Snow Days!

A few weeks ago, our area got hit with a pretty good size icing along with some snow. School was canceled, so we enjoyed a day of cuddles, cartoons, and a very small amount of outside time. It was REALLY cold. I didn't last more than a few minutes, but Tyler couldn't pass of up the opportunity. He headed out and attempted to shovel the snow. He ended up scraping the top layer of snow off of the inch of ice in our driveway and left the pile perfectly placed directly behind our van. Good thing we don't live somewhere snowy; otherwise we'd have to address snow removal and placement procedures. None the less, I was proud of his determination and hard work.

Robby played ice hockey, but like me, only lasted a few minutes in the cold and was completely done after he took a pretty good spill on the ice.

Since even just walking down the driveway was a death-defying feat, leaving the house was out of the question. Over the next few days, it never warmed up so the ice stuck around and we stayed in. School was canceled each day, and each day we got more creative with how to keep busy. Our favorite was a game called "human pinata." Tyler stuffed his shirt full of pillows and we pounded him with a foam bat. Child abuse? Nah...he loved it. Four days later, the ice still hadn't melted and then we got hit with an additional couple inches of snow.

We took full advantage of the fluffy white stuff and headed out to play! The boys had a blast! They could have stayed out all day, if only we had a few pair of snow pants and boots- oh well!

John and Tyler became fully engaged in a huge snowball fight with the neighbor kids (John verses the Murri boys and Tyler)

We did a little laundry basket sledding

And then headed home for lots of...

this (John and I still like to joke about putting on the "snow day 15")

By Saturday, the sun was finally out and started to melt the snow so we scurried out to build one last snowman. We made sure to build him in the shade so that he would at least make it through the day. I was very proud of Tyler. We worked hard on this snowman and did most of the work- usually it's John doing all the work while the kids run around and play. It's great to see Tyler growing up and really engaging in these activities. He's a hard worker and stays focused on the activity (I thought the day would never come!)

By the end of the week, we were definitely ready to get out of the house, but I was very grateful for the opportunity to enjoy some cozy, lazy days with my boys. We played lots and enjoyed puting life on hold for a few days.


...and yes, I was very glad when the ice finally melted and the UPS truck could finally deliver our diabetes supplies. They were over a week late! We were extremely grateful for a diabetic friend from church who rescued us by letting us borrow some of his supplies. I can't begin to imagine what we would have done without them!

Visitors

Shortly after New Year's, we were lucky enough to have John's parents come for a visit. It had been a while since we last saw them as they were serving a mission for our church in Canada. The boys were thrilled to get some one on one time with Nani and Papa. We had a few fun activities planned, but I think that the most memorable moments were ones like this:

Robby is our little cuddle bug. He will quickly get comfy and close with someone he loves.

While Nani was on the floor stretching her sore back, Robby quickly seized another opportunity to cuddle up to someone he loves.

We spent one afternoon at the children's museum in Fort Worth.

Tyler loved checking out all of the dinosaur exhibits.

He was especially thrilled to find a dinosaur bone in the dino dig area that none of the other kids had found yet!

As for Robby...he was in heaven being surrounded by so many trains!

He also loved doing some grocery shopping. He was so cute pushing his little shopping cart around, filling it with everything he came across.

This picture is one of my favorites ever! Tyler hanging from the claw and Robby's uncertain glance at those teeth only inches from his head- so funny!

We also went to the Texas Gaylord Hotel. They have an indoor atrium filled with replicas of several famous Texas spots (the Alamo, Palo Duro Canyon, San Antonio River Walk). It was too bad that we just missed all the Christmas decorations, but it was still cool to walk around and check it all out.

And I had to throw these pictures in because Nani and I got a good chuckle out of the entire incident.

Here are the boys posing for a picture. Everyone is happy and cute.

Next photo: still cute, but looking less happy- starting to get on each other's nerves.

Next photo: quit touching me!

...and cue meltdown.

Still a little ticked.

I should also mention that one day during their visit, Nani and Papa went to Tyler's school for lunch. When Tyler's teacher saw them she immediately knew that this was the Nani and Papa that Tyler had so excitedly talked about all week! She was kind enough to invite them back to the classroom after lunch and asked them to return the next day as classroom volunteers. Tyler was thrilled. I was grateful for a thoughtful teacher who saw an opportunity to fully involve Tyler's grandparents in every aspect of his little life during their visit.

We are so thankful that even though we don't live close, we still have grandparents who make the effort to come visit us. We created some wonderful memories while they were here and I'm so glad that my boys have some special moments to connect with those who love them most!