We don't leave the house much

We don't leave the house much these days.  And when we do it's to go to church, or the grocery store.  While I unload groceries, the kids get their 10 minutes of outside time in for the week before frostbite sets in, and if there is snow they usually build a snowman.

We were all lucky on this day because Daddy came along shopping, which meant we made the trek to Costco in hopes of never having to grocery shop again.  When we got home Daddy unloaded groceries AND helped make a snowman.  It was a wonderful day.

Alex is learning very quickly how to read, and some of the best moments of my week are listening her sound out words in "Go Dog Go" and "Hop on Pop."  I never appreciated these books as a kid, but I love them as a Mom for the confidence in reading they have given my girls.  Heidi made my Day this week when she used the letter blocks to spell and read "Sam" and "Mop"!!!
 I can already see that Alex is going to be a book worm and in a few more months, with a little more experience, I'm sure I will find her on any given day hidden away in her bed, surrounded by stuffed animals, nose in a book.

The words that describe Quinn these days are 'determined', 'willful', and 'focused'.  I pointed out her toe peeking through her PJ's and she was very focused and interested in what was going on.  She has smart eyes and notices everything.  You can tell that she really thinks about things- it's amazing.

Saturday night Tyler and I were putting together a surprise for the girls in the upstairs hall.  We collected all the blankets and pillows and bottlenecked the hallway and then put on a movie with popcorn.  While we were getting this ready, the girls stripped Tyler's dying plant of all it's leaves and then cut them into tiny pieces.  I've been trying out this new "mellow mother" idea, and so I didn't freak out immediately as my gut reaction would have had me do.  I let them explore and discover and have fun.  I did spend the next 3 days vacuuming up tiny greenery though.

We forgot Quinn's snowsuit in Missouri and so Aunt Lisa sent it back to us.  With a giant bag of Pixi sticks.  The girls were in sugar heaven.

Baiting the trap.

It's been really cold here.  We haven't seen the sun in weeks, or really left the house at all.  So I've been racking my brain to come up with ideas to entertain everyone.

In one of Alex's books there was a dog who was trying to catch a rat.  He used the above technique.  We decided it needed to be tested.

Quinn totally fell for it.

Like 8 times.

The girls thought this was the most amazing thing ever.

Once Quinn grew tired of the game they used it to capture each other, for an hour.

I think we may try to come up with a fun new use for Mr. Box everyday until his demise.