We Had Some Snow

Starting last Saturday night/Sunday evening we got a little bit of snow--like 14 inches of snow. The kids were in heaven. Evan attempted sledding:

 And Issa discovered cartwheeling in boots is tricky:

 We cleared the driveway:

 And enjoyed Christmas lights in the snow:

 And measured before we built snowmen and had an epic family snowball fight:

 And Evan ate his weight in snow after making a snow angel:

 It was lovely to play in the snow as a family, and we enjoyed plenty of family time inside, too.

Somehow I blinked and I have a teenager who bakes brownies all by herself:

 And we made teacher gifts:

 We actually made these drawings on candles. You color on tissue paper, and then melt them into the candles. Each teacher is getting a unique candle just for them!

And the best Aunt Shannon sent Grinch jammies for my favorite Grinches:

We watching Christmas movies and wrapped gifts and snuggled under blankets. It was lovely.

The kids finally went back to school today on a three-hour delay, but I could get very used to this whole idea of  some snow days before Christmas.

Miniature Fun

Saturday, we had the Minis over for a Christmas party/crafting extravaganza. They wanted to make custom t-shirts for each teacher with their favorite sayings. They worked together to decide on the quote and the design, and they came out so well:

They did a very fun gift exchange, and then they participated in the studio's Suess hair challenge:

I have never heard so much giggling, and I'm so grateful Issa gets to hang out with such a sweet, thoughtful group of girls!

This Dog

Buddy is our very special snowflake. After dinner last night, Issa pushed back her chair and this happened:

He just stepped right up into her lap for a snuggle. You can see how terribly upset she was by this. He may be the dumbest dog I've ever met, but he also may be the sweetest.

Because My Family Hates Me

This is on my tree:

For those of you who don't watch Dr. Who, it is a weeping angel. I hate weeping angels. They are creepy. The whole premise is that they are not nice and they move closer to you when you are not watching. You blink they move. I don't like them.

So...the other three decided we needed one on the tree. And not only does it hang on the tree, but it freaking moves when you are not watching. As in, they take turns finding and moving the thing. Which means I can be minding my own business doing the dishes and look up to see it right in front of me on the tree. I don't like.

The Best Cancelled Plans

I love all the holiday hoopla, but I am also a hard-core introvert, which can make December a bit of a mine field for me. Sunday morning, I woke up feeling a bit tapped out, and we had big plans to go watch the local parade. Issa is usually in it, but she had asked to skip a year so she could actually see her band friends in it. Done and done.

It was a gloomy day, and we really wanted to decorate the tree and bake cookies. Issa had homework to finish. I had mountains of laundry. Something had to give. Then the radar blipped, and the band cancelled. And just like that, our afternoon opened up!

We made the BEST gluten-free chai sugar cookies. I may never make any other kind of cookie again. The boys did a wonderful job engineering the boxes that we took to our neighbors:

 And our tree is finished:

I love hanging all of our memories every year.

The quiet afternoon was just the respite we needed, and now we are ready for another busy week!