The 2014 Snow (Valentine's Day!)

From 5:00pm February 12 through 5:00pm February 13, it snowed.  And it snowed almost the entire East Coast.  For 24 hours with only a brief break, it snowed.  And I don't even have to write that Michael was out of town.  Official measurements in our neighborhood range from 16-19".  But then today, for Valentine's Day, the sun came out, the skies were blue, and the drip, drip of melting ensued. It was a Colorado storm.


The Duke-Carolina game was supposed to be last night. That was the only perk to Michael being out of town during the storm---I could at least watch my game in peace!  I had Matthew ready and everything, but the game was postponed 8 days due to the weather.  I failed at stuffing Matthew into this 2T outfit...don't think I can even pretend to squeeze him in it next week.  

The first morning of the storm, only 12 hours in of the 24.  I shoveled the driveway the night before after the kids were down.  Then in the morning before they were up and moved the Tahoe to the end of the driveway. And then it kept snowing, and snowing, and snowing.
  

After bedtime shoveling session #2 - the deck this time.

Ready or not, here we come!

My little buddy! I told the kids that if Matthew wouldn't tolerate the backpack or the snow in his face that I'd have to go back inside and they would need to play on their own. Praise God, Matthew seemed to love the pack!  Not only was that his ticket to being outside and witnessing the neighborhood fun, but it was MY only hope for keeping up with the shoveling.  And yes, my back is sore today! 

Narnia?

14" and counting...hours before the snow finally ceased.

 Day 2 was for sledding, snowmen, snowball fights, and eating snow!

Building a fort with Tristan and Grace.

 The morning after is always so beautiful. 

February, Part 1

Go Pro at Vail!  Michael experiment with the new camera on his early birthday trip this week to our beloved Colorado.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efetUteuVWA

With the Olympics on this week in Sochi, Russia and Michael skiing in Vail, it was natural for Andrew to ask, "Did Daddy do the Olympics?  He went skiing, you know." 

This week's "Out of the blue at dinner Moment" provided by Andrew:
"Someday I wanna be rich...because then I can go to the store and buy things for other people.  I like sharing with them...like gifts." Of course it's a different story when it comes to sharing with your sister!  Guess she doesn't qualify as "other people". 

No matter how I rotate this picture, it comes out this way:( But the sentiment is still there.  Dody visited one night to hand-deliver precious Valentine's books and left a note for Andrew (it had been a rough week for Andrew at school.  He read every bit of it by himself---clearly it wasn't memorized! 

And just in time for her visit, Mom's delightful armarylis finally bloomed. Gorgeous, and a beautiful reminder of her all day.

Strike a pose!

I can't get enough of the Bitty Baby pics. 

The cuddling each night is just priceless.

Melts your heart when your kids can write you their own Valentine's...and it was completely his idea.  Not a school project or "independent time" activity.

Sarah and Abby came to stay the night and Sarah loved helping Margaret keep her momentum on her new big girl bike.

Sometimes, even a cookie isn't worth staying awake for when Mom's been lugging you around all morning.

Ready for school!  The "ABCD dress", as Margaret refers to the precious jumper, was hand made by Dody #1 (MY grandmother) and "Bama" (my great-grandmother), who was actually Lena Margaret.  To be honest, I didn't realize there was a Margaret in the family when we named our little girl (named years before she arrived), but it certainly seems fitting now:) Originally stitched for Kate, it's been worn by every little girl since (Anne, Emily and me, then Sarah, Abby, and now Little Miss Margaret). 


Watching them on the monitor---priceless comments and hugs are abundant.

Andrew and I happened to notice Matthew take a step or two from the coffee table to the train table in the playroom.  Who knows how many times we've missed it.  We failed miserably at our attempts to capture it on video, which was our attempt to get him to try a few more steps.  

Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Broncos, etc.

Andrew proudly set up this shot

And this is the result of falling down the stairs in the morning.
Yes, it was as painful as it looks.
Thankful I wasn't holding anyone.

Who says babies can't communicate??

For the second year, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra came to Charlottesville for their instrument petting zoo and a kid-friendly performance. The musicians were wonderful with the kids, showing them how their instruments work and letting them try them out. The reading of Peer Gynt and accompanying performance was really fantastic.  Andrew and I had a fantastic time on our date!   

It was Super Bowl Sunday, hence the Broncos t-shirt.

 Curious what the neighbors are up to...his first sighting of a pogo stick:)

Super Bowl Sunday - we all dressed in Bronco colors for church, AWANA, etc. We had our cheer down and everything.  Oh, well.  Maybe next year, Peyton & Co? 

The New Testament

Things I definitely could NOT do when I was 5---he is VERY excited about his accomplishment in AWANA, despite how serious and quiet he looks here (you'll need to turn up the volume). He admits that's how he focuses.  

We are extremely proud of his hard work:)

Matthew: Age One

Grab a kleenex and click below to view the slide show of Jennifer Coon's precious photos of our sweet baby boy.  Oh, my!

http://albums.phanfare.com/slideshow.aspx?i=1&db=1&pw=OI9svPHt&a_id=6397936

Ice Skating & Ice Hockey

It's been the winter of skating and we couldn't be more proud of their progress.  Margaret started ice skating and is really patient with it.  Can't be easy when what you see on TV looks so much fun and then you have to work hard just to stand up!

Andrew's skating is holding steady, which is expected when you add multiple new skills and a boat load of equipment to the mix!  The driveway hockey game is a bit more low-key but just as fun.  

 Such focus and determination