Look at this boy go! I’m so proud of him!! His teacher (in the red bathing suit) is also super proud of him and raves about him after each lesson. Silly boy still fusses before each lesson and tells me he’s too tired, but then he does the lesson, does great, and comes out super excited about what he’s learned.

At the end of his lesson he did the freestyle stroke for about 3/4 of the length of the pool (not across as he is in the videos).

Alan is on his way home with a movie, so this hopefully will be quick. I couldn’t decide if I should title it “Happy Valentine’s Day” or “Crazy Weather Day” or what. So I went with generic. Here are a few thoughts on our day.

Happy Valentine’s Day! We started the morning with homemade cards from me to them. The kids were thrilled with the little messages I wrote them. Then we made strawberry pancakes for breakfast, played a bit, then headed out to a playdate at what Lex has deemed his “most favorite house ever to play at!” Why? Because “they have a fire truck that’s smaller than ours, but the ladder is bigger! And they have trains!” It’s the simple things for that boy. :)

This afternoon they got a reprieve from quiet time to watch a front loader and team of dump trucks clear massive snowbanks from the street. It was pretty exciting and, I’ll admit, cool to watch the maneuvering of the front loader driver.

This afternoon it was sunny and 50°!! Crazy weather. We decided to head out for some playtime before the forecasted rain came. By the time we made it outside the sun was gone, but it was still pretty warm and we had fun playing for awhile.

Eve climbing in the tire tracks left by the front loader

Throwing snowballs

She's such a cool chick

Silly kids

Our first snowman of the season.

We are safe now with these mini snowman guarding our house. :)

We can sled anywhere!

I read somewhere (Parents magazine, maybe) a suggestion to use tape to keep kids mittens and gloves on in the snow.  My first thought was “that looks silly,” followed quickly by “but hmm… I wonder…”  Both of my kids lose their mittens in the snow several times each outing, despite all the velcro fasteners on their snazzy winter clothes.  When we went outside this morning I was able to talk Lex into letting me wrap his arm with packing tape :)  Eve, of course, wanted some too!  I got Lex out the door, then got Eve dressed and out the door, then myself.  When I made it out, Lex yelled “Mom!  The tape is working!”  And it did.  We were out for about an hour and their hands stayed nice and warm.  Yay!

Here’s a quick video from this morning too.

I ended it just a second too soon. Right after I stopped it he said, “That Did Not Work.” :)

Rosy came swimming with us this weekend so I finally got to take some pictures! Yay! It was Saturday afternoon and the pool was PACKED, but we all had fun. Check out my little fishes.

Ok, that last one isn’t really swimming, but it’s close! Lex built the solar powered boat today and we put it in water. I think we need a stronger light source (What?! Stronger than the sun in VT in January?!?) It was fun anyway.

We woke this morning to a heavy blanket of snow and the much anticipated call from school. Snow day! I played the message for Lex and his face spread into a huge grin. He kept saying, “I can’t believe there is no school. I just can’t believe my school is closed. Wow!” I think this is our first snow day of this school year, though we had a few last year. I love that our school district calls parents. Last year they gave us a flyer with information about TV and radio stations to tune to for school closing information and I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to figure it out. Dumb, I know, but we don’t watch TV or listen to the radio. I was super exited that first snow day when they called. Now I don’t worry about it.

Anyway, we had a relaxing morning with a leisurely breakfast over a game of Sorry.

I got some cleaning done while the kids played nicely, then when the sun finally came up we bundled up and headed outside for shoveling. Here are a bunch of pictures, although I realize they probably look the same as any other day we play in the snow. They make me happy however, so here they are!

Just a bit of snow. A dusting, really. We've seen worse!

I thought Lex was helping me shovel the driveway, but it turned out he was just shoveling a path to his trucks.

Sledding on the snow bank by the garbage can. Still fun!

Lex likes the new calendar. I'm not sure why, but this afternoon he pulled a chair over and spent a long time looking through it. He was excited to find his birthday there.

Eve was outside too, I just didn’t get any good pictures of her. Oh well. Parrish came over to play and then we all went inside for more playing. It has become much easier to get in and out now that the kids are a bit older. I’m sure this is obvious to most, but a pleasant surprise to me. Lex gets himself completely dressed and out the door. I dress Eve and send her out, then get myself dressed. I trust they won’t run away in the few minutes it takes me to get outside. On the other end, Lex is usually done first so he goes in when he’s done. I try to keep him out as long as possible, but he’s usually done after 30-4o minutes. Eve and I usually stay out a bit longer, but it’s nice that Lex can go in by himself so I don’t have to try and balance between the two of them.

After quiet time we had a picnic snack in the living room with a family game of Sorry (Alan was working from home today). Then more playing and dinner and bed. A very nice snow day! We shall see what tomorrow brings.