Oops!

Dressed and ready to go, someone decided to join the twins in the tub.

I don't think it was quite the experience she was going for ...

Who's Who

Same purple shirt ...

Attempt at the same hair style ...

Different sister. Can you tell Who's Who?

Snow Days

It's been snowing in Richmond this winter ... a lot. It's not normal here. A sign that snow causes chaos: church has been cancelled twice and my boy's went to all of four hours of school last week. You'd think we'd be going stir crazy, but it's actually been kinda nice. So what have we been doing with all this unexpected vacation time?

Lot's of playing the Wii. The kids are obsessed with Wii Fit. Robert played it for a couple hours last week and was dripping in sweat. It's very entertaining to watch everyone skateboard, hula-hoop and run the obstacle course. And getting a little workout while you're gaming can only be a good thing ...

Reading good books. Cold weather calls for it. Makes you want to forgot the mountain of projects awaiting your attention and curl up with a good read. Or in Benjamin's case, a good listen. (Our library has these new things called "playaways" you can check out. It's an audio book on a little mp3 looking device. You provide the battery and the headphones. Very cool. He enjoyed listening to "The Lightning Thief.")

Tupperware full of rice = hours of entertainment! Who knew? Actually, after I graduated from BYU, I worked in a classroom with children with disabilities. We would fill big Tupperware containers with rice and have the students find different objects in the "sand." Great tactile exercise. But then a neighbor shared a tip on coloring the rice and it was an instant hit (Thanks Emily!). We added a few odds and ends from the kitchen and the kids have been having hours of fun. (And yes, we've been doing a lot of extra sweeping ...)

And of course, we've been playing outside! Hours have been spent sledding, playing with friends and building snow forts. Last weekend, Robert and the kids built a system of tunnels in the gigantic snow pile made by clearing the roads. They shoveled a 6 foot drop straight down to the ground and then a tunnel out to the side. They had great fun with it. Paranoid Mom wondered about the safety of such an idea - picturing some kid getting buried in the snow. Apparently, our apartment complex agreed. The kids saw the maintenance workers filling in the tunnels later in the week ... oops! The snow fort this weekend was built with our picnic table as a support. It was so inviting, Robert and the kids went back out at night and crammed in to watch a movie. Adventurous and cold! I was told, though, that "it was the coolest thing ever."

Burrr, I'm sure :)

We got another call tonight ... no school tomorrow. The kids are super excited! I'm hoping to get to some of these projects - the half finished, half not stage is looking as chaotic as the weather. I did manage to get our taxes finished and filed this weekend though- hurray for refunds!