Snow Days

      We finally got some decent accumulation.  We had a blast outside with our neighbors and then we met the Toomeys and the Trentadues at the neighborhood hill for some real sledding.  By the time we got there the hill had been well used.   That didn't stop Sam from trying to go over the "jump" that had been fashioned by the huge pipe.

         Aimee, Matt & Brock go for a ride

We forgot to mention to the Trentadues (who met us late) that there was a creek at the bottom of the hill.  Aimee and I were taking pics at the bottom of the hill when we saw this kid come flying down on a sled... right into the creek.  We didn't realize until we'd fished him out that it was Josh!

     Matt & Brock managed to avoid the creek.  

Mike didn't realize it was a creek.  Poor Josh!  He was a trooper with a fresh set of gloves and his hat turned inside out.  

    Josh finally laughs after his swim!     Trentadues  Calee and Grace

  Heather and Grace 

 By the end of the day Sam and Gavin had both taken the plunge as well.  Gavin's had to take the    cake.  He flipped over into the creek head first.  He was soaked through.  The Toomeys shared their hot chocolate and it was time to head home.  

  

            

I also got some good footage of the Oberles (who managed to stay out of the creek), but didn't manage a totally accident-free outing.   

   

We had a blast!  

Snow!

Snow in Richmond!  (Don't worry, the forecast calls for 75 degrees 5 days later)

Grace was the first one outside
So we spent all this energy, time, and cash to take the kids to the snow.  If only we'd waited.  The following weekend we got the actual stuff at our house.  The night it started to snow the kids went out to ride their sleds down the front hill.  They didn't quite realize that the light dusting of powder wasn't going to cut it, hence the video of Grace.

Gee, do you think I'm unprepared in my pajama pants and pool shoes?  

       

  This counts for a snowball in the Confederacy!

        "Sledding" in the front yard??

   Does this count?  

Tubing

We took pity on our kids (who didn't remember ever playing in the snow) and bought tickets to go tubing at a local ski resort.  Getting there involved two attempts (stomach flu killed the first one), driving up to the mountain, and finally we got the payoff.  It was a blast.  Totally worth all the money (the tickets are priced like lift tickets).  

    Sam tries out the tube
Heather and Grace waiting in line 
  Gary and Sam ready for take-off

  A view over the mountain at the end of the day.  

I Have a Dream

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day and I thought I would share an excerpt of one of his famous speeches.   I am grateful to him and to all who sacrificed to bring civil rights to everyone in our country.  I especially love the part where he says "I have a dream that little white boys and girls and little black boys and girls will join hands as brothers and sisters...".  Civil Rights activists who went before me paved the way for that dream to become a reality in my household.  A little white boy and a little black girl do join hands as brother and sister in our home and we are so grateful!  

 Our dream.  Thank God Almighty...

Regardless of how you voted in the last election, I think we can all agree that Tuesday will be an historic day for our country.   I can't tell you how excited my little girl is to see little girls who look like her living in the White House.  

Happy MLK Day!  

To cap off the spoiling...

Sam and Grace have been drooling...er...walking past the Build a Bear shop at our mall for years.  We've gone in many times and drooled up close, too.  Every time we go in and figure out what we would get and how many allowances would have to be saved to make it a reality, we trudge home empty handed.  (Answer:  many, many allowances)

So, after 2 1/2 years of asking if they could get a bear for their birthday, for Christmas, for Easter, for Flag Day...  we finally decided that would be their birthday gift from us this year.  Unbeknownst to them, Gary has been in a "let's buy everything" kind of mode.  It panned out big for them.  I talked them into the cheapest animals and clothes, but then Gary came along with accessories and it was all down hill (or uphill if you were Sam & Grace) from there.  

  Selecting an animal was tough for Grace, but not as hard as narrowing down her accessories. 

 The Before...
 Sam tried out the "air bath" and it also works on 7 year old boys!  
  Registering the pets 

We spent a long time in the store and they had a blast.  I know Gary and I have enjoyed the noise of the rollerskates on the wood floor at home, over and over again.  I also love the additional sound effects that we added.  The electronic "giggle" noise in Grace's bunny and Sam's puppy's "barking" sounds never get old.  Good times!   

 Grace and Fluff Ball (AKA Carrot) 
  Sam with Max in a slam dunk pose

Happy Birthday, Kiddos.  

Happy, happy birthday, children dear...

Sam and Grace celebrated their birthdays last Sunday, January 11th.  Sam is 7 and Grace is 6.  Every-other year is a huge party with friends.  This year was our small family party.  Grace was thrilled when she found out that a "family" party didn't just mean the 4 of us.  The festivities included Grandma & Grandpa Payne and her aunts, uncle, and cousins who all made the drive down for the fun.  

So the "small family party" included 11 cousins making cookies.   We had a few sneezers (whose cookies were quickly marked for them alone), but everyone else shared the germs.   Let's hear it for Beth who made stars for the adults that the kids didn't get a chance to sneeze on! 

We had cupcakes, cookies, candy and then to top it off we sent the cousins home with giant lollypops.  Enjoy that car ride with the kids hopped up on sugar!  They may never come back!  

Beth helped Gary rig up our ping pong net across our kitchen island for a ping pong tournament.  I think Grandma and Reagan had the nicest match.  Gary and Beth got a little vicious!   I got some decent ping in my pong if I do say so myself!   :-)  

Sam and Grace also got Christmas presents from Grandma and Grandpa Payne, in addition to opening presents from cousins in Utah and Kansas and Grandma and Grandpa Minster.  In short, they really raked in the loot.  So much for a "small" party!  It was a blast.  We're so glad our DC families drove down to celebrate with us.  

Brooke & Jake show off the sugar!
Reagan things she has hers to herself.  Did I mention it was great to have Brookie home from college for a visit? 

  I'm 7!  May the force be with you.  He opted for real toys on the cake so that he could play with them later.   Darth Vader's light saber doubles as the candle.   Did I mention Sam just got to watch Starwars Clone Wars?  He's a huge fan!
Sam:  Mmmmmm!!       Mom:  Hmmmmm???

I'm 6!  Grace went the toy route, too.  She had a puppy cake with Littlest Pets.  
  Grace fully intends to enjoy this entire thing.  1 week later it is still going strong.   What can I say?  I had one in my room from Disney Land that I worked on for months and my mom let me do it.  

The traditional Payne family "hug" goodbye.  Hey, at least we didn't do it at a baptism this time!  

Not to be outdone, Grace decided to make her own penguin.  

School Days

Sam has had several projects due at school  on arctic animals.  Most have been scientific (animal's habitat, diet, etc.)  but this project was a little more creative.  He had to decorate his penguin any way he wanted to and then write a story about it.  He was really happy with the result and wanted to film  a reading of it.   Do you think book TV is looking for new authors?  Oh well, he wanted to share the adventures of Sargeant P.  even if the audience is small.  :-)