Oh, Hail No!

I'm so beyond late posting these bizarre pics. What a strange day it was, driving home from school on a dark and dreary day. Small bits of ice start to hit the windshield....then, more, then more, then, thunder, then lightning, then, "Mama, is it SNOWING?" We had a crazy storm and the hail fell for almost an hour straight! It was piled on and resembling snow so fast, that even I had to go out and test it. But it was hail - it was wet and melted fast. But that didn't stop 2 little guys from bundling up (as much as we Phoenicians can with a no winter coat wardrobe!) and jumping around in it! They threw "hail" balls and made "hail" angels. But this got them soaking wet immediately and therefore, storming back upstairs to change out of their wet clothes and head back out. By the time we went inside for good, every article of clothing was wet and thrown on the floor and they were forced to wear their PJs to dinner! I have to admit, it was pretty cool to see. I just love the contrast of the palm tree with "snow" on it. But I still don't miss snow!

Be Mine, Valentine

Lionel and I surprised Everett at school for his Valentine's Day party. It was so sweet of Everett's teacher to include Lionel in the festivities. He was on cloud 9 when she asked him to line up with the class. They decorated picture frames and sugar cookies before playing some games. It was a lovely morning for me, watching my sweet valentines enjoy themselves.

May the Force be with You

Christmas morning! It was a Christmas miracle that the boys slept until 7am! It was so much fun, as usual, to see the boys so excited and happy that Santa brought them what they asked for. It was a very Star Wars-y Christmas in our house. I was serenaded with lots of shooting and flying sound effects as I made Christmas dinner.

Brothers

I took the boys shopping at Barnes & Noble and told them to pick out a book that the other one would like. This took a few tries (they kept picking their own favorites, of course!) But they finally got it just right and we came home and promised to keep the books a secret. Well, once hidden, they were completely forgotten. Just before Christmas, we wrapped them and put them under the tree. I told them we would open them on Christmas Eve. I guess I should have specified Christmas Eve night because they woke up that day and ran to the tree to open those gifts! It was so sweet to see their happy, surprised faces and this unstaged brotherly love hug.

Buffalo and Bears and Wolves, Oh My!

Just before Christmas, we ventured up north to Bearizona. This was a cool outdoor animal park that you visit in your car. We saw buffalo, wolves, and bears as we drove around. It was really neat! Then, we were able to walk around a bit and saw more bears, foxes, lynxes, and a small petting farm. This was also the time where the boys took full advantage of the snow! They both took off into it with no fear of being cold or wet (which is exactly what they were in about 5 minutes flat!) We had a family snowball fight and made a quick mini-snowman. We enjoyed some hot chocolate before our drive home.