Lap dog

I have no idea where we were headed, but Charlie decided she'd had it with riding on the floor!

Sick kid :(

Brady was home on Friday, with a fever and feeling rather run down.  A few animals in bed with you always helps you feel better...

 

Snow days at home

We had two reasonably sized snow snowstorms this year, which is just about the right amount for me.  Enough that we can appreciate how pretty it looks and get outside for some fun snow play and hole up at home together.  We did all of the above for the storms this year!

A few rounds of Settlers:

Cat snuggles (and goofy faces from brothers)

We put out birdseed and the cats were endlessly amused watching the birds and squirrels.

One of the storms was pretty close to blizzard like - so windy it was blowing sideways most of the day!

It didn't keep these guys from playing outside though!  Sledding was no fun with the snow blowing in their faces, but they still had a blast playing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was outside so long he had icicles in his hair!

 

A little TV and reading time.

Lots of baking!  I think in one storm alone, we had 3 loaves of bread, a batch of English muffins, and two batches of cookies.  

James and I learned our lesson in PA and shoveled several times throughout the day.  Beats dealing with it at the end!  You can see how much it was snowing and blowing!

 

Charlie likes playing in the snow when it's done snowing.  She was NOT a fan of it blowing in her face or sticking to her paws.

 

The animals were happy to hunker down anywhere cozy.   We found Jingle curled up in the ski clothes bin and Bell hiding out in the pile of coats on the floor of the coat closet.

 

Another round outside; this time with some sledding! 

 

 

Of course, you can't have a snow day and not build a fort, right?  And then spend time inside the fort reading...

 

Worn out!

Dog snuggles

Charlie is not a snuggler.  She knows that James is the alpha dog, so is very hesitant to jump in our bed, even when called.  If he's not in the room, I can usually get her to jump up for a quick pet, but she gets pretty antsy as soon as he walks in the room.  Ocasionally, in the mornings, she'll consent to come up to visit.  

Charlie

Charlie is pretty funny about her bedtime routine.  She likes to go outside, but usually just stands on the front porch.  When she comes back in, she sprints upstairs and waits by the master bedroom for until James or I open it.  Then she scoots under the bed as fast as she can and won't come out again until morning.

Occasionally, the kids try to get her to stay in their rooms at night.  She may jump into bed with them to say hi, but never stays more than a minute.  No way would she consider staying overnight!

Rudy asked if Charlie would protect us if a robber came at night.  Firstly, I seriously doubt she'd even wake up.  Second, I joked that she'd most likely invite us into her den under the bed..."hey, guys, come in here be quiet and we'll all be safe!"

River walking and rock climbing

Oma and Papa came up last night to watch Brady's school soccer game and then to spend the weekend with us. The boys had a half day of school today. The weather was beautiful, so we went to the river for a few hours.  Rudy took his r/c boat and we passed a pleasant few hours skipping and throwing rocks. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Oma's birthday present this year was a trip to the local indoor rock climbing center.  It's hard work, but we all had fun trying different routes.  Brady is a natural monkey, and scales the walls  like it's a piece of cake!  Rudy is a bit more cautious on the vertical climbs, but loved any opportunity to swing from the ceiling!