Last summer, when preparing our children for our move to the 'snow capital of the U.S.', we showed them photos of snow from previous winters. We told them how much snow the area receives. More snow than they've ever seen. With snow totals averaging over 10 foot. We also told them that we would do our best to take advantage of it by sledding and building snowmen and snow animals, etc. etc. Pretty sure the kids think we're crazy...especially after our one and only winter in Syracuse has so far turned out to be one of the mildest on record - not that I'm complaining about the mild winter. While it would have been nice to have had more snow and been able to ski and sled and do those things I told the kids we would do, I also appreciated not having to wade through the snow every time I walked Penny...or worry about losing her in the snow since our now one-year-old "German Shepherd/Lab mix" obviously has a more petite mystery breed mixed in there as well!
HOWEVER, despite the mild winter, we have had some snow and the kids have been quick to take advantage of it, happily playing with the neighborhood kids. Brody loved the piles the snow plows accumulated at the ends of the parking lots the best. We did go sledding on our really fun hill - once - though the kids used the sleds on the snow plow piles quite a bit.
And so we could always see 'snow' in the winter, regardless of the weather, Alexa decorated our sliding glass doors with paper snowflakes! :)
We also had some beautiful sunsets in January.
One of the first weekends in January, we decided to introduce the kids to Star Wars. Brody had been talking about Jedis and light sabers ever since he attended a Star Wars themed birthday party in October, and Alexa had learned quite a bit about the Star Wars characters just through conversations with kids in the neighborhood, but neither kiddo had ever seen the movies.
I decided if we were going to introduce the kids to these legendary movies, we might as well make it a party! :) We decided to 'camp out' in the living room for the night and I hung glow in the dark balloons and black streamers from the ceiling for a loose interpretation of outer space. (My college roommate Robin would be so proud!) ;)
We ordered pizza and made Yoda's favorite green drink (lime sherbert and fresca). Then, Brody threw a bit of a curve ball when he announced he wanted to BE a Jedi for our Star Wars party and he needed Jedi clothes! Thankfully, a quick sweep of his closet uncovered tan dress pants, a tan shirt, and a dark brown belt. When coupled with the brown cape/hood converted from a curtain, he looked surprisingly like a Jedi.
We then hung a balloon on a string from the ceiling for the "Jedi Training Station". Hopefully the kids had as much fun as we did!
We also took the kids to watch the #2 ranked Syracuse Orange basketball team in January! They play in the Carrier Dome (same place the football games are held) but section off half of the field for the basketball game and the other half of the field has vendors. We were able to walk around before the game started and Brody was quite excited to see the turf from the football field. The orange wig was a hit with both kids!
Our January update could not be complete without this last photo:
Both kids have attended AWANA club this year at our church, and in January, the kids that have reached the 'half way point' in their books (and all Cubbies) get to throw a pie in the face of the AWANA Commander....so this photo is of my very excited son throwing a plate of whip cream into the face of our church's associate pastor!
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