Plan a swim day with your play group. Get bundled up for the drive to the pool. Open the garage door and realize that it's not super cold and actually sunny. Let Owen play outside in the snow for a 1/2 hour while I shovel the driveway. Spend an HOUR AND A HALF in the pool with our friends. (Usually, Owen's teeth are chattering after 45 minutes, but the water was super warm today and we had good company.) Get home and realize this sunny weather might not last - spend ANOTHER half hour outside in the snow before lunch.
Snow - Swim - Snow...
Owen was practically falling asleep while eating his lunch. I'm pretty pooped too, but we're off to the library to see the holiday trains this afternoon.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Snow Days!
We FINALLY have snow pictures!!
Our snow was so late this year, that we finally packed Owen up two weekends ago and drove up to Mt Bachelor to try and find some winter. Even at the ski area, they only had a few inches, but Owen decided he liked the taste of it.
Here are my two guys at the mountain...
On Saturday we got some real snow at our house. Scott had to shovel the driveway for the first time this year, and we discovered that beach toys work in the winter as well. Unfortunately it was SOOO cold, that we could only play outside for a few minutes and the show was too dry to throw snowballs or build a snow man.
We've had snow flurries over the last few days, but today the heavy snow really hit. Our temperatures are back up around 30 degrees, so it's perfect for playing. Owen and I went to the gym this morning (which was surprisingly busy) and then came home to play in the snow before lunch. I worked on shoveling the driveway, and Owen "helped" with his beach shovels. He thought it was so fun to toss snow in the pile or have it fly in his face. He kept laughing and threw a pretty big fit when it was time to come inside. Thankfully, Owen's big thing right now is "helping" take jackets and hats on and off, so being inside was okay once he realized that meant helping take off all our layers and lay the hats and gloves in front of the fire. That and some warm chocolate milk made giving up the snow okay. For now... if it's not crazy cold tomorrow, I'm sure we'll be out again - maybe a snowman next time!
A little deeper today...
It was snowing so hard, that the driveway was already covered again by the time I finished shoveling. The white area behind Owen is where I started shoveling. Needless to say, Scott had to do the driveway a second time when he got home from work.
No snow in this photo, but I just love the close up of a happy kiddo.
Our snow was so late this year, that we finally packed Owen up two weekends ago and drove up to Mt Bachelor to try and find some winter. Even at the ski area, they only had a few inches, but Owen decided he liked the taste of it.
Here are my two guys at the mountain...
On Saturday we got some real snow at our house. Scott had to shovel the driveway for the first time this year, and we discovered that beach toys work in the winter as well. Unfortunately it was SOOO cold, that we could only play outside for a few minutes and the show was too dry to throw snowballs or build a snow man.
We've had snow flurries over the last few days, but today the heavy snow really hit. Our temperatures are back up around 30 degrees, so it's perfect for playing. Owen and I went to the gym this morning (which was surprisingly busy) and then came home to play in the snow before lunch. I worked on shoveling the driveway, and Owen "helped" with his beach shovels. He thought it was so fun to toss snow in the pile or have it fly in his face. He kept laughing and threw a pretty big fit when it was time to come inside. Thankfully, Owen's big thing right now is "helping" take jackets and hats on and off, so being inside was okay once he realized that meant helping take off all our layers and lay the hats and gloves in front of the fire. That and some warm chocolate milk made giving up the snow okay. For now... if it's not crazy cold tomorrow, I'm sure we'll be out again - maybe a snowman next time!
A little deeper today...
It was snowing so hard, that the driveway was already covered again by the time I finished shoveling. The white area behind Owen is where I started shoveling. Needless to say, Scott had to do the driveway a second time when he got home from work.
No snow in this photo, but I just love the close up of a happy kiddo.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
COLD and COLDER
We finally got our first snow over the weekend, but the pictures are on the other computer. I'll get them uploaded (and maybe video) sometime soon. For now, we are just trying to keep our toes from freezing off. We went from a prolonged fall to the dead of winter in about a three day span. When we left for daycare/work this morning, my car said 0 degrees. Z-E-R-O. That's too cold. Schools were closed yesterday, not due to snow or ice, but because they couldn't get the buses running - the fuel was gelling in the cold!
The sun came out today and it warmed up a bit - all the way to 14 on my drive home... I like winter, but you really can't enjoy it at this temperature. We need 20 more degrees, so we can go outside and play in the snow. (And we need it to be safe to drive up to Seattle for Christmas next week. We'll be keeping our eyes on the pass cameras.)
The sun came out today and it warmed up a bit - all the way to 14 on my drive home... I like winter, but you really can't enjoy it at this temperature. We need 20 more degrees, so we can go outside and play in the snow. (And we need it to be safe to drive up to Seattle for Christmas next week. We'll be keeping our eyes on the pass cameras.)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Holiday Traditions
A while back, I posted about our gift giving plan for this year – Want, Need, Wear, Read. I’m almost done with my gift purchasing, and it’s been really fun.
Now that we’re into the advent, I’m starting to think more about ways to celebrate the season. In fact, our family will be lighting the advent calendar at church on Sunday, and part of that responsibility is to share with the congregation about or family’s holiday traditions…hmmm. Better figure that out.
When I was growing up, we had one Christmas Eve tradition that was unique to our family. Since we weren’t a churchy family, we would go over to my aunt and uncle’s for their open house/dinner and then come home for… Elves Party! I’m not quite sure how it all started, but I remember that one year my mom made us all little elves shoes (slippers) and hats with bells to wear. Each year, we would pull them out, dance around to Christmas music, drink hot chocolate, etc. We also would open one “family gift” that was always a board game to play that evening and finish the night by reading The Polar Express and setting out cookies, carrots, and milk for Santa. It was totally silly and corny (and embarrassing to admit as a teenager), but also incredibly creative, lots of fun, and a tradition that belonged to only our family. Anyone else grow up with an Elves Party?
Since Owen is so little, we haven’t really established many rock-solid family traditions, but I’m reading with interest what other families are doing and starting to plan for the future. Here are some of my recent favorites:
My friend Phyllis always does month-long activities with her toddlers. Each night, they get a small gift that relates to a story about Jesus. They also read the advent story each night and add a new figure to their nativity scene. For example: (DEC. 2 - In the stable there was a MANGER, filled with hay . . . and DEC. 3 - . . . for the animals to eat. There were animals like a CALF . . . ) I love that!
I also read about a family that always put a big emphasis on Saint Nicolas Day (December 6). They always let had the kids open stockings on that day and talked about who Saint Nicolas (the Turkish Bishop) was and what he did to help people. Annie wrote that they always grew up knowing that Santa was a story, but Saint Nicolas was a real person that they could be inspired by.
Colleen is using December to teach her 4 boys about serving others. They're making a paper chain all month long with one loop for each "service" thing they do. Wouldn’t it be cool to meld those last two traditions? Open stockings on December 6 and kick off a month of service by talking about Saint Nicolas?
I also read about a family that is giving their kids 3 gifts each. Jesus got three gifts, we get three gifts. I could get inspired by that.
I guess we have a few years before Owen will be ready for these things, but it’s fun to ponder. I know our traditions will always evolve and it’s not something you can really plan for. They just develop over time until you (hopefully) look back fondly at the things that your family does to celebrate the season.
P.S. Thanks to Phyllis for the great tip on how to add the falling snow. We don't have any falling in Bend yet, so I'm loving having it on my screen (easier to drive in this way, too).
Now that we’re into the advent, I’m starting to think more about ways to celebrate the season. In fact, our family will be lighting the advent calendar at church on Sunday, and part of that responsibility is to share with the congregation about or family’s holiday traditions…hmmm. Better figure that out.
When I was growing up, we had one Christmas Eve tradition that was unique to our family. Since we weren’t a churchy family, we would go over to my aunt and uncle’s for their open house/dinner and then come home for… Elves Party! I’m not quite sure how it all started, but I remember that one year my mom made us all little elves shoes (slippers) and hats with bells to wear. Each year, we would pull them out, dance around to Christmas music, drink hot chocolate, etc. We also would open one “family gift” that was always a board game to play that evening and finish the night by reading The Polar Express and setting out cookies, carrots, and milk for Santa. It was totally silly and corny (and embarrassing to admit as a teenager), but also incredibly creative, lots of fun, and a tradition that belonged to only our family. Anyone else grow up with an Elves Party?
Since Owen is so little, we haven’t really established many rock-solid family traditions, but I’m reading with interest what other families are doing and starting to plan for the future. Here are some of my recent favorites:
My friend Phyllis always does month-long activities with her toddlers. Each night, they get a small gift that relates to a story about Jesus. They also read the advent story each night and add a new figure to their nativity scene. For example: (DEC. 2 - In the stable there was a MANGER, filled with hay . . . and DEC. 3 - . . . for the animals to eat. There were animals like a CALF . . . ) I love that!
I also read about a family that always put a big emphasis on Saint Nicolas Day (December 6). They always let had the kids open stockings on that day and talked about who Saint Nicolas (the Turkish Bishop) was and what he did to help people. Annie wrote that they always grew up knowing that Santa was a story, but Saint Nicolas was a real person that they could be inspired by.
Colleen is using December to teach her 4 boys about serving others. They're making a paper chain all month long with one loop for each "service" thing they do. Wouldn’t it be cool to meld those last two traditions? Open stockings on December 6 and kick off a month of service by talking about Saint Nicolas?
I also read about a family that is giving their kids 3 gifts each. Jesus got three gifts, we get three gifts. I could get inspired by that.
I guess we have a few years before Owen will be ready for these things, but it’s fun to ponder. I know our traditions will always evolve and it’s not something you can really plan for. They just develop over time until you (hopefully) look back fondly at the things that your family does to celebrate the season.
P.S. Thanks to Phyllis for the great tip on how to add the falling snow. We don't have any falling in Bend yet, so I'm loving having it on my screen (easier to drive in this way, too).
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