Around the house

Charlotte loves to brush my hair, and I enjoy it too -- except when she whacks me with the brush. She tries to be gentle but sometimes she just doesn't manage it.


Sometimes it turns into a group event.



The kids like to help Dean with water changes -- usually followed by clothing changes.



The baby dolls often have dinner with us.


If she finds a pair of anything, Charlotte calls the little one "baby" and the big one "Mama" or "Daddy." Here she's showing me Mama and baby cat-shaped magnets. The other day she told me that the microwave was "baby" and the wall oven was "Daddy."

It's winter!

It was about 14 degrees out and the kids just *had* to go out and play in the snow. I took pictures and then retreated inside. Dean said it wasn't too bad -- but he spent more time in Minnesota than I did!


George wore safety glasses because he said they keep his eyes warm. It was kind of windy, so I suppose they might have helped.


It was his mission to bang all of the ice off of everything in the yard. He did it for hours for the two days the snow & ice lasted -- out for 15 or 20 minutes, in for half an hour, out for 15 minutes, back in again..... "Mama," he said, "I was like a walking popsicle!"

Charlotte was following in her big brother's footsteps, as usual.


Here you can see what a pathetic dusting of snow we got. Even the ice wasn't much, although it was enough to shut down the town.

I must say, while I wish it was a little colder here, I don't miss Northern winters. Having to worry about frostbite for the kids was very strange. But they had a wonderful time.