It all started as a perfectly peaceful beautiful winter snowstorm...
Then, the COUSINS came and the ELECTRICITY WENT OUT...and it was all-out WAR!
Snow wars, that is. They divided themselves into teams and made flags to put on their snow forts. They spent most of their weekend outside in the beautiful 8 inches of snow. Going UP our long driveway...
And then DOWN the long driveway--but usually on sled--over and over and over again. They were so sleepy by bedtime!
Of course, they had a great time snowball fighting...
Angel cousins making snow angels...
You'll notice in the next picture that it was all fun and games until someone got hurt. In this case, it was Lauren. She took a snowball to the face no less than 4 times, thanks to one boy who shall remain nameless to protect his privacy--right, CODY???? Poor girl, she took it like a trooper, though.
Lauren and William spent lots of time hanging out. They like to remind people that they are only 6 weeks apart in age. They are not only cousins, but good friends.
The dogs loved chasing the sleds down the hill, then tackling the riders.
Inside, drying out, relaxing and warming up... Jared (and John Wesley---shhhhh don't tell him I told you) enjoyed the Thomas the Train set that Trenton so nicely passed down to Jared.
The kids all decorated gingerbread men (or women) one afternoon.
Thankful for my collection of Christmas mugs. The snowstorm caught me without any paper or plastic ware, so I had each kid pick a cup and made it THEIRS for the duration. (We did wash them occasionally. :))
The power outage also meant my Mom & Dad didn't have heat. So they came over to stay with us, joining in on the fun. The more the merrier! There were 15 of us in our "little house" that weekend. Yes, we were walking over and around each other; yes, it was a little chaotic; and yes, it was FUN!
The kids emptied this gallon jar of pickles in one day. Trenton, Lauren and William decided to drink the juice--all of it. YUCK!
Jared (pictured here with Lena) and MaKenzie had fun sledding, too!
What's more fun than spending a cold, winter day inside playing a long game of Monopoly???
We were blessed to have the wall-mounted heater to keep us warm and cozy. With no electric, we couldn't use the dryer to dry gloves and coats between trips outside. This is "the little heater who could!"
Every available spot that could hold a hanger was put into use to dry the wet outside clothes.
The next afternoon, we made delicious snow cream!
The kids decided it should be green, alien snow cream--so it was.
The kids had a great time. The electric being out made it all the more fun. I'm sure my kids (and I hope Lauren, Jake and Trenton) will look back fondly on this weekend visit for many years to come.
And, I'm not even going to TRY to explain this one...
3 comments:
No electricity and lots of family make me slow down and realize what is really important in this much to fast paced world we live in. Even though it could be seen as an inconvenience, I really enjoyed this past weekend and look forward to the next time we find ourselves "off the grid". I really enjoy being with family and having to meet our needs in a little different way. As a matter of fact it would not take much for me to live "off the grid" just God to move in a big way! I know He can and will worship while I wait! I love you all (all 14 of you) and truly enjoyed the four days and three nights we spent together!
Love,
Son-in-law, Uncle, Daddy and Husband
It is such a comfort to know that living right beside us is a wonderful large, close knit family who would do anything for anyone. They took us in when my hands got so cold from no heat in our home that we finally called and said we were ready to come over. We enjoyed the whole time we were there and everyone got along so good. Harold got everything hooked up so our freezers out in the shed and our refrigerators in both of our homes were running on the generator. He even hooked up our electric skillets so that we had some good homemade chili and some really good pasta. We even all sat down and watched a movie after we had all the dishes washed by using the Bunn coffee pot to keep us in hot coffee and water for hot chocolate and dishes. God has been so good to us all. When families today are fighting and breaking up, I'm thankful that God is still in control of our lives and helps things to run smoothly when it could have been a real disaster. He provided all our needs. It was almost sad to go back home, we had such a good time together. We could not have picked a better son-in-law if we had done it ourselves.
We love you all -Lori & Harold & family for putting up with us.
Mom & Dad, Grandpa & Grandma
Reading your blog, brought back wonderful memories of my childhood, when all 4 of us kids were home, sleding, making cookies, snow cream and snow angels. Thanks for taking me back in time. What a blessing to see children be children and have "no fear" of having such good fun!!! God bless all of you!
Connie
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