Annual Pancake trip

Well, we foolishly decided to go ahead with our annual trip with the neighbors to the Maple Tree Inn for pancakes and fresh maple syrup.  We were supposed to get a little bit of snow, but the way things have been this winter we figured it would be on the low end, about an inch.  No problem.  Well, it ended up being quite the blizzard, one of the bigger snow dumps we’ve seen this winter.  Following the Hortons, we could barely see their car:

It was really very pretty but at the same time quite terrifying; we almost bit it just at the end, within a few yards of the Maple Tree Inn.  (“Whee!  That was fun!”  said Brian.  I disagreed.)  Fortunately, we got there in one piece!

And, (go figure), there was no wait at all!  So we were soon eating pancakes to our hearts’ content. 

(Looks happy, doesn’t he?)

Calvin with the Hortons… somehow he managed to sit far away from the kids!

Me and the boys… pancake time!  We went downstairs to see the evaporator, but it was not going.  Also, Eli was terrified of the room full of antiques, and the evaporator too.  I really don’t get it. 

And we went to see the griddle in action:

All of us:

And then it was time to hit the snowy road back home! 

Snow again, for a day.

We have been seeing green grass for most of the winter; it snowed heavily for a short while Saturday morning so we took the opportunity to play in it. Eli is sporting his new winter hat that Mom made.

I apparently put Brian in a hat that was made for him when he was 1. That explains why it wasn't covering his ears.

The boys weren't too interested in the snowmen I made, which is just as well, as they toppled over in a "Calvin and Hobbes" style catastrophe later that day as the sun came out and the snow melted away. Fun while it lasted though!

In the snow

Well, I was starting to think we might have a winter with no snow at all, but it finally came!  Calvin and Brian built a cool sledding track in the backyard.  I tried to take some pictures of the kids, but they were moving so fast!

So finally I gave up and took some video:

And we finally, finally got to make a snowman!

He wasn’t too big, but it’s the best we could do with the crumbly snow.  We were so glad to have some winter fun at last!

A day at the zoo

The three cousins at the zoo... Emme was there too, of course, but she did not participate in the total craziness of these guys.

They spent a lot of time climbing things; rocks, trees, a statue... climbing, climbing, climbing!

Brian rode a camel!

Eli's favorite was the petting zoo!

Playing at the park

It's nice to be able to walk to a park; we have gone a few times already to the playground.

Eli loves the swings!

The 4 of us trek across the desert (playground).

Christmas 2.0, Phoenix edition

We had another Christmas when we arrived in Phoenix; Eli was SUPER EXCITED to get a Cars duplo set!

Playing with Ye Ye

Brian got some more "big kid" legos that he worked on (with help from Ye Ye) during naptime.

Pretty cool helicopter!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Grandma and grandpa came this weekend, we had a nice turkey dinner, and while they were here, we had a chance to pick up a bunk bed for Brian and Eli, since they're now sharing a room...

And since it's grandpa's birthday, we celebrated with some cake. Grandpa picked the Sesame Street theme. The boys had pie, ice cream, and cake all in one day!