Monday, February 1, 2016

Winter days....

What a whirlwind life has been since Christmas. We had such a long quiet weekend at Christmas and made so many plans for a quite, routine, well-budgeted start to our new year. HAHAHA! Oh well, the next few months hold lots of fun and adventure for us all. I'll start my catching up with random shots of our winter days and the little dusting of snow we got last week.....now its 70 degrees! (I'm going to miss this nice southern winter weather!) I'll devote a different post to all the fun we had when Grandma Maryann came to visit in January.

One way to warm up little feets on winter mornings.

Building forts and fires....every childhood should have days like this!




Teaching Rebecca loom knitting....the boys didn't quite get the point. LOL

Nice, son

She took to this craft with gusto!

First finished hat for the brother she claims to not like.....I suspect she likes him more than she lets on?

 Repainted playroom, someone got a hold of a sharpie before Christmas and I didn't have yellow paint to cover it up. I figure gray will hide all kinds of marks.

Rebecca's room went from gray to green, working on a woodland theme.

Poster she got at Callaway Gardens.


An owl lamp from wal-mart is a fun touch.

Levi's winter hat.

With goggles!







No, you still aren't allowed to drive.

Nuts and bolts....also known as fine motor skill work.

Golf tees and floral foam....pre-writing activities.

Little one wants to get in on the fun.

Aaron got a new title at work and left behind his old uniforms. He now gets to wear slacks and shirts in whatever colors he likes. (insert wolf whistle) 
Our 'big' snow.

Glad they like it because I think we'll see a lot more of this stuff as we travel!

warming up with her buddies......(this is not posed!)





 Isaiah is such a fire bug! He loves cozy blankets and hot cocoa too.

The snow seemed to bring out the birds. Here are a few we spotted along with Mountain Bluebirds, nuthatches, chickadees, cardinals, blue jays, and many more!



Winter and yarn just pair so well! Here is my own snow week project.


Rebecca made herself a hat too.

She donated four baby hats to this PRC. They were very grateful and made her feel special for using her talent to help others.

Friends....two peas in a pod.....Rebecca bought matching shirts at the mall.


Neighborhood watch

Checking out the new sign in the yard, burglars beware.

And this week its warm?! 70 degrees at the park this afternoon!

Chinese at the park, and he was telling me quite a story.

Going to be three soon!

Good Times with Grandma

Grandma Maryann came to visit in mid-January and we got to show her lots of our favorite places. We crammed our four days full of fun! First it was uptown, riding the lynx, visiting the libraries and science museum. Next day we headed to Asheville, NC to tour the Biltmore. The next morning we woke to snow in Asheville.....not what she expected for a winter trip to the south. It didn't last long and it was warm enough to visit the nature center, cracker barrel for a hot lunch and then Chimney Rock. Monday we made a southern breakfast, complete with grits, stopped at a favorite park, a couple local bike shops, and ended the night with Peter Pan. Mixed in were hands of phase ten and lots of laughter. Ask Rebecca or Maryann about their epic game of hangman next time you see them! ;)





The Biltmore Estate is just so gorgeous!



The farm area has some cute animals to pet and a playground.


 Snow in Asheville
someone had built this tiny man in the parking lot

you can tell it was melting as it hit the ground

 Blue Ridge Parkway was closed due to ice, but we stopped at the visitor center anyway.

Western North Carolina Nature Center

Playful river otters

 Putting on a puppet show for Grandma.


Nature playground/natural music area at WNC



This resin wolf made me do a double take!

Arachnid playground inside WNC.

Go grandma!

More make-believe play stations.

 Chimney Rock.....what a view!
499 steps to the top. Rebecca and Grandma did it 2.5 times, Daddy 2 times, Levi and Isaiah 1 time.....mama didn't have her inhaler on hand so I cheered them on from below.

Grandma is unstoppable! 

 Fank Liske Park, a local favorite.


 Tiny falls, but falls just the same.

Local bike shop in Davidson, NC.....trying to convince Grandma that Davidson would be a great spot for her!

The town below Chimney rock is built on the banks of a beautiful rushing river with lots of rocks for climbing and scampering.

Daddy and Rebecca at the top of Chimney Rock.

Levi and Grandma on her first day in Charlotte....the Lynx ride is always fun.

All my people up top.

On the river.

These stairs are built on the side of the cliff that is Chimney Rock.

Matching shirts bought by Grandma after they had conquered the climb.

More of the river.....I could live right here forever!




Days long game of phase ten,...sneeking in a hand or two in moments between activities.