Sunday: ice

Today we decided not to go to church due to ice.  It's not very far and the main roads might have been ok (they were later in the day), but we chose not to chance it.

In the middle of the day everything was slushy. We had a half inch of slush on the driveway.

At the end of the day all the schools were closed for tomorrow.  Probably a smart move, although it's possible that it won't freeze and it'll still be slush tomorrow.

Saturday: wind

Today was windy.  It was windy ALL day.  The waves on our lake were the biggest we've seen them, and the (not full) water table just kept going back and forth on the deck.

There was a weird noise on the side of the house twice in the evening.  Ben went to investigate and didn't see anything obvious.  Then we went to look on the deck and it was just a sheet of ice.

Friday: theStudio

Today Joshua and I explored a new place.  We went to the Studio in the Holland Arts Council.  It's a place for art of all sorts.  You can do a specific craft or you can do whatever you want.  It's very open ended.

It also wasn't really open today.  The website two different hour listings on it, with one saying that it was open and one saying it was not.  I decided just to go anyway to get us out of the house.  They let us in anyway, which surprised me.  The person who runs the room was there for a short meeting and also seemed happy that we had just been let in.

Anyway, we made a jelly fish, did some water colors, had a puppet show, and played with the foam blocks.  Joshua also played in the sand they had while I did some rubbings.

It's too bad it's not open during work hours any more as we probably would have come again at some point.  I'll have to keep it in the back of my mind for a Saturday activity if we need to get out of the house.

Thursday: beach

It was 55 degrees out and cloudy, but there was a sand pile.  So the boys played in the sand for a bit.  Playing in the sand, even in the cold, obviously means no shoes.  (And, in Isaac's case, an open jacket.). It wasn't really that warm, but i want the one getting cold... Too much.

They played for about a half hour until their fingers and toes were so cold because playing in the sand also involves getting a bit wet in the water.

Wednesday: behind

I feel behind in everything and it's making me grumpy.

So I take a nap because I'm behind in my sleep too, and it makes me feel better but doesn't help with actually getting anything done.

Monday: 16 years

Once again, Mom's death day has come.  As per normal lately, it was a sad day but still a normal day.

A few weeks ago I happened to be talking with one of Mom's old friends.  She remarked that there was an incredible joy in Mom, and I realized that was an excellent way to describe her.  I've been reflecting on the statement often and how it was a blessing to have her as a mom.

Here is one of her turtles, waiting to go outside.  They always came in for the winter, but were anxious to get out again.  I'll probably let it out soon, but I'd like to wait until we actually aren't going to get snow anymore. 

Saturday/Sunday: playground, donuts, home

We had a nice rest of the weekend, although it would have been nice if it could have been a bit warmer.  We still had a lot of fun though.

Puzzles were broken out Saturday morning and the kids spent a surprisingly long time doing all of them.

In the early afternoon we went to an indoor playground.

They had a cool thing with lights that you had to hit to play assorted games.

A lot of tag and 'run away from the bears' was played too.

In the afternoon a racetrack was set up.  Joshua and JJ played well together with it for a while.  Joshua didn't always appreciate how JJ tried to play with him, so it was nice to see them together.

We had homemade pizzas and had gotten Isaac a can of olives for his.  He loved it.  I put olives on my grocery list so he can add them to pizza in the future.

The mastodon by the donut shop.

We got home safe and sound.  The boys traded 3 hours of screen time in the car for 1 hour of Mario with Ben, which surprised me a bit.  But they did well.  Joshua slept half the time and Isaac managed to entertain himself the whole time.