A Snow Day- finally!

No school!! This is the day my kids have been waiting for since we moved here. In fact, the city is pretty impassable to try to get anywhere. I keep getting cancellation emails. No camping for Adam, no Zumba for me, no preschool for Annalisa, no Kickstart for Trevor and Alec, no cinnamon roll class for Relief Society (which I was supposed to teach!), no Magic House- it's all shut down. And the snow is really piling up. It is very beautiful, but the roads are giving Geoff some trouble as he is trying to get home right now. He may have to pull over somewhere and wait for the plows. At home, we are busy cleaning (not too popular with the kiddos) and playing. It is relaxing and very nice to have no commitments.  I wonder what will happening tomorrow. I think we could all handle another snow day!

YES!!

Trevor stuck on the hill

The snow is not perfect for sledding. It's too deep and doesn't pack well. Maybe by tomorrow?

Cutie Patootie

What?! A normal smile? Check out those big new teeth he's getting.

He said it tasted "really good."

 Alec is offering me some snow. It did taste good!                         Hiking back up the hill

Maren in Winter

I've always wanted a picture of her like this.

Her first snow angel I believe

She's so crazy.

It wasn't much fun to stand in the snowfall after a while. She's still trying to smile.

Adam had some better luck on the sled.

Love that dimple.

Annalisa thought it was a bit much and went in the house after 5 minutes.

Adam went too far, too fast and ended up sliding down all the steps to the pool. He's fine.

Congrats to Geoff!

Good news! Geoff was promoted this month to Area Director. He will oversee 11 schools for the disabled children. He is very excited about the new job, and he is already enjoying it very much! Yay! 

Here is a candy gram from his teachers at Autumn Hill. They will miss him. Some teachers have said that he was their favorite principal they've had. He will be going there once in a while to take care of things until he hires a new principal for Autumn Hill.

Maren in the Pit

Last weekend the whole family (Farmers, Kesners, Barneys) went to Lafayette's production of the Sound of Music. Maren played her french horn in the pit orchestra. It was so well done, and we all enjoyed it. The orchestra sounded wonderful. The actors were surprisingly good. The Sound of Music is no small undertaking. They pulled it off! We enjoyed seeing 6 kids from the Rockwood 1st ward in the play. What a fun night! Maren loved being a part of the musical, but is looking forward to having some free time again now that it's over.

Lincoln's birthday

April always makes amazing cakes for her kids. This one is very cool.

These two were dancing like crazy.

Annalisa holds back as usual. She is not my most outgoing child.

Louisa joins in the dancing.

Our 5-year-old Lincoln

Mitchell getting excited for pizza

Aubree enjoying the food

The kids had a lot of fun using the tokens, even Mitchell. 

Anna on the horse

Louisa multitasking

Blowing out the candle, Take 2

Lately Anna has been a little sleepy. She still needs a daily nap, and she doesn't always get it.

I am not a huge fan of Chuckee Cheese, but this activity was actually so fun. The big mouse, Chuckee, paraded through the building with a sign that said "FREE TICKETS." Kids followed him like the Pied Piper. When the kids were all collected, he got them dancing and yelling for the free tickets. They were whipped up into a frenzy. They loved it!

Dancing (can you spot some cousins?)

More than ready for the tickets

Lincoln is in the front of the picture.

Hundreds of tickets fluttering down

Grab the tickets, quick!

This was way better than a pinata. No one was crying at the end. No one got hurt either. :)

Alex's Camper of the Week poster

Anna Gets a New Look

 

 So, last Saturday I went to pick up the kids from the Kesners. Tawny and Brian took care of the younger four so that Maren could have a slumber party at our house. I had a Groupon for a family picture at Target to use that day, and I was running a little late. I planned to get the kiddos showered and dressed in the hour before our appointment. After chatting a few minutes and loading kids in the car, we realized we were missing Annalisa. We called throughout the house and no one answered. I heard Tawny searching upstairs, then I heard her say, "Oh no." She said it quietly and seriously, and I knew there was trouble upstairs with the girls. I braced myself for the bad news and went upstairs.

There stood Aubree and Annalisa- Aubree holding scissors and Anna with a pile of blonde hair at her feet. I think I would've been less surprised if she had been bleeding or throwing up. I took a closer look at her uneven locks and was at loss of what to do next. I can't remember what I said or did after that, but I vaguely realized I was freaking out. Tawny came to my rescue then. She called her friend who cuts hair and stopped her from leaving her house. Her kids were already loaded in the car ready to go to the Goodwill. She kindly changed her plans, and Tawny rushed Anna over to her house for the emergency haircut.

I took the others home to get ready for the picture, Trevor and Maren were also freaking out about Anna's hair, and Adam was saying over and over that it will grow back- the voice of reason for the rest of us. Then we returned for Annalisa. She was looking much better. I needed some time to get used to her new look, but now I quite like it. I will miss fixing her long hair, but on the bright side, it stays cleaner and tangle-free mostly. Getting her ready is very fast now. It curls up a little more than before.

Anyway, about the picture- It was horrible, but it wasn't Aubree's and Anna's fault. I would put the blame on Alec and the photographer this time. She took a handful of shots and expected to be rewarded with nice pictures. She had the ratio all wrong. We need about 50-60 shots taken for each successful picture. Alec made his usual crazy faces, Trevor and Adam blinked at all the wrong times,  fake smiles abounded, and Geoff was grimacing as he knelt on his bad knees.There wasn't a single picture that I would even settle for. They were that bad. I had already set the family free to shop at Target. The studio was closing- we were the last ones. I begged her to try just a few more, this time of just the kids. I thought it would improve the odds.

 I frantically ran around the store trying to collect everyone. Adam and Maren had even left the store, but Maren had her cell phone and we called her back. I grabbed a bag of gummy bears and waved it around behind the camera while she took five more pictures. I soon as I saw them all looking up at the camera and heard the click, and I said "that's it!"  This time we got one, just one, decent (actually quite mediocre) picture. It was enough for me. I couldn't get out of there soon enough.

I sent to the family out to the car so I could quickly take care of the details of choosing the obvious portrait choice with the salesperson. It was not to be that simple. I sat there grimacing while she arranged our unbelievably bad pictures into various compositions and collages. I told her repeatedly that I just wanted the one big one that came with the Groupon, but to no avail. The family had to wait another 20 minutes in the car while she and I suffered through looking at our terrible family pictures in 100 different ways. She was just doing her job. Finally I convinced her that I really did just want the one picture. I was finally free.
Now I know why I never do this. Seriously, we have never done this. I've always relied on Linda. (and more recently April)

And I may never go to another studio- unless it's Linda's studio.

Bike riding and ice smashing

Mom is in the hospital with pneumonia in Mongolia right now. I am hoping these pictures of her grandchildren make her smile. Get well, Mom!

Today we enjoyed a surprisingly beautiful day in St. Louis. Sunny, mid-sixties- it was a wonderful break from the cold. I don't have time to get bored of any particular weather here. We took the kiddos to the park to ride their bikes and enjoy the weather. We must have been there over three hours. They were loving it.

We really need to put this kid to work. That face could make some real money. He can't take a bad picture.

Lincoln and the girls

Alec started the day with training wheels and ended the day without them. Very exciting! It finally clicked for him. He was nervous to try again today, but happy in the end, even after a few spills.

The kids discovered that the pond at Twin Oaks Park was covered with a layer of ice. This led to nearly an hour of happily trying to break through it. They grabbed loose chunks of ice and smashed them down on the pond, shattering the fragments. They found rocks, sticks, and pieces of logs to throw down. We were able to stop a tennis ball and a training wheel just before they went hurtling in. Very few things broke through the ice. There was cheering all around when something did finally break through. 

This led to two unfortunate events. Louisa was the first to tumble in. She was determined to get her own fragment of ice to throw down. She stretched a little too far. No worries folks. The water is shallow on the edges. It is icy cold though. Poor little thing. She crawled out with some help and was rushed home by her mom for warmth and comfort. Then they came back. The other kids did not learn from Louisa's mistake, even though we kept reminding them. (As we continued to let them have their dangerous fun while taking pictures... I have in-laws that are probably shuddering to read this. They are most likely not surprised though) Alec was the next to go in. He was soaked to his waist, but didn't cry or even want to leave. He eventually dried out, and they played on. Tyler and I watched more carefully however. (Me from the other side of the pond- the pictures were better from there)

Lincoln lovingly cradling a ...rock.

He is about to hurl this beloved rock into the pond.

Alec after his little swim

Trevor's friend Buddy came along too in case you're wondering which grandchild is wearing the yellow helmet.

SMASH!

A nice big chunk caught by Trevor

Admiring glances

Come on, you have to admit this would be fun.

Preston found several excellent pieces/ Trevor smashing some more

Nice!

And SMASH! Look at the focus this boy has. Smashing ice is serious business.

There's Preston looking so dang cute- maybe trying to show Lincoln he can compete. :)

Why don't my boys looks at cameras like that? I'm starting to have more Farmer boys on the blog then Barney boys.