Miss you, Daddy!

Mike is at the VA Tech game, coming back later today, so the boys decided to raid his shoe closet in order to feel a little closer to him :)

Hungry animals

With all this snow, our fuzzy and feathered friends are famished. Going out to school this morning we were visited by  a gigantic flock of birds, mostly robins that won't sit on the feeder. The boys decided to get the grapes and apple slices that they didn't finish from breakfast, and a couple handfuls of birdseed. We scattered them across the yard and were barely in the car before the hungry flock descended, twittering happily. Maybe you can see some of the what must have been 100 birds in the tree? 

By the next morning word had spread among the wild creatures, and we were visited by a family of deer (one young boy and his five sisters). 8am and they were enjoying a nice breakfast in the front yard! 

Happy Presidents Day!

On our day off today, we escaped the house and met daddy downtown for lunch, then took the opportunity to avail ourselves of lots of clear space to run. We found out that with Evan skipping and Drew running, they have exactly the same speed! To add just a touch of education to the moment, we stopped by the statues of Charlottesville's three Presidents, # 3, 4, and 5, and read a little about them. Evan was quite impressed that three Presidents in a row had names that start with J. :) 

Snowy Day Suntan

We continue to be buried under 18" of snow, and are in the last day of what's become a 5 day weekend. After playing inside all morning, the boys saw the sunlight streaming through the blinds and wanted to increase their Vitamin D! Both quickly stripped and grabbed a pillow to "get a tan." 

Slushies

When you simply can't shovel any more but still can't see the end of the driveway, you find new ways to get rid of the tons of white stuff... Make slushies and eat it! 

Snow Day!

The shirts must have worked, because we got out snow wish! Over night we got around 16" of wet, packy snow. The boys could hardly contain their excitement to get outside, though Mike certainly would have been happy to wait to tackle our driveway! He's sure going to be sore tomorrow. While he worked, the boys and I stumbled through the yard, pulling Drew out of drifts and helping him walk through snow that's nearly up to his waist. Poor kid was just like the boy in."A Christmas Story" when he falls- he just couldn't get up. :( 

The huge piles of snow created by shoveling just a little of the drive were perfect as snowball fight forts, and we made good use of them, and our snowball maker! We're going to need another one of those to keep up with this family! 

The weather people say another several inches are coming later this afternoon and evening. After a massive nap (for everyone), we're going to trudge down the street and meet our friend and neighbor Natalie for some sledding and more snow fun, so we hope it holds off a little longer. For now we're hunkered in with warm drinks and movies and (fingers crossed it stays) power. Here's looking at a 5 day weekend! 

Duct tape is the best for making sure gloves stay on tiny hands and that wrists stay warm and dry. We might have to use it on ankles this afternoon too...

Can't hardly move, but happy to be going out! 

We fell! Now let's slide face first into the ditch like penguins! 

Painting the yard UVA colors. 

It's deep, even on the bushes. 

Up to his waist. 

Angelic. 

Tackling the yard... With a rake? 

Yummy! 

Armed... 

And attacking. Look out tball field- he's got good distance and aim! 

Hoping for a snow day!

The forecast is calling for as much as 20" of snow tonight, and the boys are doing their part to help it come true. Here's to the power of matching snowman shirts! 

Presidential visit

Little old Charlottesville had a big visit today as President Obama and French President Hollande toured Monticello. With only one main road in and out of town, this seemed to cause a lot more chaos than in any big city he visits. Pretty much the entire town was shut down from 3-7, and most sadly for us, the basketball game was postponed until 9pm, meaning we couldn't go. While Mike stayed at work to avoid the mess, I snuck out after the motorcade went through and got the boys, then we went to Arby's for dinner. We usually eat out on basketball days, so this helped quell the sadness of not attending the game, but they're also right in the main drag on CVille and have a huge picture window! So we ate then anxiously watched and waited for the motorcade to go back on the airport. The boys were thrilled to see all the police cars and motorcycles speeding by! They waved out the window, and drew pouted a little that the Presidents didn't stop to give him a hug :) While we got in the car, we heard the rumble and looked up- just as Air Force 1 flew overhead. What a great way to shake up our evening!

See the trailers from the police lights? They were fast!! 

Happy Valentines Day!

With the snowy weekend, we got to spend a little extra time working on our Valentine gifts for our friends. Check 'em out!

Bubbles for everyone! 

A "love bug" for our besties, including Evan's most favorite of all girls, Emelia. He gets all starry eyed when talking about her :) 

Evan's class spent the past week talking about mail carriers and the post office. A classmates mom is a mail carrier, and she came in to show them the truck and all kinds of post office goodies; their favorite was the headlamps, of course! The class made cards, designed their own stamps, and created mail bags to collect their valentines! I knowing I'm biased, but he's the cutest mail carrier ever! 

Drew's class decorated monkey boxes for their Valentines (though Drew's apparently lost an eye along the way); he is so proud of his box full of goodies from all his friends!