Snow Goons

Have you ever read the comic strip "Calvin & Hobbes?" If so, then you know all about snow goons. If not, then see this snow art gallery. The kids and I LOVE reading "Calvin & Hobbes." Today we made some of our favorite snow goons. We had plenty of time today. The 2 hour delay got changed to "no school", so this is the 3rd day the kids have had off school.

This is the 2 headed mini-mutant snow goon. I especially like the ice-encrusted eyes and arms. It gives the arms a special translucent look. We built it on top of the wood burning stove, so we could see it a little better. It's kinda small (the snow is too powdery), but nice. Of course....if we decide to have s'mores tonight.....it's history.

This is a happy swimming snowman. Unfortunately, he doesn't see the 3 sharks to the right. Yes, I know it's strange, but you have to see the comic strip. It really is funny in a weird way. Wonder whose side of the family that strange sense of humor comes from?

Jenna actually spent a lot of time outside today. She decided to make a snow fort out of sheets of ice. It's kind of hard to break off large sheets of ice, so this was a problem. It would be a great fort for small snowmen though. We had a fun day playing in the snow, but it was much colder - around 18 degrees. Brrrrrrrrrr.

Snow Forts and Motrin

Motrin should actually be first in this blog title. The boys and I shoveled the driveway today after a short discussion about teamwork. They wanted to either play wii or play in the snow, while I cleared the driveway. LOL. Unfortunately there were about 2 inches of ice underneath 5 inches of snow. It's a good thing I put down salt yesterday after shoveling, because it actually melted the ice a little and we were able to chip it into slush and get it off the driveway. Since we couldn't get Rich's plow started, it took a little over 2 hours. We dug out the car too. Blah. Motrin is my friend. I'm sitting in bed right now with the electric blanket cranked up on high. Hope the power doesn't go out.

Early this morning, I heard a crash in the corner in the room. I thought it was the kitten getting into trouble. It was actually one of Rich's radio antennas falling off the roof. We also had a few tree limbs fall, but nothing hit the house. The ice is fairly thick on the trees.

The kids have been busy building snow forts. It's hilarious. They had a huge snowball war yesterday, and I'm not sure of the outcome. Nobody tattled about anything. Although I did intervene when I noticed Jordan throwing shovelfuls of snow on Emma - in her face. That was a little extreme. Here are the three main types of snow forts that we have in our yard:

This is Emma's snow fort. She balanced a sled on the top of two sandboxes. Then she dug out a crawl space type area underneath. It's nice. I especially like having a roof. That was a clever idea. She is small enough that I think she'll fit into that tiny area.

Here is Jordan's fort. He has a snowball arsenal behind the main wall, so it's hard to tell exactly how much firepower is involved. That could be to his advantage. Especially since I'm not about to find out. Having the car behind him might give extra protection from sneak attacks. Although if I were to get a large push broom and sweep the snow from the roof of the car into his fort, he'd probably be in real trouble. Hmmmm........ That might be worth filming. lol.

Here is Josh's fort. This is the crater approach. I think the walls of the crater need to be a little taller. This could be really bad if someone does a mass attack. It'll just fill in the crater. I think if it had a roof.... Josh and Emma ought to combine forces. They would make a great team.

Jenna actually didn't make a snow fort. That is probably because she hates snow ball fights. She did play outside in the snow a little, but really wasn't very interested. I guess it's just more fun being inside where it's warm. Can't blame her much for that. Jordan wanted a pic of himself standing in front of the lilac trees in the back yard. The ice looks especially thick on these.

Just found out that the kids have a 2 hour delay for school tomorrow. Yeahhhhhh. We get to sleep in a little!

Battle of the Snowmen

The kids are off school today, and it's fairly likely that they'll be off tomorrow also. Guess the snow dance worked! Josh made extra ice cubes as soon as he got home from school yesterday. We've got around 4 or 5 inches of snow on the ground, and now there's a little freezing rain falling. Tonight we're supposed to get more snow. At least we got the driveway shoveled and put down salt. That was enjoyable. I woke up this morning with a stiff neck and it still hurts after all that work. Blah. I feel old.

We've been playing outside all day. Yes, I even went out. I made a bunch of little snowmen on one wall of the pool. Then challenged the boys to hit them off. It kept them busy for a long time (lol). Here's a video of the snowmen army vs. the boys.

When I looked outside this afternoon, I noticed that someone obliterated the snowmen. Too funny. Right now Jordan, Joshua, and Jenna are outside building snow forts so they can have a huge snowball fight. I will NOT be going outside for that.

Jenna and I have been knitting a little today. She's making a purse, and I'm not sure WHAT I'm making. It really doesn't look like anything. Hmmmmm. I think I need a new hobby. I'd like to go snowshoeing down in the woods later today or tomorrow. I think maybe tomorrow would be better with the extra snow. Wonder if the turkeys are out.

Well, hopefully the power doesn't go out due to the freezing rain. Have a great time in Kilauea, Jeff. Wish I was there too. Bet it's hot.....sunny......beautiful.

Really Cheap Cat Toys

Are you tired of wasting hard-earned cash on toys that your pets don't play with anyway? Waste no more. The kids and I have discovered a cheap, economical, new cat toy. Dogs love this toy too. Even kids will play with it for hours. Guaranteed.



After watching this video, I realized that we might get closed down by the health department. Emma was actually eating cereal off the floor that the cat had been playing with. And she put cereal on the cat's back, then ate it. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.

Volleyball and Flammable Flour

We went to church today for Jordan's first volleyball game, and his team won!! He really hasn't had much experience playing volleyball up to this point - aside from gym class at school and team practice. Jordan's first serve actually hit the ceiling, but after some further instruction later from one of the coaches, he started serving really well. Whatever she told him did the trick. It was fun watching the kids work together, show team spirit, and support each other even when they missed a shot. I don't think Jordan fully understands the game or how to hit the ball, but that'll come with a little experience.

Now the boys are going over to a friend's house for the afternoon. I'm actually a little worried because they took dryer lint and flour. This means that they'll be practicing their boy scout skills of fire-starting, probably using a magnesium stick. Ever since they found out that dryer lint is flammable and works great for getting that initial flame started, I haven't had to worry about dumping the trash can in the laundry room. They take all my dryer lint, sometimes even emptying the tray in the dryer. (When they're desperate. LOL) They even have Grandma in on this - now she brings them bags of lint when she visits (Thanks, Mom)!

Last night I learned that flour is also highly flammable. I had NO IDEA. We went to a birthday party for one of Jordan's friends (the kind of party where parents all stay and have fun too!!) It was fairly obvious that something was up when several of the boys had white stuff on their clothes. Of course, being moms, we had to find out what they were doing. What a surprise to learn that it was flour (luckily not from my supply)! The boys were using it to start a fire ourside, in a parent-approved fire pit. So today I had to sacrifice some of my flour to their cause.

The Snow Dance

I heard a strange sound in my bathroom this evening. Guess what? Jordan was flushing ice cubes down my toilet. This is something those parenting books just never mention. I asked the obvious question, "Why?" This is one of those "whys" where you don't really expect a logical answer, or maybe any answer at all. You just don't know what else to say.

All the kids were doing a ritual that will cause it to snow several feet, so there won't be school tomorrow. Needless to say, we don't have many ice cubes left in the freezer. They must REALLY want to stay home.

First, they flushed ice down the toilet. Next, they decided to wear their pajamas inside out. Then lastly, but most importantly, they did.....the SNOW DANCE. In case you're wondering what this rare, yet exciting, dance looks like; here it is, performed in full by the Sauer natives.

Turkeys and (believe it or not) Utter Boredom

This morning Josh ran screaming into the kitchen, "Mom, Mom, come quick!" When he uses this tone of voice, I usually assume the worst, like vomit or a wound of some kind. But as I ran into his room, he was at the window, looking out into the front yard. There were about 10 wild turkeys walking across the street! These are the elusive turkeys I've been trying to get on film for the past few weeks, and they were practically in our front yard. I went outside and got a few pics of them, which was good, because I scared them all across the street. We didn't want them to get hit by a car. Maybe we should get a "Turkey Xing" sign.

It's raining here. A lot. Sigh of boredom. It's hard to believe a person could be bored in a house with 4 kids, but we are all bored. At least we're warm. There is a nice fire going in the wood-burning stove. I made some sticky buns for breakfast. YUM. Bet that won't help my diet. We watched some "Survivor Man" on TV for awhile. Jordan stayed home from school yesterday with the flu, and was quite sick last night too. Today he has actually been able to eat a little. I've been following him around the house with Lysol, hoping that nobody else gets sick. He's bored because he has to rest. The girls are cleaning up their room, which is a total pit. I'd be afraid to post a picture of it. It would scare everyone.....horribly. I might do it though, just to embarass them. Hmmmm. Be right back.

Only watch this video if you have a strong constitution and don't mind rats. (Just kidding). Well, now I'm bored AND depressed, since I'll probably have to help clean that pit. Maybe I'll go play a game of backgammon with the boys, or a wii game. Wii don't clean.

Josh is in rare form this afternoon. He's sooooo bored that he spiked his hair right down the middle. Here's a few pics. He made a horrible faces for the first several pics (normal for him), then I actually got a good one. Josh was not happy. He's likes to look like a monster from outer space.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!! Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve. Sorry to hear you lost big-time at "Hand and Foot", Mom. Maybe 2009 will be the year for retaliatory winning :)

We were able to see the celestial show last night. Shortly after dusk, we were picking up pizza, and decided to pull onto a back road and look for the planetary display. Luckily, the clouds had cleared for a short time. We were able to see Venus, under the crescent moon. Then we saw Jupiter and Mercury on the horizon. Jordan made the comment, "Now I've seen 4 planets today!" Of course, Rich had to say, "4 planets? What was the 4th one? You only saw 3." To which Jordan replied, "I saw the Earth too, along with the other 3 planets in the sky." Too funny. Guess Jordan read the article, because that's the comment the author made too. Rich, however, was not impressed.


We went to Roger and Frost's house for New Year's Eve. What a fun time! We were thinking of locking the kids in the basement, but never got around to doing it (lol - just kidding...kinda). They just seemed to migrate down there, but came back upstairs to tattle on each other occasionally. There were 8 kids altogether, and the boy/girl ratio was even, so they didn't really gang up on each other too much. Here is a pic of them eating pizza and snacks. I think it was the only time during the evening when they sat down in one place. What a cute bunch of kids! They watched "Prince Caspian", and it was so funny because we could tell when the movie started and ended by the noise level in the basement. I was glad that the kids got along so well. We really had a fun time. Roger set off some fireworks at midnight, which the kids LOVED.

We played a really fun game that I've never played before. I don't know the name....wish I could remember....I think it was called Maxli or something like that. When I asked how to play, Roger said that you have to be good at lying. I would like to report that I held my tongue and didn't make any sarcastic comments....but....that's not what happened. LOL.

The game consists of a small, plastic container with a lid (kind of like a play-doh container) and 2 dice. You roll the dice, and your score is the highest dice first followed by the second dice. For instance, if you roll a 4 and a 6, then your score is 64. Doubles are higher than the other numbers, and are called "posh." So if you roll two ones, you get a 1 posh. Maxli is the highest roll you can get, and is a score of 21 (don't ask why). The first person to roll looks into the cup to see their score, tells everyone what it is (supposedly), and then puts the lid on the cup and passes it to the next person. The next person has to either challenge them (if they think that person lied) or try to roll a higher score. If you challenge them, you just take the lid off the container and see if the previous person was telling the truth. If you get caught lying, you get 1 point against you and the other person gets a point for catching you. If a person gets a Maxli (21), then they get a point. We didn't really keep score. Wow, was this funny. Sometimes people really put on a show, and you couldn't tell if they were lying or not. It's a fun game, especially for a large group. By the way, Rich WAS really good at lying. He hardly ever got caught.

Today Rich saw the turkeys down over the hill again. There were 10 of them this time. I'm going to see if I can get a picture of them tomorrow, since they seem to wander by approximately at the same time each evening.