These cold temps we've been experiencing this month have really been getting to the kids. We've been spending quite a bit of time at home lately (one would be amazed at how long it can take to get 3 kids in and out of the car....something one does not want to do when it's well below zero outside), but luckily we've been keeping plenty busy with activities around the house. We did manage to get out of the house Saturday evening and visit the Des Moines Botanical Garden Sunday morning before the next deep freeze set in.
This is what 6 a.m. Saturday morning looked like. The boys woke up coughing (we can not catch a break from this crud going around) and woke up the rest of the house. Thankfully everyone else went back to sleep, while Max chose to play the Kindle buried under blankets. Later in the weekend, Max was banned from the Kindle when bought a few apps...oops!
The kids have immensely enjoyed the Little Tikes slide even though Max is too big for it. They tried going down the slide on pillows, with blankets over their heads, running down the slide, and jumping from the top......
Max attempted it with roller skates, but mom quickly squashed that idea.
The minis and I baked and decorated round 1 of Valentine's cupcakes. This was Elizabeth's first time helping us bake and she LOVED it. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because I didn't want to leave her within reach of the batter!
Reading books at Barnes and Noble. We let the kids pick out a few new Valentine's books to read this week.
Cold temps won't stop these kids from a milkshake date at the mall! Harrison kept warm in his new sweatshirt that just sums him up perfectly.
Sunday morning at the Des Moines Botanical Gardens. This was our first time here and the kids really liked looking at all of the flowers and walking along the paths, although they were disappointed there wasn't "a lot of room for hiking. There needs to be an inside hiking place mom!"
"There's a waterfall!" said Max. "Mom! Mom! Mom! It's waterfalls!" said Harrison. "Oooohhhh! Look! Water!" said Elizabeth.
Elizabeth loved smelling the flowers. There were also a few little educational centers set up that the kids really enjoyed.
Max grabbed the camera and took tons of pictures of flowers. He was especially proud of this one because he took it just for me since my favorite color is pink. I think this boy may benefit from photography classes in the near future.
We stopped at the kids area where Max and Elizabeth colored flower pictures. Elizabeth couldn't quite figure out how to use scissors, but she insists on trying because her brother's use them.
The boys instantly spotted this bird house in the garden showroom. Max took a picture so the boys can figure out how it was made and make their own this spring.
Elizabeth really like the little girl statue. She kept patting her head and giving her kisses telling the girl statue "it okay."
After we got home from the Botanical Garden, the boys felt it was time to open up the new inflatable pool. Harrison grabbed a spear from one of his Imaginext figurine and tried (and succeeded) to open the box himself.
Max helped daddy blow up the pool, which was a bit larger than what I was imagining.
We're using our new pool for a ball pit! Hopefully this will be the week's playtime entertainment for the kiddos.
Spent a good part of my afternoon tracing and cutting out hearts for daycare. This week we'll be making Valentine decorations and they'll all be making Valentine's for each other. Hopefully this will keep them busy!
There's a slide in our daughter's bedroom. Some people might find this odd, but it's the norm around here!
Max's newest flip flops. Maybe if I start buying spring/summer clothes and accessory that will make spring come faster????
This is the time of year where we all go crazy, emotions run high from lack of fresh air (at least that's my best guess), but our Winter To Do List has helped with that a bit. We're slowly but surely crossing things off of our list. February will be a super busy month (luckily this will help with our winter blues) and we're counting down until our weekend getaway to Honey Creek Resort!
We haven't made too many plans for next weekend, but we'll hopefully cross a couple more adventures off of our list. This week is sure to be busy, but I'm thinking this guy will help the week along!
