First Snow Day!

Sunday was an exciting day in our family. Every year I buy each of my kids a gift when the weather starts getting chilly. I wrap them in festive snowy wrapping paper and place them on our mantle in the living room. There they sit, tantalizing the kids until the day we see the first snow fall. We started this tradition when Tristan was old enough to enjoy and recognize snow and is a favorite ever fall.

It used to be very simple. Although we may have had a few flurries when the kids were younger, they really didn't notice until we had the first ground-sticking, wake-up in the morning to a white winter wonderland, beautiful snowfall. Things have been trickier the last couple years since the boys have become more aware of their surroundings. Over the years I have had to implement a few more rules.

1. Everyone has to see the snow for the first snowfall to count. No, it does not count if you see a few snowflakes at recess. No, frost does not count. No, you can't shave some ice indoors and throw it outside and expect it to count. (See why we had to make new rules?)

2. It has to stick on the ground until everyone sees it. OR...

3. If we are all walking outside and someone catches one in their mouth and we all see it, it can count.

Scenario number 3 was the big winner this year with Tristan being the "Catch-ee". As we were leaving church, the most beautiful, big snowflakes were falling down. The kids went wild trying to catch a big juicy flake to cinch the deal. We had jubilant kids on the ride home who couldn't wait to tear into their new presents. This year they each received a favorite animal. Some years we buy snow-related gifts while other years we just get something the kids will enjoy. Here are some photos to enjoy.

Fall Pictures

Trick-or-Treat

Another halloween come and gone. My kids, like all other kids, love halloween with the excitement of dressing-up topped with lots and lots of candy! I love seeing the kids all dressed up and carving pumpkins. Harry, however, absolutely hates halloween. He grudgingly goes along with the festivities but really hates it. I really like it up until we are leaving our the fourth stop, the kids are whining about someone "stealing" their candy, part of Alex's outfit is falling off, and we are busy removing and replacing Lyra's wings as we buckle her in-and-out of the car seat.

See, we live in the country and do country treat-or-treating - much different from our city counterparts. Here are the differences:

1. We do not have a designated night to go out - you need to be prepared any night within a week of halloween.

2. We do not walk door-to-door (mostly because walking a half mile between stops is not practical with 2, 4, 6, and 9 year-olds.) This means taking the kids out in the mini-van and strapping up between each stop - which means I should be careful with which costumes I choose but always seems to forget.

3. We only go to family and friends homes that we know well. I really enjoy stopping in to see people we love. However, instead of the normal "Trick-or-Treat", grab a hand full of candy and dash to the next house, we stand around and talk.

4. Because we stand around talking too long, we used to have to dress-up several nights in a row to get to all the required houses! Talk about dragging out the torture - no wonder Harry has learned to despise this event! Now we only do one night since the kids are older, we pared down the list of stops to only the essentials (grandparents and a few close neighbors), and we are a lot smarter (or less tolerant) than we used to be. Now, before you feel too sorry for the lack of candy our kids get for only going to a few places, we come to #5.

5. Because we only get a few trick-or-treaters in the country, we give large bags full of candy to each kid. So the pumpkins are full after a couple stops!