Happy 8th

Tate's Birthday weekend started with a gymnastics meet. She did great! It was our first one to see, so we were all trying to figure out what was going on. We were all pleasantly surprised to see that she won 2nd place in floor, 4th in vault, and 5th overall! It didn't matter, but she's worked hard, so it was nice that she got that kind of payoff. 

It was a gorgeous weekend. We spent Saturday meeting my mom and dad for lunch (birthday lunch #2), then the meet on Sunday, and just general nice weather. The dogs liked it. The two of them are really getting along nicely together.

On Monday, her actual birthday, she awoke to a decorated kitchen, cinnamon rolls, and presents to be opened later. 

We told our neighbors at the bus stop that it was her birthday, and our neighbor, Fireman Pete, who often makes us giant cookie cakes, brought us this:

He's amazing. He and his daughter made this! It's DOMO!!!! There is the number 8 on there, at the top. I told Smith that there were a bunch of brown poops on the cake, and he said, "just like what Domo leaves us in the backyard." 

Tate's Grammy got her this awesome gymnastics mat - one of her very big wishes. She also got some clothes, a trip to the American Girl store for lunch and something for one of her girls (ear piercings, or fixing up their hair), her big wish of a North Face fuzzy jacket, and an octopus hat. 

Purple jacket and the octopus hat - I love how it turned out!

Hands down, this girl is my favorite 8 year old on the planet. Her quick wit, kind heart, sass, smarts, and love for life suits me just perfectly. I am indeed a lucky mom. 

We are heading into DAY 14 of school snow days. Storm started about 5pm tonight, and we are expected to get 3"-2,456" of snow. A friend suggested they are going to start calling snow days in the 10 day forecast, sigh. The grass is all snowy now, but the roads are still wet only. But the sleeping in part is good, right?

Next up, St. Patrick's Day. High expectations over here for Lucky the Leprechaun to do some damage and trickery!

I didn't even blog about the last storm...

We have used 13 of the 15 snow days in our County. I am tired of snow. I am tired of boots, winter jackets, scarves, car heaters, hot chocolate, frozen dog poop (although much easier to collect), and even fires in the fireplace. I want spring.

Another round of cinnamon toast and hot chocolate!

Storm #8,657

Tate and a friend on a snowy day, snuggled in blankets with MORE hot chocolate

Once school started again, the elementary school had a "dress as your favorite book character" day. Tate wanted to be Ruby from "Ruby's Wish," but we couldn't procure a red Chinese dress/outfit in time. So her cousin had this from when she was littler, and Tate went as Felicity from the American Girl series!

That very same day was the birthday lunch celebration for my mom, sister-in-law, niece, daughter and myself! All 5 of us have Feb/March birthdays, so my grandmom took us out to eat at a great nearby restaurant. Tate was pulled out of school early on the first day back (and with a 2 hour delay!). Lunch was fun and YUMMY. I had grilled brie cheese sandwich and butternut squash bisque - seriously the best butternut squash soup I have EVER had. 

Some presents were passed around. I made this mermaid for my mom. We decided to do the same as last year, go on a trip together, to be planned. But I saw this pattern and thought how cute it would be at their house in Hilton Head, so I made it! They can keep it next to the jellyfish.

Things around here have been good. Domo is getting BIG - he started at 14 pounds when we got him, and is now 28! Tate is just blown away by the cuteness.

She just cannot handle it.

DinoSTARS!

Tate's school changed things around a bit, and are now doing a 2nd grade play. She got a special part - auditioned, and was a RAPtor. The kids were adorable. They did a great job. It's amazing seeing that many 7 and 8 year olds remember their lines and do what they're supposed to do.

I was so proud of Tate. She knew all the lines of the whole play, not just hers. She was excited, hardly nervous, READY to perform. The best part was at the end, when she and the two other RAPtors got tangled up in their snouts. I've been singing the songs for several days now!

Dwindling snow and oncoming SPRING!

It feels like SPRING is here. We've had a glorious week of SUN and WARMTH and SNOWMELT and very very soggy lawns. Mud prints in the house. It's okay, though, as the sunshine makes it all okay. (I'm ignoring the Tuesday forecast of more snow.)

Today it sounded like Hilton Head outside. Birds chirping. I love snow, but am ready for green and birds and flower shoots.

Here are some highlights of the last week or so.

Last snow sledding of the season (please?!?)

Finishing up Tate's Valentines. We had a little more time to work on them with the snowdays. Valentine, you're POMtastic!

Mt. Domo

Cute son and dog shot

Domo with his Magic Carrot. My grandmom (GG) gave this to him, and he LOVES it.

Girl Scout Cookie Time!!! Woohoo! Girls sold 118 cookies in 2 hours, outside a craft shop. It was a gorgeous 60 degrees.

This is my niece, about to do a performance. Doesn't she look like a 40s movie star? She's on the right, with the gloves on her bottom...

Snow snow snow snow snow snow snow

Well we got it - 15"++. They were right! Snow started about 7pm on Wednesday, and didn't let up for a long time. After it settled down for a bit, we got MORE. School was cancelled, and we are now in the midst of a 5 day weekend (President's Day on Monday!). So far so good - days 10 and 11 for school closings this year.

Tate is touching the top of a ruler!

Family walk to 7-11

Snow seats

Last week

Before I head on into the Snowpocolypse, here are some scenes from last week. With the ice being heavy, we ventured out to the indoor pool for some swimming (not me, I don't care for the pool so much. I think I like going to the pool even far less in the winter, thinking about going outside with wet hair...). Tate loved it, though!

David headed out of town for work, and we made jammy scones (YUM! This is a recipe from Smith's preschool - it was a co-op and they had the kids bake or make food once a week at age 2. This was a standout favorite!) We also made salt dough hearts for Tate's class to paint for their Valentine's Party. And more mug cakes. 

We went to see the Lego movie, which was very cute! It was slow in some parts, but overall I really liked it. Kids did, too. It was packed! Second day in the theater...

Sunday was cold and snowy. Smith still had soccer practice outdoors. They both had friends over, which was fun for them. And they trampolined! CRAZY cold outside. It was a good weekend - lots of activity, lots of lazing about. Good stuff.