Back to reality...

After an unexpected snow day yesterday, the kids went back to school today and February vacation is officially over. 

We had a really great week. Over the first weekend, the kids went to stay with my Dad and Catherine for a couple of nights. They had a ball. Monday, our first real vacation day, I took the kids ice skating for the first time. They did great and had a lot of fun. They took a number of spills, but for the most part kept upright on their skates. I was impressed!

   

On Tuesday, Sophie's friend Allie came to spend the day with us. All three kids played really well. They did a lot of coloring and drawing, played outside in the snow, and spent most of the afternoon going through our big bins of dress-up clothes.

   

Thursday, we had my friend Nikki and her two girls over for a playdate in the morning. After lunch, our neighbor Rachel came over for a couple of hours, and when her mom got home from work we took all the kids to a roller skating fundraiser for Sophie's school. Sophie had been on skates just a few times in gym class, and Ben had never used them before. They both did so well. I was particularly impressed with Ben - being his first time, I thought he would be more tentative. But he got the hang of it pretty quickly and wanted to be out on the main rink with the big kids. His first time around he hung onto the railing at the outer edge, but after that he headed right out toward the middle and skated all on his own. I think he was the littlest one all on his own, and it was adorable. It took him nearly an entire song to get around one time, but he stuck with it and was so proud of himself.

   

Friday we spend snowed in, with more than a foot of snow falling during the day. Sophie actually spent part of the day at her friend Madeline's house down the road, but other than that we stayed put. Friday is the first day of Adam's weekend, so it was nice for the whole family to be snowed in together. 

Saturday, we took a trip to Windham to visit with my Mom, Tara, and Brianna and did a little sledding in their backyard. Then for the evening, we headed to my friend Nikki's house. We had a nice grownup game night downstairs, while the kids watched a movie and got ready for a sleepover upstairs. Adam and I went back to pick them up late Sunday morning. They had a wonderful time and are excited to have Bella and Abby come stay at our house sometime. 

Yesterday we ended up getting more snow, and school was cancelled for the day. Sophie's friend Madeline and her little sister Savannah came over for the day, and the kids had fun playing and enjoying their extra day of vacation.

   

What a fun week, but it is nice to be back into the regular routine again. The kids both missed their friends at school and were excited to go back this morning.