Frozen

We have had a very cold and snowy January.  Somewhere Mother Nature or Queen Elsa is really letting it go and shows no sign of stopping soon.  I don't mind the snow.  I am definitely a soul who appreciates living in an area where we can experience all four seasons.  I just don't like the snow when it is accompanied by below zero temperatures and wind chills.  

These pictures were all taken over the last week.  We got lots of snow.  It was freezing cold.  My kids had three days of school off in a row.  It all kind of blurs together. 

I love a dark blue sky in the wintertime.  

This picture is so random, but these are my feet in my Spencer's boots.  I just slipped them on to go out and shovel a little bit.  It just hit me while I was out there that I had a kid big enough to share shoes with.  Crazy.

Spencer eyeing our icicle display.  He wanted to knock it down so badly.  I told him he was not allowed for fear of getting a fallen icicle lodged in his cranium.

Belty shoveling the snow and loving the scarf. 

Do you notice anything different about her?  She lost her first top front tooth on Friday.   I can't get over that little gap toothed smile.

She is intense about throwing snowballs at her brothers.

Spencer tunneled through one of our high snowbanks. 

Three kids happy to be off school and in the snow. 

Spencer found a chunk of snow that looked like Africa.  

Evan had "snowflakes that stayed on his nose and eyelashes".....I couldn't really get the photo to do it justice.

Another time shoveling with Little Miss Tiny.  I swear she could stay out all day and never get cold.

We have a few more inches of snow predicted this evening and then more over the weekend.  I don't think a thaw is anywhere in our near future.  I have a feeling these snow hills will be around until the end of April.

I might even be a rockstar...

Last week our baby girl turned seven.  Seven.  It doesn't even seem possible.  Most days I still think that Spencer is still seven.  I don't like how quickly this time is marching on.

We celebrated her "real" birthday by going out to dinner with Grama and coming home to open gifts and have some cake and ice cream.

This is probably the most expensive outfit she owns and it is for her doll.  Evan had wanted to buy her that Indian outfit since before Christmas.   One day a few weeks before Christmas he was telling me about how much money he had earned and how he almost had enough to buy Hailey the Indian outfit for Toby.  Isn't he the sweetest?  I told him that the clothes in the American Girl catalog were very expensive and maybe he and I could find a pattern and make her a dress.  He kind of liked the idea of getting the sewing machine back out, but had reservations about whether or not a dress we made would be fancy enough.  So we ordered the doll dress that costs more than any dress hanging in her closet, but he was so excited to give it to her.  I don't know what his face in the photo is all about.

She loved her new One Direction lunch case and I love how excited she was to open up her new Bella Ballerina shoes.

The strangest gift by far but also another one she loved was her new trash can.  She told our scout elf Springle that she wanted a trash can you can step on to open.

A few days later we had a party for her friends at Daddy's school.   The girls got to get "rock star chic" in the dressing room with the help of some of the "big girls".

After they were all decked out, they all headed to the stage for a crazy dance party.

It was so much fun to watch all of them singing and dancing.  They all had the best time.

After dancing, we headed back to the rehearsal room where we had set up a table for cupcakes and ice cream.

Photo bombed by big brother paparazzi.

It was a great party.  I don't know if we will ever be able to top the rock star birthday.

Bundled

Our new year has started out chilly.  Weather forecasters are calling for record or near record below zero wind chills over the next couple of days.

Evan and Hailey were going outside to shovel our neighbor's driveway the other night and I commented that they should wear scarves to keep themselves warmer.  They both told me they didn't want scarves because they didn't get that cold - only their faces.  I promised them that the scarves would help with that and they let me tie them around their heads - still a little skeptical.   After I had them all scarfed up Evan told me "I didn't know that scarves could go like this.  I thought they only tied around your neck.  That is why I didn't want to wear one."

They are now a scarf junkies.

The kids are waiting anxiously to see if their Christmas break will be extended tomorrow due to the weather. The funny thing is that the last time they had a snow day the day before Christmas break (the year Evan was in three year old preschool and I had handmade a dozen individual gingerbread houses to decorate - still bitter about that Mother Nature) they also had a snow day the day they were supposed to go back.  It seems like history may be repeating itself around here.  We shall see.  I have a feeling their will be three pairs of inside out pajamas and ice cubes in the toilet tonight.