Another Snow Adventure

It's snowing a lot right now. All that snow coming down reminded me of Wednesday when the big winter storm hit and it took until Thursday for the plows to get our road swiped.

Wednesday morning we got out before the snow got too deep for our little car. We stopped once so John could help dig out a lady's car which had slid into a snow bank. We learned long ago to always have a shovel in our trunk!

After we returned home, John had a home project to do. He put in a new outlet in our bathroom so that we could run the space heater in there without the power going out. Warmth! After lunch, we headed out again. This time we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to enjoy some company, games, and a warm wood-burning stove. I love watching the fire.

It wasn't until nearly the boys' bedtime that we headed home and discovered that our street had not been plowed yet. John pushed our car to get it going at the corner then just jogged home while I kept the car moving through the deep snow. When we got to our driveway, John got out and starting shoveling. When I started to get out to help, Josiah said he wanted to help shovel too. Of course, Nathan chimed in then, "I wanna shobel." So everyone but Noah got a shovel and started clearing the driveway (and whatever other snow pile looked like fun). Noah did not appreciate waiting in the warm car. After a lot of pushing and digging we got the car into the drive. Our neighbors came across the street to help us with the final push.

While we were stilling shoveling a path to the door and visiting with the neighbors, Nathan had the scooter out and was trying to ride it through the 5 or 6 inches of snow on the sidewalk. I wish I had gotten a picture of it!!

Snow always seems to bring adventure.

It's Shrinking! It's Shrinking!

We checked on our (previously posted) igloo at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It is noticeably smaller. After we cleared away the entrance, Josiah went inside to check it out. He used to be able to kneel in there without bumping his head but this time wasn't even able to sit up. AHHH! The walls are closing in! It was still strong though. Josiah was able to climb on top and safely stand. It wasn't until later when John and I were out on our date that Josiah took a shovel to the roof and helped the cave-in along. It's more like a pup tent here than an igloo. :0)
There's not much room in here.

Climbing

Josiah

King of the igloo!

ExpERIEnce Children's Museum

We were blessed with a membership to the Erie Children's Museum this Christmas. Saturday was our first family visit. Since Josiah had been there before, he let the lady at the counter know that he would show us around. The museum is full of hands-on, learning activities that all the boys loved. I tried to capture the fun with a camera the best I could.

The first stop for Nathan was the giant bubble maker. I don't think he made one that lasted more than a second but he had a lot of fun trying.

The water table may be the all-time favorite. You can build dams and waterways and race the boats and ducks to the end of the table. Josiah made a reservoir too.

We all tried out the ball path where we could make any path we wanted with different sizes of wooden boards. Nathan was fascinated with the power of vibration moving and dumping the pasta into the container. He wanted to see it again and again.

The cave was very cool with cave drawings and even a slide.

Noah wasn't too sure about the rocking horse but they all loved the wind tunnels where they could put a ball in the tube then blow it through the twisting tunnels and out the other side.

Checking out the giant kaleidoscope.

Nathan and Noah enjoyed turning the wheel which in turn powered a giant colorful "windmill" overhead.

Nathan enjoyed more wind-powered tubes, music, floating packing peanuts and more.

John and Josiah spent a lot of time building cars at this station. I wondered if I would see them again.

Noah found something to climb. After accomplishing his task, Noah took time to survey his domain.

Noah and Nathan tried out the airplane.

The grocery store was a great time. They all had fun collecting things for the basket. Nathan was frequently spotted trying to taste the "veggies." Josiah showed us how to work the scanner and scale. You may notice marks on their face now. Yep, there are face paints here too.

John showed Noah the plasma ball. Nathan like the gravity-powered drawing tool.

Noah and John checked out the globe while Nathan played at the gravel table.

Before we left, we had to stop at the water table again. I should have gotten a picture of Nathan on the floor but was too busy trying to stave off a full-blown meltdown because we were leaving. We all had fun and look forward to many more visits throughout the year.

Playing Around

I've been playing with Josiah's new birthday present. He received a "Little Shots" digital camera which can record silent videos as well as take regular pictures. Now I want a new battery for my video camera more than ever! I'm sure I'll be downloading massive amounts of pictures and video for Josiah and probably myself too. :0)

Peek-a-boo!

Noah has mastered the steps!

I'm Painting!

John and I gave washable poster paints and a lot of paint brushes to Josiah for his birthday. Yesterday, Josiah, Nathan and I tried them out. It was so much fun that we were still painting when Isaac and Eli came over so they joined us. I've posted just the first few paintings that we created. When I looked at our clothes, I was so thankful that the paints are washable!

Here are the boys working on their art.
An original painting by Nathan

An original painting by Mommy

An original painting by Josiah

Another original painting by Josiah

We did more painting at the end of the day. When John told the boys it was bedtime, Nathan responded, "I'm painting!"

Happy Birthday Josiah!

January 18th was Josiah's 6th birthday! We had a party at our house on Saturday, the night before. Despite the snowy weather, we had a good turnout. It was an all around good time!

Josiah with his "brick wall" cake and tool candles.

"Happy Birthday, dear Josiah....Happy Birthday to you"

Nathan gives Josiah a little help blowing out the candles.

Grandpa, Nona and Papa

Time to open gifts! Josiah treats opening gifts like an assembly line. He just circled the table and opened gift after gift. He took more time to look at them after they were all opened.

Olivia and her daddy, Mike.

Noah enjoyed all the festivities in his jammies.

My niece, Savannah, playing with a balloon.

Our friend Zamar

A few random shots of people playing and visiting.

We got Josiah to show us a few of his gifts. The next morning, he told me that "Lego's and locks are my favorite." That's right. He got padlocks for his birthday. Thank you, everyone, who came and celebrated with us!