It's cold

This morning as we were getting ready for school the kids were all really cold.  Caleb asked me to please turn on the heater.  I told him it was on, but it's just getting cold.  He wanted me to turn it up, but I told him it takes a lot of money to heat our house and I didn't want to turn it up.  I never stopped to check the thermostat to see though, because I was rushing around trying to make sure everyone was ready.  I did glance at it just before we all left the house and the thermostat said 61 degrees!  No wonder everyone was freezing this morning.  I switched the heater off then back on, and hoped it would heat up while I was gone to school for the sing-a-long.  When I came back two hours later it had warmed up to 62 degrees.  I sent Keith a quick text explaining what was going on.  When he had a minute he called and diagnosed the problem over the phone, and told me to use space heaters until he could come home and fix it.  He did get home early and got it fixed, something about the temperature sensor being dirty and not working correctly.  He's so great! 

On a happier note - the weather was perfect for sledding today.  It was probably about 40 degrees, sunny, and hadn't yet melted the snow we got earlier in the week.  The kids got out of school early, so we headed out right after piano lessons.  It's great to live in walking distance of a good sledding hill.  I was surprised that no one else had been sledding on the hill yet, but I guess they've all been busy like us. 

Spencer really loves sledding

 This year Spencer just took off down the hill all on his own without any fear.  He loved trying all the things the other kids were doing. 

Parker and G racing down the hill

The boys with a snowman I made (N's new best friend)

 I didn't notice how cool the clouds were today until  I looked back at these photos. 

Alyssa had a great time sledding and making new tracks

What I didn't capture on camera:  Spencer kicking apart my snowman, the snowball fight I lost when all the boys decided to attack me, Caleb and N giving Spencer and Alyssa rides back down the field as we headed home.  It's days like this that make motherhood so rewarding and remind me why I do the things I do. 

Let it Snow!

He likes the camera!

 Spencer stayed inside today, but reached out to grab the snow whenever the door opened.  He also ate the snow that came in with the kids. 

 We had some fresh powder today.  Usually I make the kids do their homework before they play, but the snow was just too tempting to me.  I knew it would be dark before they finished homework, so I let them go out and play before they did their homework.  We live in a place where it snows a lot, and I want my children to love the snow as much as I do or at least have the chance to like it.  I figure if you don't ever play in it, you will never learn to love it.  I am surprised by all the people I meet that have lived here their whole lives and hate the snow.  I wished I was in the mountains skiing, but I had fun shoveling and watching the kids play.   

Caleb built a little fort to avoid the camera

 One of my favorite sights is beautiful, white, undisturbed snow.  Today I decided another favorite sight is snow in my backyard that has been played in by these three kids!  They had a blast. 

Happy face after playing outside

We have had so much cold weather this month, and poor air quality that the kids have been stuck inside.  It was warmer today (about 30 degrees) and the snow helped to clear the air.  It was pretty crazy tonight trying to get everything done, but I think it was worth it to let the kids play in the snow.  

Once There Was a Snow Family

It is hard to smile for the camera when you are busy eating the snowman's head!