Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

...but we went outside to play in it anyway!

daddy and the little ones traipsing through the snow...but where's Gab?

perhaps on the ground, making snow angels...

or chatting with a new friend :)

Of course, we also did many fun activities indoors...

like the ever-popular game of 'let the kitty out/let the kitty in'...

and, 'let's all address the Christmas cards together'...wait...where did everyone go?

this one WAS actually fun... (we built this our first snowy day this week)

we ate many of these! (the kiddos decorated them with Jeff an evening when I was out...Gab made me a special one and boxed it up for me!)

and enjoyed hot cocoa...

and juice...(when the hot cocoa is just too hot for your liking)

and played dress up...

...and had an amazing week.

*bonus! the show was NOT canceled last night! and it was a wonderful audience! we are looking forward to tonight :)*

Tennessee Aquarium

The Four Brothers

My best friend from high school (Rebecca in my friend's list)
lives just outside of Nashville with her husband, Eric, and their posse of boys: Jacob, Caleb, Michael and Jared.So, on our recent vacation, since we were already going to St. Louis (and TN looked really close on the map-ha!)--we were able to work out a trip to see their family as well. It had been over 8 years since we had all been together, and over 7 since Rebecca and I had seen each other. Of course, there are many more of "us" between the two families now :)

I attempted to brief my children on the boys before we arrived at their house; describing them from oldest to youngest...even showing them their pictures, attempting to have them learn their names before we arrived...all to no avail.

On the drive from St. Louis to Nashville, they became known as 'the four brothers'. And they were a hot topic of discussion. What were 'the four brothers' like? What were 'the four brothers' ages? How much longer until we were at 'the four brothers' house?

And at last we were at 'the four brother's' house. And a more perfect scene could not be found, for there, sitting all in a row, on 'the four brother's' front stoop, WAS...the four brothers!

It was the perfect greeting, and provided us all with a wonderful beginning to a fun-filled week with...Jacob, Caleb, Michael, and Jared! (and their mommy and daddy, of course!)

Our first outing with them was a hike to a beautiful stream with many waterfalls. The weather was so nice for us. Not humid at all. (very unlike the regular July TN weather we discovered)

Evie walks hand in hand with Eric. hmmm...maybe warming up to the idea of a daughter?

this is my delighted husband. he passed the wiener mobile on the drive back to their house. is it any wonder I am in love with this man?