beating the winter blues.

Even though this has been a relatively mild winter we've still had our fair share of foggy, cloudy, dark, cold wet days.  So, to keep our spirits happy we've stayed busy.  

On a random sunny (but very cold) Saturday Matt quickly picked up about 12 pounds of dog poo in the yard and the kids happily ran outside for some baseball practice.  Lucy was our ball girl.

 And Carter hit about 50% of the pitches!  So proud of our boy!

 I've been trying to discover new, healthy comfort foods.  This was our favorite: cheese tortellini soup with spinach and tomatoes.  So delicious, simple, hearty, everyone loved it and it made enough for 4 dinners!

 Carter is still loving Woody and Buzz Lightyear.  It's a daily occurrence in our house to fly to "infinite and beyond" at least 20 times a day.

 We went to the zoo on another cold, but sunny day.  I love having the zoo only 30 minutes from our house with a great family membership.  Lucy loved watching Carter on the carousel and Carter just adored the gorillas.  We sat there for over 20 minutes watching them eat, run, climb and poo (his favorite part).

 The mini trampoline was the best purchase we've made in a long time.  An easy, indoor way to get out the energy on those wet, dark days.

 And lots of fort building.

 Lucy finally has enough hair for pig tails....or at least I like to think she does.  Now if only I could convince her to keep them in.

 We attempted a pinterest-inspired noodle necklace but after realizing the penne pasta I bought was too narrow for our yarn I quickly converted it to a "snack" necklace using pretzels and random cereal.  Carter loved it and spent over 20 minutes eating it while on a nature walk through the neighborhood.

 Lucy is always willing to help clean the house with Yoshi.  She adores the dog. And...yoshi puts up with her too.

 Laundry basket storytime is one of our favorites too!  Who would have thought sitting in a silly basket could bring so much joy.  It's the little things in life.

 We babysat our babysitter's kids for a night so they could go out for a few hours. The boys are only 2 weeks apart in age and the girls only 2 months!  Little best friends who love to play together.

 And then, every once in a while, I get crazy and pull out the finger paints.

 Don't worry, it's non-toxic and she only tasted a tiny bit before realizing it wasn't that tasty at all.

 We like to snack.  And Lucy is getting so good at feeding herself with a bowl and spoon.  It's messy and fun and she loves it!

 So, that's how we do winter in the Vance household. It's definitely not my favorite season and I'm already planning to plant a spring garden, pull out the outdoor toys, fill the sandbox and run through a sprinkler.  But for now we'll continue our inside playtime.

 And discover how to do new things like this!