So much Snow!

We keep laughing about how snow is just no big deal here.  Usually they'll predict something like 3-5 inches and we'll end up getting 6-12.  No one really talks about the snow or builds it up with lots of hype.  It falls, they plow, we shovel, and life goes on within a few hours.   We have about 18" piled up in our yard, which I found makes shoveling a little challenging since you have to lift the shovel so high to add it to the tall piles on the side of the driveway.  The locals have told us that the temps usually rise a few days after the snow, so it's unusual for it to keep piling up like it has this year.  This January, the temps in SLC have averaged 20 degrees less than usual.  We've found our first SLC winter to be pretty fun, though.  I'm definitely looking forward to it melting and seeing the grass again, but the adventures in the snow do make things pretty fun.  If we have to deal with cold temps anyway, it's good to have some snow to make things beautiful!


Here we are on a walk after the 9" we got the other night:

Andrew asked if he could live under this tree and stay there forever:

And then Andrew messed up someone's shoveling job:

This is the first time it snowed the night before a day B had to leave for work.  So, it's also the first time I've shoveled the driveway.  Gotta say, I may agree with B's desire to get a snowblower.  That's a long driveway!  So proud of my hard work that I had to take pictures...also gotta say that I owe B a big thanks for taking care of it all those other times.  I definitely underestimated how tough of a job that is!  

In progress...

Done!

We are currently in another snowstorm and it's expected to continue snowing the next 4 days. We're going skiing on Saturday and are pretty excited about all the new snow that will be up there!  Meanwhile, I'll be getting my exercise via shoveling this week!

Fishy!

Well, I joined a gym this month and it happens to be next door to a pet store.  So, while half awake and parking at the gym, I started thinking that it'd be fun for the boys to have a pet of some sort.  We were pretty big fish people before moving and were pretty sad to give away our 30-gallon Cichlid tank.  I thought it'd be fun to get a small tank for just a few fish and a fun invertebrate, like a crab or mini lobster.

The boys are loving the new 10-gallon aquarium.  We only have 3 little zebra fish for now to get the good bacteria growing on the filter.  It took just a few minutes of having the fish for Matthew to learn the word fish (ishy!).  Andrew's going to be in charge of feeding the little guys to learn a little responsibility!  

Lessons!

For the past 2 weeks, I've planned dinners ahead and loaded up the boys for Andrew's swim lessons from 4:30 to 5.  It was a great way to get out of the house post-nap/pre-dinner and definitely helped Andrew get more comfortable with the water.   And, although he declared "I hate this place" every time we pulled up to the aquatic center, he ended every lesson by saying "That was a lot of fun, Mom.  I want to come back tomorrow!"  Ah, the joys of parenting a 3-year old.  

Andrew being cautious before the first lesson:

In the water with teacher Aimee!

This is the pool where his lessons took place.  It's a park district aquatic center and only a 4 minute drive from our house (or 25 minute walk).  I watched Andrew during his lessons and was pretty amused because every time he was asked to stay by the wall and wait for his turn, he'd start drifting toward the round-rounds in the pool, as if being pulled by some sort of magnetic force.   

During lessons, I got to chase this little guy around for 30 minutes.  He loved heading toward the men's locker room as fast  as possible over and over and over.

While Andrew's lessons allowed us to dream of summer and warmer days ahead, B and I took some lessons of our own that embraced all winter has to offer.  We are learning to ski!  We had an all day lesson on a Friday and then went out on our own the following Friday.  We already feel like we're improving and are looking forward to using up the rest of our 10 passes for the season! 

Happy end of January!  Yesterday, I decided to get myself out of the winter blues by buying some tulips while out grocery shopping.  Then, I decided to use my very spring-looking vase and placemat and make our new centerpiece a hopeful reminder that spring will eventually arrive.  Here's a little taste of spring to get you through this dreary winter day:

Avoiding Cabin Fever, Part II

Our 2nd way of surviving the winter is by taking frequent trips to the children's museum.  The children's museum here in SLC was having a sale this month, so I got $20 off an annual membership.  It'd be about $25 each time I went with the kids and I got to join for the year for only $75.  It's also nice being a member because you don't feel the pressure of having to stay for a long time.

The SLC children's museum has a few areas that the boys are liking:

Matthew LOVES the water area.  He spends the entire time we're there trying to get back to the water table and doesn't seem to mind that the water's freezing!

BIG SURPRISE!  Andrew LOVES the construction site--huge blocks, a crane, trucks, tools, hard hats, and a builder vest!  Doesn't get much better than that!

Matthew following in his brother's footsteps.  Pretty big shoes hat to fill...

Watching his big brother doing some building while looking so grown up on a big truck!

This is a really cool area--big metal wall with magnetic pvc pipes and ping pong balls to make lots of tube mazes/tunnels.  Andrew spent forever working on this.

Avoiding Cabin Fever, Part I.

Ah, winter.  While I very much enjoy getting to do fun things like snowshoeing and learning to ski (lessons on Friday--so scared!!), I am not a fan of winter during the week when I'm on my own with the kids and B's at work.  Matthew's too small to play in the snow or enjoy long walks in the cold and Andrew doesn't stay out long before mittens fall off and he's too cold.  Anyway, I miss the warm days of summer when fun could be found by just walking out our door and we could spend all day just exploring outside or walk to a playground or something. 

I've found a few things that are helping Andrew, Matthew, and I get out of the house before we all (mostly Andrew) start bouncing off the walls and driving each other nuts.  I'll give you a nice little sampling of what we've been doing to survive and thrive this winter.  

1.  Winter Wednesdays at the Aviary!  $1 Admission and Story Time with a bird at 11am!  Awesome!

Big Hawk during story time!

What a cool bird!

Spinning thing with birds on top that Andrew loved, of course.

Matthew and a neighborhood friend, Jax, in front of a flamingo tree:

And, this is my friend Michele.  She lives across the street and is one of the kindest people I have ever met.  She has 4 kids and frequently sends the oldest 2 over to deliver treats like pumpkin smelling play-doh for Halloween and caramel corn around Christmas--AMAZING.  Oh-and did I mention that she keeps offering to watch the boys and telling B and I to go out for dinner?  We feel so blessed to have met her and knowing her has definitely helped ease the pain of the cross-country move!

Holidays!

I think I'm finally catching up around here after Christmas.  We headed to Pittsburgh to see B's side of the family.  It was a wonderful visit with great food, late mornings in pajamas, and late nights with cards and games.  You may wonder when we found time to sleep during our visit--well, we didn't do much of that at all.  Matthew decided to boycott sleep for the week and ended up in bed with us every night.  His preferred position was perpendicular to the 2 of us and he tossed and turned and woke us with pokes to the eyes every morning.  Thankfully, we had lots of coffee to get us through.

Here's some pictures from around the house during Christmas and during our trip to Pittsburgh:

We don't have a fireplace, so this was our make-shift mantle this year:

Andrew was pretty excited to help B make the fresh cut on our tree:

St Nicholas Came and brought gifts for Andrew and Matthew--Andrew was really relieved to find out that we first remove the gifts from our shoes before wearing them:

Our 2012 Christmas Tree...sadly, it stopped taking water before we left for Pittsburgh and was completely petrified when we got back.  This is our first tree that didn't last through epiphany, we had to take the fire hazard out before the new year!

Tools are everywhere and Matthew's lacking in training for what is and isn't appropriate...

We've had some gorgeous snow here this winter.

Andrew's first real snowman with the actual corncob pipe I've been keeping around for this reason for 3 years!

Steamrolling the snow.  What a great idea!

Bob's family recipe for nutrolls--my 2nd attempt.

Advent candles were sold out everywhere I looked before the start of Advent.  This was my first year ever without an Advent wreath, but I was a little excited about the centerpiece I was able to make.

Grandma made pillowcases for the boys!  Trains and sport themed--clearly, they are a big hit!

We live in a ridiculously friendly neighborhood and had people ringing our doorbell to deliver treats almost every night.  I made some almond coffee cakes to deliver in return.

The day before our flight to Pittsburgh, we went snowshoeing to take in all the mountain we could.

Matthew was on my back, but we couldn't figure out how to get him in the picture:

A certain little man is looking forward to being big enough to have his own snowshoes!

Just in case you were wondering what it looks like to fly on a plane with 2 small kiddos:

This is one of about 100 pictures we have of Andrew's face or forehead.  Apparently that's what happens when you try to keep him entertained by handing him your phone.

 Christmas morning at Grandpa and Grandma's!

Pittsburgh got some snow while we were there.  Here's the parking lot called the Liberty Bridge:

Matthew and Anna--old buddies.

Andrew, James, and Jonah--these boys used to hang out all the time!  We got together with all his other buddies too but I forgot to take any pictures--shoot!

Back in SLC to open more gifts--fun and HUGE puzzle from cousin Maddie!

Pajamas from Nana & Papa!

 And on to New Year's Eve--this is about as excited I get about this holiday.  Woo-hoo.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and that 2013 is full of blessings and joy!