SLEETSTORM

Doom and gloom (had been projected for days, and it arrived just in time to cancel mom and dad's flight and strand them in the 'Burg for an extra day (which ended up being 3 days, since the airport didn't reopen as expected on Saturday, and then so many people were backed up that getting everyone on flights was a challenge). The kids loved it, of course, and we greatly enjoyed our extra "found" time with them! Cora went outside to check out the sleet and ice and snow as soon as it stopped coming down, and James waited until bedtime to go play. It was really slick out there (Buster slipped a few times) and there was no way we could have driven up the driveway to go anywhere - good thing we had plenty of food and wine already at the house!)

 (even the ravine behind our house was iced over)

 Icicles!

 Christmas lights under the thin layer of sleet/snow...

 ...we didn't have a White Christmas, but the lights were still up, so why not take a photo!

The next day brought the opportunity to crack through the ice in the pond...

 Check out the map of snow/ice in the south... no wonder everything shut down for a few days!

COLD KIDS

 The temperature has dropped significantly and further precipitation is expected, meaning ice, sleet, and/or snow, so the grandparents got the kids out of the house for a bit today before it all hit. They didn't last long though because even with snow boots and puffy jackets, Cora was freezing after 45 minutes...

GIRLS NIGHT OUT AT ANCHUCA

We had the place to ourselves, we splurged on the Surf and Turf AND dessert, and Cora had the sole attention of the young waitress (which meant she got to help feed the cats outside AND help in the kitchen briefly AND dance around the dining room)...

BURN FAIL

 The guys tried to burn the leaf piles, but everything was still too wet and the flames didn't get far...

CHILDREN'S PLAY

 After the Children's Museum, we rushed over to Babalu for a late lunch (just before a big storm hit!) Cora liked watching the waitress make the guacamole, but she refused to try it no matter how much I insisted that she used to really like it... We'll definitely go back there sometime - the food was really good - but we think it might be more fun as a date night (there were plenty of kid friendly items, and James loved his tacos, but it would still be cool to just sit for a while and try a bunch of different "small plates")

FORT BUILDING

We gave the kids a "fort kit" box as their big present this year (it had camo mesh coverings, clips and fort-making plastic connectors for sticks, walkie-talkies, real scopes, and Garmin VivoFit Jr's to track their steps - because they've wanted them for months), so we broke out some the as-yet unused pieces and got to work building. (But not before a quick game of MasterMind between Cora and Grambot - Cora was thrilled that Grambot didn't figure out her code and was making the funniest faces while Grambot tried to sleuth it out!)

 There was also some major pond cleaning and wildflower bed prepping that went on...

 And chicken loving...