7 Snow/Ice Days and Counting

It's been a crazy week of weather. Our kids went to school one day this last week. School was closed Monday because of freezing rain and ice. They went to school Tuesday, and I subbed in Aubrey's class Tuesday, but then it started snowing that afternoon and all evening activities were cancelled. Tuesday evening we got word that school was closed for the next day. It snowed all night long, and we woke up to a winter wonderland the next morning. We got around 5 inches of snow--beautiful! The kids had a blast playing in the freshly fallen snow. It was such a fun day with neighborhood friends, sledding and playing all day. The temperatures dropped after Wednesday and stayed well below freezing, which led to no school Thursday or Friday. The kids were outside quite a bit on Thursday but less on Friday. Today is Saturday, and the snow is still here! Greg worked from home one day and hitched a ride with a coworker the other two days. The roads are still snow and ice-covered, and I haven't left the neighborhood since Tuesday. It's cold and windy today, and the novelty of snow has worn off for the kids. They didn't even go out today. We took a walk around the neighborhood just to get out, but boy, was it windy and cold!

We've played in the snow a lot but have had indoor fun, as well. We've played board games, worked on puzzles, read, done some housecleaning, watched shows and movies, baked cookies and muffins, enjoyed lots of hot chocolate and apple cider, played video games, and played with neighborhood friends. I taught myself to crochet this week and have completed several dishcloths with this down time.

I've loved the slower pace and the time at home  (it's like we've had winter break, part 2!), but I think if this goes on much longer, we might all start to go insane! It'll be back to "normal" life soon enough, so we've got to enjoy this while it lasts.

Last night we sent the kids outside to find some untouched snow to make snow ice cream. They went across the street to the neighbors's (without kids) yard. :) The ice cream was delicious!

The untouched snow fetchers

pie-in-the-face game

playing Settlers of Catan

Joel's New Room

For over a year now, Joel has been asking to have his own room again. He and Grant have been sharing for the past few years, and it's worked out really well, but we understood why he might not want to share with his brother who is four years younger than him. We had Elizabeth (used to babysit the kids and is now a college student at Corban) stay with us for five days over Christmas break, which forced us to make-over our catch-all, office room downstairs. The elliptical machine, file cabinet, and computer armoire all went in our bedroom, which still has plenty of room.

As soon as Elizabeth left, Joel was ready to move in, but I kept putting him off.  I liked the boys sharing a room. Grant adores Joel, and I just love their special relationship and how sweet Joel can be with him. I didn't like the idea of Grant being left all alone. However, we knew Joel really wanted it, so we told him it would be an early birthday present for him, and I started planning and researching what furniture we could fit in that small room. It's technically an office/den, not a bedroom, and doesn't have a closet. A trip to IKEA solved that issue for us. We bought a "beast" of a wardrobe and some curtains and stopped at Home Depot for some paint to start our project. It turned out great! Joel is so happy with his new room and his own space. Grant is doing just fine with the change, too. Kari helped Joel move his things downstairs and then she helped Grant rearrange the stuff in his room to make it feel not so empty. I think it's going to be ok. :)