The Jesters: Winter Come, Winter Go

I'm way behind, but here's what we were up to from January-March! We kicked off January with my 44th birthday. When I told the girls how old I was going to be, Hallie's eyes got big, but she didn't say anything. When I woke them up the morning of my birthday, she said "Whew! I thought you were going to wake up looking all wrinkly today, but you don't!" Emma said, "Mom, I think you grew a little since yesterday!" Ha!! I told everyone at work that according to my kids, I have no new wrinkles and I'm taller now. Both those things are worth celebrating!

My parents and Dan's parents joined us for my birthday dinner at Macaroni Grill. Unfortunately, my dad began feeling unwell and feverish during the meal, and he tested positive for COVID the next day. His fever lasted two days and afterwards he improved quickly. The rest of us quarantined just in case, but no one else caught it - not even my mom! We're so thankful!

We had three snow days in January. The first day hardly produced any snow, but school was cancelled anyway, and the girls were determined to play in whatever they could scrape off the ground.

They spent at least an hour crawling around and pretending to be wild artic animals in their snowy habitat.

Then they discovered the wonders of a snowy trampoline! So much fun!

The following day, we got 6" of snow, which meant that Dan got plenty of exercise. We shoveled our driveway then helped our neighbor across the street, since she had to go to work.

Now that's what I call snow!

We took the girls sledding on some small hills nearby

Then we built a big snowman in our front yard!

Hallie made a baby snowman with raisins and a baby carrot. It was super cute, but it didn't even last a day. I'm pretty sure some squirrels thought his accessories were a delicious snack!

It warmed up quickly that week and our snowman did the limbo as he melted. How low can you go?

R.I.P., Frosty.

We got our third dusting of snow the following weekend. As a result, school was cancelled one day, and our church was cancelled or postponed three Sundays in a row. Half of our pastoral staff is from Minnesota, and they had to adjust their expectations when they learned that Virginia closes everything when there's even a threat of snow.

Hallie's Kindergarten class had a special day at the end of January. They finished reading "Winnie the Pooh" and had a day to celebrate.

The kids and their teacher, Mrs. Boyce, all dressed up for the occasion

The snacks were too adorable!

I came to spend the day with Hallie. Hallie dressed as Kanga, complete with a pouch to hold her baby Roo. I dressed as Eeyore.

She's laughing because I lost my tail!

On Valentine's Day, the girls each got a chocolate rose (which they ate for breakfast) and small presents from us. They also received Valentine Grams from us at school with a stuffed animal and balloon.

My parents also had a terrific Valentine's Day, since they spent that week vacationing in Clearwater, FL!

The girls and I picked them up from the Norfolk airport. We were happy to have them back in VA!

Hallie attended her classmate, Piper's, bowling birthday party. They had the side bumpers up and plastic slides that the kids could push the bowling ball down towards the lane. Which was great, because when Hallie attempted to roll the ball on her own, I didn't think it would reach the pins. That's a long way for a 5-year-old!

On President's Day, StoneBridge School hosts a special event called Liberty Day, where they honor the students' family members who have served or who currently serve in the military. My dad (an Army veteran) walked with the girls during the ceremony, while they showed photos of our other military family members.

One Saturday in March, Brewster's Ice Cream stand was handing out free ice cream cones to anyone who came wearing their pajamas. It was a good chance to meet up with Dan's parents and his brother's family and have ice cream for lunch. Afterwards, my parents joined us at Dan's parents' house to celebrate our nephew, Aaron's, and my birthdays for dinner.

Dan's mom showed the kids a science experiment that she had put together for her Sunday School class, demonstrating the cleansing power that Jesus has in our lives. She's a great teacher and is always looking for new and interesting ways to help her students learn.

Dan's hockey team didn't make the playoffs this round, so he had several depressing weeks where he had to do (*gasp*) other forms of exercise. He was so happy when the next hockey season began!

The first game we attended, he got a penalty and was sent to the box. The girls visited him in hockey jail. He claimed he was innocent.

We watched "Cars 3" as a family for the first time and there's a funny demolition derby scene in the movie. Emma asked if we could see one sometime, and when I learned that a demolition derby was scheduled that weekend near Williamsburg, I invited the Jesters to join us for the day.

It was warm and sunny, and we enjoyed the events at Langley Speedway.

My favorite event was the "appliance race," where the driver and their team had to fit 5 large household appliances in or on the car, one at a time. The driver did 5 laps total, with a larger load on the car each time. If they lost an appliance on the track, they were disqualified. This car completed the race loaded down with a washer, dryer, dishwasher, oven, and refrigerator!

The four youngest kids were only mildly interested in the races, but they enjoyed leaving the stands to climb and play.

While Dan's brother and sister-in-law, Tim and Dawn, went car shopping one afternoon, we watched our two young nephews, Josiah and Micah. They're close in age with Emma and Hallie and the four of them are the best of friends.