As the boys and I drove north and it got latter in the day, the temperature dropped! By the time we reached my parents house is was less than twenty degrees out! Sheesh! And the farther north we traveled the more snow we saw. By the time I hit the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area, I could still see where the snow was frozen onto the sides of trees as a result of their recent blizzard. ugh...
Now, while I may be incredibly unenthusiastic about Iowa winters and snow, my children are not. The second we parked the car in Macon, MO (where there was some snow), Logan was ready to play in it. Even though it was freezing out! When we parked the car in my parent's driveway, I practically had to drag Logan - even though he was coatless! - into the house! He was ready to play in the snow! Honestly, if he had been given the choice that night to either play outside in the snow or open presents, he probably would have picked the snow! Who does that? (Good thing he didn't get the choice since he ended up under the weather later that night.)
The next day, however, Logan was feeling better and he could no longer be deterred from going outside. And neither could Gavin. So, out came the boots, hats, gloves/mittens, snow pants, and heavy winter coats. The process of dressing two boys to go outside in the snow...oh boy...that is something I am not used to and it was exhausting!
First the boots...
...and then the under layers...
...and then the coat, hat, and mittens.
For Logan there was the added bonus of snow pants...
(Okay, so clearly I did more directing (and picture taking) then actual dressing. It was still exhausting - I swear!)
Logan was dressed first and out we went to the back yard. To this.
Gavin was out soon after, guided by the amazing Aunt Dannielle.
The party quickly moved around to the front of the house so that we could let the kids sled down the snowy driveway. Logan was a little uncertain about sledding. He made Grandpa do it first...and then he still refused to do it himself!
Logan quicly abandoned any ideas of sledding for exploring. Particularly exploring the giant mountain of snow at the end of the cul de sac.
In the meantime, Gavin and Dannielle finally made it around to the front of the house. You know, Gavin moves a bit more slowly and has to check everything out on the way!
Now Logan may not have been very excited about sledding, but Gavin was. He figured out pretty quickly that it was a lot like going down a slide at the park - an activity he loves!
After the first round, he had to have another!
And then Gavin caught sight of what Logan was up to - climbing the snow mountain - and he just had to be a part of that, too!
I was finally able to talk Logan down off snow mountain and onto the sled. He took one ride down the driveway - just for me - before he was back up on that pile of snow with Gavin!
After that, I put the camera away and just hung out in the snow with my boys for a few minutes. Not too long though, because I hate the cold and it was time to get Gavin back inside. Logan, on the other hand, got to stay out quite a bit longer climbing up and down that hill and pushing Grandpa down the driveway some more on the sled.
While we waited for Logan and Grandpa to come in, Gavin and I snuggled up all red cheeked together on the couch and sipped some hot chocolate. It didn't take long before I could start to see him nodding off, and I took him off to bed for probably his longest dap ever!
Logan came inside with Grandpa shortly after that. He stripped out of his wet outter wear and snuggled up in a blanket on the couch between me and Dannielle. He managed to stay awake through the end of Home Alone 2 (you know, the funny part) before falling asleep (which was proabably his first nap in months - maybe even longer).
So, the weather outside in Iowa is frightful. Truth is, it hasn't been that great here since we've returned home, but I'll take this any day over Iowa winter. But my boys, well, they miss the snow. Logan is ready for it to really snow here - and actually stick for longer than a couple of hours! We shall see what the rest of winter brings us here in good ole southern MO...I won't say that I'm not praying it doesn't snow...even if Logan is praying that it does!
Gift #143 - Logan catching snowflakes on his tongue
Gift #144 - watching my boy's faces alight with excitement as the sled down the driveway
Gift #145 - small feet snug in warm boots
Gift #146 - Heads warmed by hats
Gift #147 - Heads warmed by hats
Gift #148 - little bodies kept cozy warm in bulky winter coats
Gift #149 - Fingers tucked safely in gloves and mittens
Gift #150 - tuckered out little boys napping soundly through the afternoon
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