Snowpocalypse 2014

At least this time they closed the schools instead of just sending us home early! We Delks have been homebound for 3 days. The snow started on Tuesday and ended last last night/ this morning.

Pictures from Tuesday's snow:

Not a lot of snow, just enough to freak everyone out and close school. Then we get this:

This is a picture of Joe's garden beds in the backyard. Completely covered.

I took the kids outside in the front yard in the hopes of getting them to build a snowman, but instead Abby decides to take a face-plant right off.

I didn't bring out a ruler or anything, but the snow was up to their knees. It reminded me of when I was the twins' age and lived in Japan. I know Japan got more snow than this, but I remember trying to walk through it and face-planting quite often.

We had a lot of fun! It is supposed to get up to 40 degrees, so we will wait and see about going to school tomorrow. Just in time for Valentines Day parties and a full moon. Oh joy.

Daddy/ Daughter Date Night

Tonight Joe is taking Abby to the happiest place on earth for little girls... the Monster Truck Show.

Last year he took the boys and he offered to take them again this year. The boys turned him down saying that it was too loud last year. Apparently those were the magic words for Abby.Someplace loud with lots of boys? That's right up her alley! :)

The "Blizzard" of 2014

Yeah, calling it a blizzard might be overstating, but the kids enjoyed it. School dismissed early yesterday and traffic was horrible, but I managed to get the kids and make it home in just under 3 hours. No school today and tomorrow means we have plenty of time to play in the snow. Here are some pics from today.

 Heading out

 Abby's snow angel

 Andy's snow angel

Best. Snow day. Ever.

And in payment for all the fun, I got a clean living room and clean kids' rooms. It was a win-win!

Abby the Cheerleader

Ready? O-K!

There's a little girl at the daycare  that teaches Abby all of her cheers. You simply can't imagine my excitement. *sigh*
Well, never let it be said that I don't support my children. Walmart had their pom-poms on sale for $5. Not too shabby.

So, here is Abby in her cheerleading debut! Grammy Pat- you'll have to watch these on your computer, not the ipad.

Cheers with pom-poms.

Cheers without pom-poms: LINK

And a brand new cheer created by Abby!- LINK

Don't worry, I'm sure we can bring the pom-poms to Julia's birthday and Delk Thanksgiving!

Better than the original!

Grammy Pat, you'll have to watch these on your computer, not the ipad.

Everyone knows that Abby loves to cheese it up for the camera. Today, she wanted to show off her singing.

Here's the original video, the song was introduced to Abby by Aunt Boo:

And here's Abby!

Now tell me she's not better than the original! :)

The beauty of the Nutcracker...

The convenience of my living room!

The channel Ovation has been running different versions of the Nutcracker. I love watching different versions! Some are crazy, while some are more traditional. I watch it and think, "Dang, I wish I had talent."

Abby and Andy watched it with me and they thought, "What a fun dance party!"

Here are some videos I took of Abby being a ballerina, and Andy being her break-dancing prince.

And to make this post super-cute, I'm including the twins' fall pictures. :)

Silly kids

Isaac went with his class to a pumpkin patch today and he brought home a little pumpkin. He is so proud!

Here is is showing that he learned about Johnny Appleseed. This was a few weeks ago.

 He's pretending to eat an apple.

Isaac has informed us that he wants to be a ninja for Halloween. I have a Thomas the Train costume from Aunt Jenny that is just perfect for Andy. Can you guess what Abby wants to be?

She got this dress from Uncle JD last year for her birthday. She has worn it to Julia's birthday party, around the house, and to sleep in. She can wear it for Halloween too!

Gommy Bradley would be proud!

I remember growing up when Gommy Bradley would come over to the house to help mom out by watching us girls. Gommy was always a ball of energy- laundry, dishes, vacuuming, making dinner, it was exhausting just watching her!

I loved seeing Gommy, but despaired at the knowledge that her visits meant I wouldn't get to finish my book that day- I was going to be too busy cleaning.

Looking back, I can see that she taught me quite a few life lessons.
1. Always clean the kitchen as you cook. It makes for a faster clean up. ( I still do this! Kind of!)
2. Always hang up your clothes right out of the dryer- no wrinkles! (I'm not going to lie- this never happens)
3. A clean house makes you feel better. I have found this to be true the 3 times in my kid-filled life that I have experienced it.
4. You are never too young/ old to clean. Everyone had a job, no matter their age.

It's in the spirit of life lesson #4 that I am writing this post.
Joe and I have been trying to instill a good work ethic in our kids by having them earn a wage for chores done around the house. They have gotten really good at cleaning up the living room or bonus room after playing, putting their shoes where they go when we get home, taking their folded clothes up to their rooms to be put away, cleaning up the table after meals, and dressing themselves in the mornings.

Abby earned a whole $.50 for folding the kitchen towels when they came out of the dryer! She has gotten so good, I thought I'd share.
She's watching the boys' show in the background while she works.

See, Grammy? She's ready to come visit and help you!

All folded, nice and pretty! And she put them away when she was done! I know Gommy Bradley would be proud to see Abby in action!

Let me entertain you!

Let me make you smile!
Now, not to name names, but I have in my house a little diva that just loves to entertain everyone.  She always has something to say, a look to share, or a song to sing.

In this case, she has a song... just for you! They must sing it at church. It's very cute! (notice how she doesn't like to share the limelight. Very diva-ish!)

God took care of me!

Not to be out done, Andy had to share too!

12 months are in a year!

Fun in the Sun

NOT! It it too dang hot!

So, what are we to do inside? Pillow obstacle course! Take those cushions off the couch and jump, baby!

You know you're jealous.

Then, after cushions got boring, we built a tent. (not in the same day. That would have been overkill.)

Painting fun

Basically, we've been going stir crazy. We do try to go outside for a little each day, while staying hydrated. And they all love going outside with Daddy when he gets home.

This week they have all been learning how to shuck, boil, blanche, and freeze corn. We also have a bumper crop of okra and the tomatoes are rolling in!

Unfortunately, Joe's worm farm died out due to the high temps. (and the fact that I forgot to bring them inside) Never fear! Joe bought new ones. They were delivered today. I can barely contain myself.

School Pictures

I'm late in getting them on here, but here are the pictures from the daycare's picture day! I don't know what they do to make the kids behave and smile, but they do great work!

Next year Ike won't be in the pictures! :(
but they sure are cute!

Thank you, Uncle JD!

Uncle JD went to UPLIFT at Harding University this past week. He supported the teens from Collegeside Church of Christ. I've never experienced UPLIFT, but I remember attending IMPACT at Lipscomb University when I was a teen. If one is anything like the other, than I know JD had a great time.

Uncle JD always thinks about his niece and nephews, so of course he got them presents!

Abby had to practice her poses before she settled on her infamous hands-on-hips pose. Check out her inner-monologue.

 What's my focus?

 Should I go for innocent? Nah, no one would believe it.

 This is harder than I thought...

What the heck. I'll just be me!

Isaac, caught in the middle of an interesting story.

 

I still have no idea what he was telling me. 

Andy- got it on the first try!

Thank you, Uncle JD for always thinking of us!