Second Verse, Same As The First

Why, yes, it did in fact snow here... again... today.

This time, fortunately, we only got the very southern tip of the storm and so there wasn't much accumulation.  Unfortunately, the way our house sits we got some funky drifts again.

But the drifting did leave room for soccer:

McColley, enjoying the drift, decided to bury a rhino:

With a victim in the snow, it was time to bring out the big snow removal equipment:

Start the digging!

Brayton had doubts about his brother's technique:

After the rhino was brought back to safety, McColley decided to trek over the dune:

It ended when he fell through:

It was time to go back to snow removal:

McColley then realized that his equipment wasn't quite up to the task... so he got out the snow shovel:

The broken snow shovel:

However, the shovel actually managed to hold up.  I ended up shoveling the whole driveway (again).

I did such a good job that Brayton decided it must be spring... bring out the trike!

To The Rescue!

Every week, after science class, McColley has a series of things he likes to do before we leave the museum.

His very favorite thing to do is play Di.ego.

First, we go to the N.ew Zeal.and bird exhibit and pick out which animal to rescue:

It is then up to Al.ecia (me) to assign Die.go (McColley) his mission.

Today, Di.ego had to help the black Malkoha find his cousing the gray Malkoha:

Die.go looked all over:

He even asked Baby J.aguar for help:

He finally found the gray Malkoha waaaay up at the top of a tree:

He then informed Alec.ia that he couldn't re-unite the cousins because he didn't speak bird... so she would have to do it:

D.iego, Alec.ia and Baby Jag.uar have rescued a lot of birds over the last five weeks.

Horses and Pirates Scare Away Monsters

The last time we went to the mall, I purchased a book about family crafts that with the promise to McColley that we would do some of the crafts featured inside.

After weeks spent in the house... we finally got to the craft store today to buy supplies.

I decided the easiest craft was going to be taking contact paper, making a collage, and then covering the collage up with more contact paper.  So, at the craft store I let McColley pick out a series of stickers and decorative paper.

He wanted to start making his collage as soon as we got home:

He got a little irritated that his pirate stickers didn't have an actual pirate... so he decided to make one out of the skull, bomb, hook and sword stickers:

After much McColley irritation at his brother's 'help', I finally figured out a way Brayton could add his own touch to the collage without irritating McColley... rhinestones!

The only problem we had is that the top layer of contact paper didn't sit quite right since so many of our stickers were 'tall'.

It still turned out pretty well though:

I let McColley decide where to hang it once it was complete... he decided it would help make him feel safe while he is falling asleep:

3 1/2-Year-Old Career Counseling

I just went to put on a sweatshirt and McColley followed me into the bedroom.  Standing in the doorway he told me that his head hurts.

I asked him why and he replied, "There are just so many options for what I'm going to do when I grow up. It makes my head hurt."

I then, of course, had to ask him what his options were.

He replied, "First, I'm going to be a police officer and arrest one bad guy.  Then I'm going to be a doctor and see patients.  Then I'm going to be a Jedi Knight and save the world.  I'll fight Bobbado... he's the bad guy in Star Wars."

He continued thinking as we left my room and walked down the hall.

After a small pause, he finished his career options with, "Then I'll be the guy who fixes light bulbs."

Flying In Playmates

Despite the snow and because of the long weekend, we got a special treat for Valetine's Day...

A Grandpa!

And A Grandma!

Grandma and Grandpa arrived Saturday night for the weekend.  On Sunday we woke up and had to think quite hard about what to do.  The two biggest requirements - the place had to actually be open and it had to have a large indoor area.

Eventually we settled on L.ongwood Gardens since Grandpa had not been there yet.

McColley immediately headed for the Drag.on's Lair:

After getting the painting out of our system, Brayton played in the water:

While McColley, Grandma and Grandpa went on a scavenger hunt:

Since it was Valentin.e's Day, we had to get a picture of just B and me:

As we continued our walk through the gardens Brayton discovered how well it echoes:

We finished touring the gardens and then came home.  B and I went out for a late-ish dinner while Grandma and Grandpa put the boys to bed.

When they woke up it was Story Time:

McColley spent most of the morning basking in the grandparental glow:

Brayon, realizing that his brother was completely occupied, enjoyed playing with his stuff:

The rest of the day was spent playing at home and in the snow with one small trip out to buy a belated birthday present (for me from my parents) and lunch.

My parents had to leave today, so we had to make one more attempt to get a Grandparent/Grandsons picture:

As Grandma and Grandpa got set to leave, McColley declared that he, Grandma and Grandpa were the Skyw.alkers and that they HAD to defeat Dark Laser (Brayton)!

Luckily Dark Laser was easily defeated:

After Grandma and Grandpa left... the boys completely crashed.

Of course, an afternoon crash means an evening adrenaline rush.

The Sheriff warned Dirty Dan:

And then had to lay down the law:

Law and order was restored in time for bed.

Digging Out... Again

It snowed all day yesterday.  The wind blew so much that at times we couldn't tell if it was still snowing or if it was just snow being blown back up into the sky from the ground.

B woke up very early so he could go into work... he had to dig his car out again:

The boys and I did our usual morning routine: breakfast, bath, clothes, playing, nap, etc...

B came home just after I set the boys' lunch up in the living room:

Only after he started eating did I realize that perhaps Brayton's bath was a bit too early today:

Again, after lunch, B headed outside to shovel the driveway:

According to the news we got about 12 inches.

We can't tell what our total was because of the drifts:

We're due to get some more snow on Monday... B won't be able to dig us out again.

The snow shovel broke about ten scoops from having a clear driveway.

Snow Storm #2 update

So, it is almost 6:30 Wednesday morning, and the snow has stopped - 18 hours earlier than expected!

Of course, that is because the freezing rain is coming down right now. The rain should continue for another couple of hours, and then the snow will pick up again for the rest of the day - oh and the temperature will be dropping as well with the wind picking up.

Digging Out (Or, The Post That Should Have Gone Up On Sunday)

Sunday night B was just too tired to post and on Monday his computer wouldn't upload the pictures... so, now that it's Tuesday, I'm going to go ahead and do this post for him.

It snowed all day Saturday, which meant we had to dig ourselves out on Sunday:

Of course, by 'we' I mean B.

Being an excellent husband (who really needed me to wash his clothes) he dug out the dryer vent first and then went out to tackle the driveway.

After opening the garage door and starting his work... he looked up:

A bit unnerved by the Ledge Of Snow Doom... he quickly got out from under there:

Once an escape route was established, he tried to knock some of the overhang down.  It (sort of) worked.

It was then time to tackle the driveway:

About two hours in, we had lunch.  By that time he'd cleared enough for the boys to go out and play after eating.

Brayton actually enjoyed it this time:

McColley couldn't decide if he wanted to help Daddy dig or have a snowball fight:

All the while... B kept digging:

Finally we got to the point that B could back his car up and remove the 2+ inches of snow that were UNDER his car.

The boys took that as a sign that the driveway was now cleared enough for bike-riding:

We ended up having to put the bike back because 1) there was still a lot of ice and 2) there is but one bike and two boys... fighting ensued.

It took B all day Sunday to clear our driveway.  He was one of a few people who had to work on Monday.  McColley's dance class was held and by the time it started (5:30pm) all the major roads were completely clear.

Today we HAD to hit the commissary (along with everyone else).  Luckily it wasn't nearly as packed as it had been last week.  I also had an eye appointment today, which had been originally scheduled for tomorrow.

Some might be asking, why did my eye appointment get bumped up a day?

Well...
It's snowing!  Again!

Yeah!  ::sarcasm::

All our activities for tomorrow have been cancelled and they've already shut down most schools for the rest of the week.

It started snowing here about 7pm and as of 10:30pm we're closing in on 2 inches... again.

We have about 24 hours of snowing left.

I cannot tell you how excited B is to shovel the driveway... again.