Ice Storm

February went fast.  I don't recall doing anything at the beginning of the month.  We went to a neighbor's house for the Super Bowl.  She had invited several of the neighbors.  It was nice to meet some new people.  The game though was horrible.  Nyla has been playing a bit with the other kids on the street.  The girl who lives next to us, G-, is 11 and the kids next to her are about Bohdin's age I guess. I've never asked.  Nyla has been out a few times on the golf cart with G-.  She's come over to play in the yard a few times and Nyla has played in her yard a few times. 

Now I know why I don't update more often.  Nyla is dying to make break right this second and won't wait and won't let Bohdin help her.  I just went to check on them and now they are trying to make playdough with a  recipe.  I just gave them a  recipe but Bohdin just wants to get back to his Harry Potter book.

Nyla has been asking to have a picnic for a long time so one day we went to the local creek with a snack.  It was our second time to the creek and this time it was a weekday so it was almost deserted.   It's a really pretty area and I hope we get out there often. 

 

After the debacle of the last snowstorm the city was taking no chances.  With a forecast of just rain turning to ice eventually, Buddy had Tuesday off of work.  We had rain that switched over to ice pellets in the late afternoon.  The roads were fine.  Some areas on the north side of Atlanta had some snow but not us.  The forecasts for the coming storm usually used the word catastrophic.  We were pretty skeptical since that's a pretty severe word.  Wednesday the ice really came.  We lost power at 8 in the morning, got it back while I was making lunch around noon and then lost it again two hours later.  The power came back on about five.  It wasn't a big deal or I didn't think so.  We have a gas stove so I could still cook.  I had turned up the thermostat Tuesday night so the house didn't get cold while the power was out.  Buddy and the kids felt the effects.  Buddy didn't like not having a computer or tv.  The kids were just worried about when it would come back on again.  

Thursday morning it was snowing but it ended after breakfast.  We went for a walk so we could explore the icy world and see if there was any damage.  Nyla was the only one who had spent much time outside so far.  She said she heard a lot of popping and cracking from the branches that were breaking.  

Cora wasn't in a walking mood so Buddy, Cora and Bohdin turned around early while Nyla and I continued further.  We must have been gone quite some time because Buddy called to see if we were okay.  By the time we were walking back the sky was beginning to clear.  As it quickly warmed up the ice was falling off the trees in clumps.  It looked like it was raining icicles.   I showed Buddy the phenomenon and tried to show Bohdin but he was stuck in a book.  He read the fourth Harry Potter book during the storm.  It was a really neat experience. 

Nyla is the only one in the family who cares much about holidays.  Buddy and I thought Valentine's Day would be a good day to go tile shopping.  We need to find tile for the backsplash.  To appease Nyla I told her we would also stop at Costco and pick up a treat of her choice.  She wanted it to be a surprise so neither Buddy nor Cora knew about the donuts in the basket.  When we got home she and Buddy went to Kroger to return the Redbox movie and get a surprise.  We ended up with two treats.  She came home with a big cookie and paper flowers that popped out of a box.  

The weather warmed up and Buddy finally had to go back to work after being off for a week.  Once the storm passed  it was the beginning of President's Day weekend.  He had three days off for weather and two days off for the holiday.  Yesterday Bohdin, Cora, and I went for a walk to the other side of the neighborhood to the wetland area.  We heard loud shrill noises that we couldn't identify.  When I came home I looked it up and based on the noise we think it was spring peeper frogs.  I don't know how many were there but they were really loud.

Today the kids did their schoolwork on the front porch where Nyla said it felt like she was burning.  In the afternoon they had a water fight.  

Bohdin spilled the cornstarch and there is way too much water in their dough.  I think I need to go help now. 

November

 Cora was not amused when Bohdin and Nyla wrapped her up in tape.

Nyla is loving insects right now.  She spent a lot of the summer with the roly polies and she has always liked butterflies.  Her room in Kentucky would get a lot. 

 Cora combing her long Rapunzel hair.  Nana made fabulous dresses for the girls along with a cape and long hair.  Bohdin has a cape as well.


 Because of the way the buildings are oriented and the direction of the wind most of the leaves in the neighborhood ended up in our yard.  The kids had a lot of fun playing in it for maybe two weeks.  Other kids would come by and play out there too.  One day gusts of wind blew and swirled the leaves up into the air like a tornado. 

Nyla has forgotten the old name of Flower she used to prefer and has been going by the name of Cupcake for several months.  It started sometime in the summer.  She still wants to be called Cupcake and Cora will occasionally call her that.  

The kids took advantage of the first frost of the season to play at the playground.  They like slippery slides and ramps.  I think this time was more of a light coating of ice.  I remember it being really slippery and several falls.

Nyla was part of the Nutcracker ballet on post.  The teacher did a great job with the girls.  They didn't have too much practice time compared to other productions and the show was still very enjoyable.  Nyla was one of the Chinese dancers.  

For Thanksgiving we went to Texas to be with Nana and Papa.  On the way we stopped and saw cousins and Grandpa in Arkansas.  I'm really regretting being too lazy to take the camera in now.  We were at Chucky Cheese for a few hours celebrating R-'s birthday.  The kids had a lot of fun and it was great to see cousins again including the new baby. 

The highlight of the time in Texas was visiting the botanical garden.  An incredible new children's area opened up and the kids loved it.  They still talk about and ask to go back.  It was very impressive and we will definitely go back again. 

October

I thought I would go back and do some of the stuff I missed in the fall.

In the beginning of October we went to the Renaissance Festival.  It was really really cold outside but it was the next to last week of the festival so we didn't have a lot of choice.  We would have had a better time if that cold wind wasn't blowing. We didn't stay too long.  The most memorable part was Cora going on a ride.  She chose a different one than Bohdin and Nyla so she had to go by herself.  She didn't seem like a little baby when she climbed up there with the other kids.  We couldn't help her onto the ride or help her get off.  She even did well when the kid across from her started freaking out.  They stopped the ride for that kid so he or she could get off. 

With an upcoming move it was time to visit all of the places we still wanted to get to and revisit favorites.  We went to the a nature preserve in Lawrence but I didn't realize they would be closed on that.  The inside looked really neat and I think the kids would have enjoyed it.  Unfortunately we never made it back.  We briefly explored the outside but it was raining lightly so we didn't last long.  We did walk around downtown Lawrence a bit and stopped at our favorite bakery so the outing wasn't a complete loss.  Lawrence is a nice town. 

The kids did a lot of activities in October.  Nyla had dance, swim, and horseback riding.  Bohdin had swim three times a week and horseback riding lessons.  I really liked the horseback riding lessons for him.  All of the kids enjoyed being out at the ranch.  Cora played in the dirt, Nyla played with her friends, and Bohdin enjoyed the lessons.  He also played with the kids when his lesson was over.  Nyla and Bohdin weren't in the same class although toward the end I think she was getting enough to be in his class.  There were a lot of cats there that the kids enjoyed playing with and just outdoor stuff.  Who knows what they were doing.  Nyla was often a little sad that it was her turn to ride.  She enjoyed the playing more than the lessons.

One of the favorite places that we revisited was the Deanna Rose Farmstead.  That place is wonderful and it's free which makes it even more amazing.   We made it out there when they had some extra Halloween stuff going on.  That part was not free but Nyla had been begging for a pumpkin for weeks and admission included a free pumpkin.  The kids played in corn, went down a big slide, had a hay ride, and some other things.  Nyla also got her pumpkin.  On the way out we said goodbye to the animals.  The kids wanted to come back one more time but I knew that was unlikely. 

Before Halloween there was a short race for kids with trick or treating afterward.  I ran with Nyla while Bohdin and Cora ran with Buddy.  I should have switched.  Nyla ran fast.  Even after a slow start she was among the first to finish.  She didn't have to wait at all to trick or treat since only a handful of kids had already finished.  By the time Bohdin and Cora came through the line was really really long.  Bohdin had a swim lesson afterward so Buddy took the girls to another trick or treating event in town.

I had to go to Georgia to take care of house stuff and I missed Halloween.  The new group of people that came in the summer were mostly lame so it wasn't very festive.  Also the autumn fair on post was cancelled due to the budget shut down.  Nyla was a bunny, Cora was a dog, and Bohdin rewore his old costume.