The good thing about being snowed in....

...is that the holidays last forever! Uncle Gabe's gifts arrived today ::

Cookie Man!

Because we were snowed in, we never got out to buy our pre-fab gingerbread house and decorate it. When I saw this gingerbread man pan, I had to have it. Now we'll be able to make and decorate our own gingerbread every year...

...except they're not big gingerbread fans, so we'll likely use sugar cookie dough...

It's a Bayley Holiday!

With nearly everyone in town - plus one of us finally has a place big enough to hold us all - my side of the family got together for dinner. We missed Gabe, but with this weather he probably wouldn't have been able to get into town if he tried.

I think the boys loved seeing a tree almost as much as they liked their gifts! We got snowed in before we managed to get a tree, so they didn't get to do one up.

They did score some great gifts. Aunt Courtney found a ball popper I know whill be great fun, Hayden added to his movie 'collection' (seriously, it made me think of Dan) and Bayley got The Tale of Despero...and a promise to take him to the movie if he'd read the book first :)

It was great to watch everyone enjoying the kids...even if Hayden did get a bit too creative with the handsoap.

Post-Christmas Festivites

It's melting! The snow is slowly getting out of our way, so our after-Christmas events were still on. Gram-Mo & Pop-Pop arrived with presents and we all trekked out to the Tweeds for Boxing Day.

Do you think Grace and Nick wanted to ask each other what the whole thing was all about? Or maybe why big people keep shoveling applesauce at their faces? Or were they exchanging teething remedies?

Merry Christmas

It was such a special year. Our usual traditions - like Swedish Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Grandma's were snowed out, so we got to take the day at the kids pace. There was sledding and cookies and games...and just an all around good time.

Luckily, Santa still managed to find our house...I think he may have got directions from a special neighbor in a 4x4...

I blog a lot when it snows...

The boys enjoyed the snow ramp again today! They'll be so sad when it melts.

And it is starting to melt. There were icicles on our bay leaf bush formed by water dripping off the roof.

Bayley found bigger icicles that dropped off the roof.
And Gracious Mae finally got her sock monkey!

I want to title this post...

Good Neighbor...but then that makes me think of the State Farm commercial...so I just can't bring myself to do it.


Thank goodness we have good neighbors. If not...we'd be out of food and seriously lacking in the Santa department. One neighbor picked up the essentials for us one day, another came through with a trip to the grocery store and Target. The snow is pretty, and fun, but it sure can make a mess of roads. Traction devices are required in our county, and since we don't have any, plus our cars don't have the clearance to take on the high powder, we're comepletely housebound!


The boys aren't bothered at all by having to stay home. There's plenty for them to do, plus they're going outside to use the snow ramp Dad built for sledding as often as they can.


The mail is still getting through. Today the annual package from Aunt lynn & Uncle Gary came, bringing a new ornament for each of the kids. This was Grace's first! We got snowed in before we managed to get a tree, so she'll get to put it up next year...as long as she doesn't eat it. It's a bell with a Santa on top, so she thinks it's a great new toy.



The boys (all 3 of them...) are enjoying the Wii. It's wonderful for when it's snowing and they can't get outside to play. Today we got two new kinds of games - a team sport (football) and adventure (safari). Both will be fun once we get the hang of them...but the games that came with the Wii (bowling) were much easier to pick up!

...and ya don't stop...

Guess what the sky did this morning? I have neighbors from Maryland & California...I'd told them it doesn't snow much here...wanna bet they look outside and think that crazy lady up the block is a liar?

The boys wanted to sled this morning...and Jeff wanted to clear the driveway...so he did both, building the kids a 'cool' sledding ramp and making it so we could open the doors on the minivan!

The neighborhood kids came over to enjoy it...he had to keep building up the sides to keep them from running into the car...and after a near miss one of the kiddos had with the van...

Did you see us on KATU news?

...and again with the snow...

It snowed again...making an ice sandwich...6 inches of powder, a half in of ice, two more inches of powder...the kids thought it made for great sledding, as long as there was a hill. You can't get a tow to get you going, because each step crunches through the ice. Hayden even got stuck once! He found a place where the snow had blown so deep it made it to mid thigh!

Bayley went hunting for icicles...they'd formed on the underside of everyone's cars!

Hanukkah night one -- latkes & salmon...plus we played the Wii for the first time!

Who's Shocked?

Hayden tugged on his snowboots and got put this morning sans coat. If you're surprised, you don't know him very well...if you're surprised he was wearing a shirt, then you know him VERY well...

Last night brought freezing rain, which created a lovely crust atop our ~10 inches of snow. The boys loved smashing the ice...want to take a poll on how many consecutive days we stay home?

Thank goodness Hanukkah starts tonight. Bring on the Wii!

And more snow!

We woke up this morning to find...more snow...and it was still snowing! The boys took a sledding excursion to Bayley's friend's house (the site of yesterday's 7-year-old-boy-snow-party-extravaganza) to capture his missing glove...and they didn't want to come back in!

Luckily Daddy was home to be with them outside. Mom can be such a downer, always worried about keeping the wee small girl warm.

They found plenty to do - sledding, snow angels, snowball fights with the neighbor kids, general rolling about...and then they decided to get out the sand toys and build 'snow castles'. Anything to stay outside!

Of course when they were coaxed inside, copius amouns of hot cocoa were needed to bring them around to their warm and jolly selves.

By the end of the day, the snow was really coming down. This time when they played outside, it was falling so fast I couldn't take pictures! All I got were white dots!

Here's hoping we get some kind of clearing by Monday...or else we'll run out of milk!

Mr. Snowy

Mr. Snowy was a snowman I made in my backyard. He had grapes for eyes, a carrot for a nose, an orange slice for a mouth and a bucket for a hat. He had no hands or arms. He had a poopsicle* where his heart should be.

He got in an accident with the rain. I thought he killed himself with a bazooka, a pistol, a machine gun, or a cannon.

-Bayley Burke

*poopsicle is a frozen piece of poop

OK...this was Bayley's writing homework...he gets to write whatever he wants, as long as he writes. It's funny to see what comes up...he obviously paid close attention to the show on the history of ammunition he watched that morning (Bayley got to choose a show...and that's what interested him...)

Snow cones...

Made with actual snow! (and yes...Hayden was 'hot' while we had 5 inches of snow outside)

Still snowing!

Another snow day for us! The kids in the 'hood all headed outside to enjoy it while it lasts!

We don't have much of a slope, so the kids pull one another on the sleds.

I keep telling Anna that Grace will play with her...one day. Right now she's really only good for taking up lap space!

Nothing to do

We're snowed in...so I took pictures of the baby... of her getting a grump on because we got dinner and she was stuck with zwieback and mushed carrots...

...smiling in her saucer... and it turns out she needs 18 month sizes in one piece outfits. she's a long baby!

Sledding...and the oven...

The snow kept falling on Sunday...until there was enough to warrant getting the sled out. Of course there wasn't enough to get anything going, but with a resoudning push...

Grace got bundled up and went out to brave her first snow. She loved watching it...I don't think she was so keen on having snowflakes blow in her face...or having to wear a jacket and mittens. She balked at the mittens, so in the end I just tucked her hands in her jacket!

And what's this about the oven? While attempting to make breakfast this morning the heating element in our oven caught fire...and broke in two! Thank goodness Jeff was home. I would have well and truly freaked out!!

Snow Daze!!!

The Arctic Blast has hit! Or at least that's what the TV weather guru's have to say. The boys just know it means snow!

Snow for Portland isn't much. If the flakes accumulate it's reason to celebrate...and shut down the entire metro area. Seriously, if it weren't Sunday, it would have made national news for shut downs I'm sure.

The boys loved tossing around the few snowballs they could mush together, then coming inside for hot cocoa.

Grace seems thrilled by the snow, but she's ony really seen it from the porch. The only real 'shoes' I have for her are patent leather mary janes. Hard soled shoes don't really come this small!

Craft Night

The boys elementary school hosts a fun craft night for the kids each winter. They both loved making snowmen, candles, frames, tiles, giftbags & snowglobes...and I loved that I didn't have to clean up the mess afterwards!

Bayley's Poem

IF WE LEFT MY BROTHER ALONE by Bayley Burke

If we left my brother alone
I know where he would be
He’d be playing in the bathroom
Looking for a place to pee

If we left my brother alone
I know what we would find
We’d find the house was full of rhinos
He must have lost his mind

If we left my brother alone
I know what we would see
We’d see tiny hippos everywhere
There must be seventy-three

The whole thing was so funny
It almost made me pee!

Grace Can...

Wear a party dress

Sit Up!