Last week, Molly got spacers put in her mouth. When she went to school, all her friends kept asking to see her spacers. And friends that didn’t know she had them even asked about why she had blue teeth. I guess she has trouble keeping her mouth closed if everyone could notice them.
Why did she get spacers? These are to make room for braces, which she’ll get tomorrow (Monday)! Stay tuned to see them.
I finally arrived home Monday night. We tried to swing by Aunt EA’s house in Silver Spring on the way, but found her neighborhood had not been plowed yet. Fortunately we knew we could get to my house and Grams’s house. We came to my house first to drop me off, then Aunt EA and Grams went on to Grams’s house. Thanks to Jen for shoveling all the snow piled up at the end of the driveway by the plow earlier in the day.
While I missed much of the snow, I did manage to get out in it briefly with my girls. A fair amount of it had already melted, but the giant piles covering the sidewalk are still taller than Molly.
The snow was still quite deep, so we sunk down into it when walking around. The snow was also level, despite the ground below not being level. So, occasionally you take a step and find the snow is so deep that your leg has disappeared below you.
The girls and I had a lot of fun sledding in our back yard. Here they are showing how much fun it is.
Here Leah shows off that you don’t need a sled to sled - your bottom will do just fine. This is especially true if you use a track that someone heavy (say Daddy) has already carved out of the snow by sledding down.
The girls call this penguin sliding, which I guess is a good description. They got going pretty fast like this, though ended up soaking wet from the snow.
Or you can lift up your arms and legs for a belly slide.
There were a lot of snowballs thrown, including the blurry one obscuring Leah’s hat in this shot.
This is what I was missing when I was stuck away, so I was glad I got to have some fun in the snow with them after getting back.
With this much snow, and with me out of town, Jen was not looking forward to shoveling the driveway. Fortunately, she found a connection to someone to pay to do it. We weren’t sure how they’d get to our house, but she signed up. They made it, and this Bobcat cleared the driveway in 10 minutes flat (sadly, it was too big to do the sidewalk as well).
The truck carrying the Bobcat had a plow on the front, which is how they managed to get to us. That meant they partially plowed our street - right up to our house. For the next day, we’d occasionally have people try to drive down our street, only to find that they could not make it past our house.
Here’s our plowed driveway. The Bobcat even cleared space on the sides for car doors to open.
The next day, the girls were out to play in the snow again. They were excited to see that the Bobcat had left some giant chunks of snow to play with.
The piled up snow from the driveway made a great snow slide.
The girls decided bringing their sleds in all the time was wasted effort. So, they instead tied them up at our back porch sled dock.
Our street was plowed Monday night, after three and a half days since the start of the storm. That was much earlier than a lot of folks around here, so we’re not complaining.
On Sunday, church was cancelled (since no roads were passable). The girls were ready to have some fun in the snow, and the snow was ready for them. Molly and Leah grabbed their sleds and waded through the snow.
Molly found a good spot to chillax while taking a break from shoveling.
Jen and the girls in the snow, making do on their own while I was away.
The girls got tired of going out the front, so Jen shoveled a path on our back porch for them to get in and out.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last. A few hours later there was a sudden crash outside. All the snow on the back side of our roof had slid off our solar panels onto the porch and ground below. Sadly, this was enough to break the railing on the back of the porch.
The crash also broke the bottom rail on the gate.
Jen eventually went out and shoveled the back porch again, so the girls could go in and out there. She’s such an awesome mom.
Friday rolled around and the snow started. Winter Storm Jonas (aka Snowzilla) came in with full force. School was cancelled (just like my trip home from Georgia). Lots of snow and wind - not something you want to be out in. The girls did manage to get out of the house in the morning before the storm got going, but they were not going outside after it began.
When stuck at home during a snow storm, make Star Wars Perler bead projects! First up, Leah made Princess Leia and Molly made BB-8.
Next, a green lightsaber (Molly) and a purple lightsaber (Leah). Oh, and a viola with bow (Molly). Not sure which Star Wars movie that was in :)
Saturday morning came, and the storm only got stronger. It was going to be awful outside, so the girls stayed inside in their jammies all day. Of course, that meant it was time for more Perler beads! Leah made Luke Skywalker, while Molly made R2-D2 and C-3PO.
That evening it was still snowing, so the girls played some games. Here they are playing Trouble.
And then they played some Uno Attack.
While they stayed inside in the warm, the snow kept falling. Here’s a view of the door in our basement toward the end of the storm. I don’t think we’ll be going out that door any time soon.
The screens on our screened in porch stopped most of the snow, but the finer stuff still got through.
The snow finally stopped late Saturday night. According to reports, we got around 27 inches of snow, setting a new record for a single storm.
On New Year’s morning, Molly taught G’Mom and Grampa how to play Q-bitz. It’s a fun new game she got for Christmas, and it’s been a hit in our house.
After morning fun, we headed toward Washington to Aunt EA’s house so G’Mom and Grampa could meet Charlie. The we headed from there to some more fun, but you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to hear about that.
The girls have really gotten into Star Wars lately. As a Star Wars fan myself, I was hoping this would happen eventually but I didn’t want to push it. But when they both started expressing interest in watching Star Wars in November, I was ready. Their initial interest was in watching Star Wars Rebels - an animated show that is currently popular. I explained that they should really start with the movies, and they excitedly agreed.
I first showed them A New Hope (Episode IV). We watched it together and I paused whenever they had a question. I started off getting them to close their eyes for the dark parts, but they quickly decided they didn’t need to do that. At the end, they said they loved it and wanted to watch the next one. Thankfully, Thanksgiving vacation was quickly approaching, giving us some free time to watch movies.
We then watched The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V), and then Return of the Jedi (Episode VI). Then we went back the prequels and watched The Phantom Menace (Episode I), Attack of the Clones (Episode II), and Revenge of the Sith (Episode III). They loved them all. They said their favorite was Return of the Jedi.
We then watched the first season of Star Wars Rebels, which they also liked a lot. We’ll probably watch season two sometime after it finishes airing. Then we moved onto The Clone Wars. We began by watching the movie, then moved on to the series. We’re still in the middle of season one, and looking forward to watching it all eventually.
This all led up to going to the theater to see The Force Awakens (Episode VII). I knew it would be too crazy to try to go before Christmas, so I bought tickets for a 2D matinee on the 27th. Jen and Grams came too (though they didn’t make it into the picture and didn’t have Star Wars apparel on). Here we are in our Star Wars shirts upon arriving at the theater.
We got there an hour and twenty minutes early. I knew this was probably overkill, but wanted to play it safe. It meant we were at the front of the line (all by ourselves for the first twenty minutes of the wait). There ended up being a very long line by the time we were let in to the theater, but we got perfect seats for the film.
The movie was great, and the girls really enjoyed it. They now say it is tied with Return of the Jedi as their favorite movie (it’s tough to compete with Ewoks).
The girls show no signs of slowing their Star Wars excitement. They ask to watch an episode of The Clone Wars every day, and are really looking forward to all the Star Wars stuff in Disney World (we’re going in February). There’s also been discussion of Halloween costumes, though that’s a long way away. They’re also talking about looking forward to Episode VIII, but 5/27/2017 is even further away (though it is already on my calendar).
Unlike last year, both girls got a good night sleep. They did get up early (around 6:00, they say), but not ridiculously early. They waited patiently till 7:00 (the time we told them they could wake us). Then we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus (as we always do) and headed downstairs. There we found that Santa had not missed our house. I think Molly’s excited at what he brought her.
The girls are really into Star Wars, so we got them some Star Wars themed gifts. These pajamas were the first they opened.
These shirts continued the theme, and were the perfect thing to wear to see The Force Awakens in the theater two days later (tickets were already purchased).
Molly was excited to model her new hoodie with her karate dojo’s logo.
After opening presents at our house, we hopped in the car and headed over to Grams’s house to continue the present party. We always go in age order, which means Leah has always been first. Not this year, though - Charlie is the new first. But Leah didn’t have to wait long before it was her turn. This vest will keep her warm if this winter ever gets cold.
One of the hot toys for the girls now are Shopkins, so Leah was very excited to get this set. All the Shopkins are now set up in their room.
Uncle Scott is a Star Wars fan as well, so Jen made him a R2D2 apron, which will go perfectly with his R2D2 measuring cups from Aunt Caroline (next to his elbow).
After opening pajamas for baby Charlie and being impressed that Jen made them, Aunt EA and Uncle Scott were stunned at the knight hoodie that Jen made for Charlie to wear when he’s a little bigger. Uncle Scott and Aunt Caroline have already placed orders for adult versions!
Leah got a plush Fear toy though her expression appears to be one of Joy.
We had a few mix-ups on our gift list this year, so Jen was amused at a duplicate set of bowls that Grams gave her.
After some intense present opening, Charlie was in need of some reset. Aunt Caroline was happy to provide a place for him to lay his head.
Here they are from a bit further back so you can see Aunt Caroline as well.
That wasn’t all the Christmas fun, but that seems like enough for today. Tune in tomorrow as the fun continues.
After church, we headed over to Grams’s house for dinner. Grammy was excited to hold her first great grandson.
Charlie is wide-eyed looking at his great grandmother.
You may not have noticed that under Molly’s ugly sweater was a cute top. After realizing that she did not have a festive outfit for Christmas Eve, Jen made Molly a new winter tunic. Molly has been loving high-low skirts and dresses lately, so this new tunic was a bit hit.
Molly decided to bring her viola along to Grams’s house for a Christmas concert. She's only been learning for 2 months, but she's already doing great.
Per tradition, we opened one present on Christmas Eve. Leah was excited about her DigiPenguin.
As was Molly.
Jen and I received a new Apple TV. Thanks Grammy!
The tradition continues…Jen made the girls new nightgowns to wear on Christmas Eve.
Also per tradition, the girls put out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer.
Then it was time to read ’Twas the Night Before Christmas (also a tradition) and then have the children nestle all snug in their beds.
The first two Christmas Eve services at our church are family services, and are led primarily by children. This year, Molly got to be one of the worship leaders. Their opening welcome included some joking around ugly Christmas sweaters, so they dressed the part.
After welcoming everyone, Molly quickly headed to the choir loft to join Leah and the other kids. They led all the songs, and sang Rock The Little Baby for the special music.
Molly and the other two worship leaders also introduced the offering.
Molly did an awesome job up front. You can’t see everyone in the congregation, but the first service was pretty full, and the second service was completely packed. She didn’t seem to be intimidated at all by the crowd.
Great job, Molly! We’re so proud of you!
