Penn State Chics Dig Nerds

We enjoyed beautiful weather today - nearly 60 degrees!  In January!  It was only a little more than a week ago that we were looking at snow.  On the way to Belleville, Natalee excitedly told me, "Mom, after we rest this afternoon, I'm going to ask Pappy to take me to the park!"  I got back from my appointment a little early, so I went, too.  The kids were running all around the playground from one thing to another.  You could tell that we have not been to any parks recently. What a difference a year makes.  Both kids willingly went down the tunnel slide without any hesitations. Natalee even got her pap in on the swinging action.  Of course, she made Pap go up to the booth and pay her for a ride first.  She gave him a ticket to redeem at the ride.  It was definitely a nice, enjoyable break from winter.  Even with a bit milder of a winter, I think it made me really look forward to spring. Brady is now tall enough to...

We woke up Saturday morning to about 6 inches of snow (on top of the 2 we received on Friday).  The kids were ready to go out the door immediately upon waking! The kids and I went sledding. Jesse blew snow off of the driveways.  I really don't think that this snowblower saved him any time-- I guess it saved him his back, though! Yummy snow chunks.  Natalee was disappointed that it would not pack into snowballs.  Following lunch and some much needed rest, we went back outside.  This time, Jesse could play with us. This time he gave the kids a push at the top of the hill.  That freed me up to take pictures! I love this picture.   Meg kept standing in the way.  I'm not sure why she wanted to get run over by a sled. Jesse and I gave the kids a few rides down the hill, too!

It snowed a little bit last night, so we went out first thing this morning to enjoy the new coating of snow.  It wasn't much snow, but it was enough soft powdery snow to make it fun.  While I was brushing the snow off of the driveways, the kids were sliding, shoveling, building "snow castles", and dumping snow on Meg. The kids discovered that you can go down the slide really quickly when it is covered in snow and you have slippery snow pants on..... ...and every time, they landed on their behinds!  But, the best fun of the day was sled riding!  I went down a few times, but my main job was holding the sled so that the kids could get on.  Then, I gave them a small push. It was super nice that Brady could pull his own sled and walk up the little hill all by himself.  It made my job a lot easier!  All of us were ready for a rest after lunch today. The kids are hoping that the weather system coming through this evening dumps a new ...

Although I've wondered a few times the past few weeks... they really do love each other!

This morning, we woke up to see a trace of snow on the ground.  This is probably the second time we have gotten a trace of snow this winter, so it is a big deal to the kids.  Actually, we had more accumulation in October than we have the whole winter.  So, the kids were clamoring to go outside.  I was not too thrilled about it-- not much I can do outside, plus I can't really fit into any of my winter gear.  Additionally, it is only 25 degrees out there.  That would not feel too bad if it wasn't for the wicked-feeling wind chill!  I suppose I'm being a bit wimpy :) They started off by shoveling.  That's what I normally do, too, but this wasn't even enough snow for me to worry about.  I'm hoping it blows away. No place to lay down when there is snow everywhere! Eating snow, of course! Natalee discovered it was fun to throw snow at the tree. Now, I'm being quite lazy and watching them from inside the comfort of my...