Dance, Girlfriends, and More Snow!

Taylors dance recital was last night...woo-hoo! She did such a good job. It made me want to join her dance group just so I could wear cute, tight leather pants too!

It has been snowing ridiculous amounts of snow and so instead of trudging back home after the rehearsal, I stayed at the school and let the kids run and run and run in the school gymnasium.

All of a sudden, Blakey is going through an "I Love Girls and want to chase them EVERYWHERE" phase. Seriously! Who knew this was coming? At the school he met, and fell in love with little Emma. He chased her and chased her and hugged her and hugged her and when it was time to go he would not let go of her! He cried for her all the way out of the school.

Look at that sad face!
It continued to snow ALL NIGHT LONG! Luckily, it stopped long enough to build our first snowman! I forgot how hard it was to roll snow balls in the snow, but it was worth it!
And, "Ta Da" Luke is so proud!!

Then and Now

It's hard to believe last year at this time we were living in warm, sunny San Diego! Now that it is snowing and FREEZING cold, I am in complete culture shock!!
Right now I am missing:

• The Beach
• Capris and Flip Flops
• Good Mexican Food
• A warm day at the park hanging out with friends
• Christmas Tree Lane

Right now I am greatly disliking:

• 32 degrees with a wind-chill factor of 15 or less
• Icy roads
• Snowy roads and hills that my 2-wheel drive car cannot climb
• The fact that it takes almost 10 minutes, per child, to get dressed to go outside
• Ice cold toilet seats and bed sheets
• Scraping ice and snow off the windshield
  

However, I am totally LOVING:

• That it (for once in 6 years) is actually really beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!
• Watching my babies love the snow and playing in it
• Kissing their rosy cheeks after coming in from the cold
• Warm blankets, socks, and hot chocolate
• Cute, festive storybook and Christmas lights parades in town

It's amazing how much life can change in a year...this year was a drastic one...can I move back now, please?!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Winter

Goodbye warm, summer mornings at the park...

Hello 32 degrees and hot chocolate...
Goodbye flip flops, barefeet, shorts, and playing with the hose and mud in the backyard...

Hello, snow, winter coats, sweatshirts, long pants, socks and close-toed shoes...


Goodbye beach {{oh, wait. we already said goodbye to that}}, suntans, and air conditioning...

Hello, heated indoor pools, snowballs, snowmen, rosy cheeks and noses, and extra blankets...

Goodbye popsicles, green leaves, bright flowers, blue skies, and bicycles...

Hello, bare trees, runny noses, fireplaces, slippery roads, and snow sleds.