Winter is Prison

Hallie made the observation that “winter is prison” this week. We make the effort to go out, but this stuff is unusual even for the Midwest. Oh, well. Could be (has been and, judging by the forecast, will be) worse. No one out here better complain about summer heat six months from now.

Monday, January 20 – The kids and Mike had the day off from school for MLK Day. Landon taught us a song he learned about Dr. King. While we love having the kids at home, all these days of cold weather have tried our patience. Mike found Landon’s sled in the garage and encouraged the kids to go play in the backyard for a bit. It seemed to help. 

"Mush!"

We had a lesson on the creation and the fall as described in the Old Testament for family home evening. We have a family goal to read through the OT, and so far we are off to a good start.

Tuesday, January 21 – Back to school again. In the cold. Same old story. Eliza had her first Pipsqueak PE class with Ms. Suzanne at the park’s rec center today. She did a great job at following directions and participating and only came over to visit Mom once.

Mike looks at Eliza dressed up like this and dreads the day boys will start to notice her. 

Sporting her full list of activities accomplished today

Wednesday, January 22 – We had a busy morning, but by the afternoon things had settled down.

Mani-pedi time with Mama

This activity is getting to be more common. He knows several sight words and has great phonetic awareness. 

Thursday, January 23 – Hallie and Mike celebrated 15 years of marriage today, which day is a far cry from that sunny Saturday those years ago. We had all our normal errands and events today. We adjusted the kids’ speech and occupational therapy times to Thursday afternoons, which allows them to go to school in the mornings but has at least one negative side effect:

Sleeping Beauty. Usually if she goes to speech after falling asleep, it's a big waste. Today, however, she was able to get some work done. 

Friday, January 24 – The kids had another day off from school today, this time for their teachers’ professional development. We made the best of being cooped up. Landon had a doctor’s appointment in the morning, and Hallie had one in the afternoon. Dad and the kids built a blanket fort and otherwise spent time bounding around in the family room before we got things cleaned up for movie and pizza night.

Not many blanket forts can boast their own fireplace. 

 What better use for a pile of pillows, bean bags, and blankets than a place to pile into?

Saturday, January 25 – Mike took Landon to gymnastics and then to Donut Express for a manager’s special donut before going to the local Barnes and Noble for what they thought was the right time for The LEGO Movie promotion. Turns out our bookstore’s promo would not be held until the afternoon. Snow started falling, and temperatures dropped through the day. Landon came home with a bit of a crummy attitude, but that changed once we went back out and picked up the missionaries to go help our friend Jayne pull up and remove the carpet from her basement, which had flooded a little bit ago. Landon really enjoyed using the utility knife and carrying the carpet rolls up and out of the house. He does a great job with tasks that require him to use his body, so this was the perfect outlet for him. We returned to the bookstore for the promotion, and apparently everyone else in town had gotten the memo. 

Some pretty geeked-out kids (and grown-ups) in attendance

Activity time. "All you have to do is believe in yourself."

Sunday, January 26 – The children have learned a new trick for keeping warm:

Thanks, Karen, for the new tea set! It and the rest of the kitchen are Eliza's new favorite toys. 

We had one of the sets of elders over for dinner and made snow ice cream for them from the fresh stuff that fell today. Then we Skyped with Uncle Riley, Aunt Breanne, and Cousin Porter. We got a walking tour of their new home. Very posh! 

We anticipate that school will be canceled at least one day next week for "Arctic Vortex, Part 2." Winter is indeed prison, at least this year.