january extras

here are a few random pictures that didn't find a blog home this month

my children think they are pirates

i don't know where this fetish came from

but i have to admit that it is rubbing off a bit on j and i

step lively, girls

arrrrrgh, matey!

and

walk the plank!

are just a few of the latest phrases we've been tossing around ;)

the performances have been plentiful this month

lots of singing, musical instruments, dancing, and even a FROZEN puppet show

we're proud to say that we know all the words to every song on that soundtrack

i know...i know...what a bunch of geeks

but we've been stuck inside with this miserable cold weather so we've resorted to lots of living room dance parties to keep ourselves busy

one day daddy got wild and gave the girls rambo headbands that he found in my scarf drawer :)

this one just keeps getting better

her nights are getting longer and it takes very little to put a smile on those rosebud lips

finally, no month would be complete without lots of sister snuggles

and sisters fighting...

and sisters sharing the flu...

and pink eye...

and ear infections....

although i really don't want to remember the day that they were all puking simultaneously for 12 hours...i do kind of wish that i had a picture of it just because i can't hardly believe that we survived such an ordeal. but, alas, i was not in the picture-taking frame of mind that day and the following gems are much more fun to look at anyway...

and by the way...we're still hanging on to Christmas

or maybe Christmas is still hanging on to us

mostly its the fact that we are too lazy to strap the tree to the vehicle and haul it out to the compost pile

so it is still sitting on the deck, providing a safe haven for the squirrels and birds and shining a little cheer into these bitter january nights

here's hoping for a february warm up

word on the street is that we might have temperatures high enough to get these little rascals outside to make a snowman tomorrow

i'll take it!

here comes the brrrrr

word on the street is that the polar vortex is swingin' back our direction

 so we drank in the last of daylight with a bit of sledding, snow painting and just hangin' around in the swing :)

these goofy little owl hats were compliments of grandma

delicious mouthfuls of white fluff compliments of mother nature

a few deep breaths of fresh air before we shut ourselves in again

i'm seeing lots of crafts, go fish and old maid on our horizon...

but i don't mind it too much

when i'm cuddled in snug as a bug with these knuckleheads, i'll be honest - there are moments when the term "suffocation" comes to mind

but mostly its cozy :)

january heat wave

we went from nearly fifty below windchills and the governor calling off school for the entire state

to

thirty six degrees and sunny all in the matter of one week

if you live round these parts, you don't need me to tell you that it felt like we had arrived in the bahamas...or like the bahamas had arrived to us

we scampered to the closet and pulled out every waterproof item we own and hit the sledding hill

it was little miss susie sunshine's first time in a sled and the look on her face says it all

she dove right in, not even flinching when the dog kicked up snow in her eyelashes

this little fashionista got a new winter hat as her melon outgrew the old one

she's loving the new look and will proudly model for friends and strangers alike

even as i type, the temperatures are dropping again

and my students are one hundred percent positive that we're going to have another snow day soon

brrrrr...glad we got out when we did!