Snow Fort

After driving home yesterday from Alexandria white-knuckled and listening to Ava say prayers for our safety, I did not think venturing outside today would be on the agenda. We woke up to a beautiful warm foggy winter day. As usual we drove during the worst of the storm. The ice storm followed by snowflakes the size of dinner plates left our yard in perfect condition for building. Snow fort building. Ava and I (Dane was finishing up his napper) started by digging down into the snowbank in our front yard to create rooms. Then we dug tunnels out of the rooms into the yard. It was precious to see her little face through the tunnel as we "met in the middle".

The foggy air caused her already amazing hair to curl up and her icy blue eyes were shiny and bright - all of this accented by the colors in her brother's monkey hat. Jason left his igloo project in the backyard (more on that later) to make some bricks to build up the walls. But, as with most men, the small bricks were not enough and he graduated to using Rubbermaid totes. Future hernia surgery aside, it was a fabulous idea! I couldn't stand Dane missing out on the fun any longer so I ran up to his room yelling "SNOW FORT! SNOW FORT!" and he sprang out of bed. The first words out of his mouth were, "I need PANTS!" and we were off running down the stairs. He "lubed" the snow fort the minute he saw it and helped us continued to build. As we neared the end of construction we decided to paint the fort with food coloring mixed in warm water (it also helped to warm up our cold hands). The next obvious step was decorating the house, then furniture was necessary, and once we had furniture why not a snack? The wind picked up after 3 1/2 hours outside and I was ready to drag the kids in when our friend Greg brought over a periscope he had made for the kids. What self respecting snow fort inhabitant could live without one? How else would we spot the enemy approaching?

All in all, one of the best afternoons of my life....so far..... but tomorrow is another day.

The finished product.

Popsicles and snow forts make for the perfect combo, right?!

Awwww...

Lets meet in the middle.

I need some pants!
Man sized bricks.

A pathway out.

Hard work but not a single complaint.