we own a cadillac.

family swim time.

another little activity we did while i was home, was swimming.

when it's freezing outside and everything is covered in snow, you don't have all that many options for things to do.

swimming was a great idea.

and the place had waterslides, three of them...it doesn't get much better than that.

 

 

after swimming and being cooped up in the house for a while, the kids decided to get bundled up and play outside.

 

 look at them...how awesome to be so close with your cousins :)

just another fun day in north dakota.

ice skating.

while i was home in north dakota, we hit up our old stomping ground for ice skating.

it's just down the street from my parent's house and we all remember walking down with our skates, skating for hours, treating ourselves (most likely, my parents treating us) to a hot chocolate from the warming house...good times.

the rink was exactly how I had remembered it to be.

the girls stuck to skating, but oliver opted for hockey...obviously...the kid is obsessed.

 

 

we made a quick run to starbuck's...coffee makes things more enjoyable, i'm certain of it.

we were missing our sister, amy, but at least we had her abby along with us :)

it was a fun day at the rink.

i think we should be sure to go there each winter...hopefully next time, gray and dusty will be able to join us!



i got what i wanted...

...a snow day.

i was hoping for lots of snow while i was home...to really feel the north dakotaness of it all before heading back to alabama.

well, i hit the jackpot.

 

my nephews, oliver and palmer, graced us with their presence on this day.

our first snow day activity: candy land

after playing inside for a bit, having breakfast and coffee, we then headed outside to conquer the driveway.

 

oliver maybe shoveled for two minutes and then his attention was elsewhere...

...throwing snow at the window, of course.

palmer really enjoyed watching all of the activity outside. he probably sat in this chair in front of the window for a good 30 minutes.



 when that got old, he found other ways to entertain himself.

 guess who conquered the backyard with the snow blower?

 this girl.

if i was a regular snow blower, i would invest in a face mask.

the blowing snow combined with the wind really gets the best of you.