Snow Day!

It's the 6th day of spring, and Mother Nature decided to celebrate with 13 inches of snow.  Schools around the area were all canceled, and even the university canceled classes for the day.  So we decided to celebrate with a family snow day.

We started with a special pajama pancake breakfast.  The girls came down in their pajamas in the morning (which they thought was great because they usually get dressed before coming downstairs) and helped Dad make pancakes.  They got to pick their own add-ins (raisins for Nora and dehydrated pineapples for Abby) and toppings (whipped cream and syrup - yay!)

After breakfast Adam went out to shovel (because the twice that he shoveled last night wasn't enough - 13 inches is a lot of snow!) and the girls and I went out to play.  Everyone was excited about playing until we got to the snow; then Nora wasn't so sure she really wanted to get into that mess.



We hadn't heard the official total yet, so we decided to find out for ourselves with a yardstick.





We had drifts up to 20 inches in some places, but I think we actually got about 13-14 inches.  Those 20 inch drifts were fun - Abby kept getting stuck, which she found hilarious.

When Adam finished shoveling he came over to play for a little bit.





But by that point Nora was ready to be done, so he graciously offered to take her inside and let Abby and me keep playing for awhile.  I tried to convince her to make a snowman with me, but I couldn't hold her interest that long.  Mostly she liked tromping through the drifts and breaking off the icicles.  (And, consequently, I now have a severe case of snowman envy after seeing all the snowman pictures on Facebook this afternoon.)  But it was all worth it when, while diving headfirst into a snow drift, Abby told me, "This is the best day of my life!"

And of course, no snow day is complete without some hot chocolate when you come inside.



Happy (almost) Easter!

This Old House - 2012 Update

Our recent hiatus from blog updates has reminded me that there are a few postings I've wanted to make for a while now and just haven't made time for. They won't be anything great or profound but hopefully I can get them up in the near future.

The easiest one is definitely the 2012 update on the never ending project that is owning an old house. Last year we decide that the stairwell was in need of an update. The ceiling was in particularly poor condition: cracked plaster covered by foam sound tiles with the occasional spattering of water damage, but the whole thing needed work. At my pace it took a good 6+ months to finish the bulk of the work (and I always seem to leave a few things undone) but nonetheless it is an improvement. Here are some highlights:

First the "before"

A few interesting "during" shots

Over the years I've gained some efficiency in my staining techniques, though not in my ability to organize the garage as you can see.

And finally the "after"

This year I wised up and let Kristin help with the painting.

I just now realized I don't have any shots of the finished panelling, but it's very basic and I think you can get the gist of it from what I do have.

Dance Party

To celebrate Grandma and Grandpa VanDuyne's 35th anniversary they held a ballroom dancing extravaganza which they were kind enough to let us crash. It was quite the blowout with more food and cupcakes than everyone could eat over several hours (though the girls and I made our best run at it) and there were so many guests that Grandpa and I had to bring in more seating at the last minute.

Our family had a great time the entire weekend, and the girls loved the dancing. The lighting wasn't perfect for pictures but I think we got some good ones.

After some initial negotiations we managed to get both girls out on the dance floor.

In between sets the girls did quite a bit of coloring and just generally being doted on.

They did especially well with the Hokey-Pokey and the Chicken Dance.

They even danced with each other a bit, and let Mom and Dad dance a little as well.

It was a great way to celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa, Happy Anniversary!