Winter Wonderland!

We've had a little bit of winter weather the last couple weeks, and as much as I wish we'd gotten at least a little bit of snow, I'm thankful that we've had a taste of winter this year.  Since moving here, we've had more than one winter where I never really had to get my coat out of the closet.  That can be a little depressing for a girl who loves winter.... cold weather, snow, winter clothes, winter accessories, you name it, I love it... So, even with the complete lack of snow flurries, the recent cold weather has been awesome, and therefore it warrants its own post!  Please, people who had actual snow to play in this week, don't laugh at our makeshift winter fun!!

The morning after the first winter storm, Grayson wanted to go see the ice.  Since there was no snow to play in, I figured we wouldn't be outside very long, so I didn't bother to bundle the kids up all that much... I grabbed their toboggans & gloves, but didn't do much layering.  Grayson didn't mind at all, and he was so excited about seeing the ice that it makes we wish (all over again) we'd gotten some snow, just to see his reaction!!  Harrison, however, was not impressed.  Looks like he's gonna be our cold-weather-wimp!  All he had to say about it was "Me cold!!  Me cold, Mommy!!"  So here's our first taste of winter this January...

 

 

A week later, I got my hopes up AGAIN, but it was just more freezing rain and sleet.  This time the precipitation was during the day, so we went out to see the sleet falling.  I made sure to bundle Harrison up much better this time, and he enjoyed it a lot more than last time, but I still don't think cold weather is gonna be his thing...

Grayson on the other hand.... he was living it up!  Can you see the sleet he was riding through???

We played in the ice quite awhile this time...

From a distance it looks like snow starting to build-up in the eaves, but alas, nothing but sleet... 

Sweet Harrison is coooooold!

 

 

After a break to warm up and let Harrison nap...

...we tried out the backyard, and found it to be much more exciting than the front yard!!  First, the slide was completely iced over from freezing rain.  In case you were wondering, that makes a 4-year-old boy go REALLY fast down the slide.

The icicles on the swingset were pretty enticing too...

I didn't want Harrison to miss out on the icy slide experience, but he was not about to sit on that ice on his own, so I did what any good mother would do in that situation...

And THEN... Grayson discovered that the ramp to the storage building was also iced over, which meant he could go "skating"!  This was the pinnacle of his day!  I must admit I cringed when this activity started, envisioning a trip to ER for a compound fracture, but it turned out Grayson was a complete master at skating down this ice.  He so needs a place to ice skate or ski or something, he was in his element.  Eventually all four of us gave it a try, and all four of us completely wiped out at least once, but thankfully no real injuries!

Sweet Grayson's holding my hand, showing me the ropes!

That activity was so fun we had to hurry out after breakfast the next morning to squeeze in a little more "skating" before the temps rose and our ice melted!!  This time I got some proof that Daddy was involved in this craziness too...

And for some reason Harrison thought it would be a good time to hit the kiddie-pool...

...but he settled for trying out the big-boy swing for the first time instead!

And last but not least, at some point Grayson decided he'd missed out on something because Harrison went down the slide with me and Grayson only went down by himself.  So, THIS happened... pretty sure that slide was not designed with this in mind...

Yep.  We landed that far off the slide.  

Me + 70 lb of children + ice = we flew off that slide!

The End. :)