boys' hiding place, and the toys hiding place...
the mailbox is in there somewhere...
what in the world is that in the sky?
her eyelashes keep getting longer, and her hair is filling in a bit, too. ;-)
well, based on her face, i think she loves it- a girl after my own heart! and ya know what i love? my awesome family, the fact the february is a short month, and knowing that vacation is coming soon! ;-)
