Inauguration Day....

of the Zipfy, that is! All I asked for Christmas this year was a shiny, speedy Zipfy luge. People were shocked at my request for 2 reasons I think: 1. I am 30. 2. this state is not known for having weather cold enough to freeze. But I knew that the opportunity would arise, and if not this year, maybe next. To my wonderful surprise we awoke to an unexpected blanket of snow thickly covering our backyard.

So without further introduction, here are the first runs of the Zipfy!

Elise is plowing through the fresh snow.

Josiah and Elise smoothing a path.

Just these two, but I am sending these photos now, because I am pretty sure that I will have my hands full of wet clothes in a few minutes when the kids come in!

Offseason?

For my Christmas gift, Mike gave me an experience. I was delighted to accompany my family to Myrtle Beach! We did this after New Years, and so naturally the weather was rather cool, but we had an amazing time together. Although we did not see Blackbeard, the kids still enjoyed the "Pirates Prison."

Yes, all of the kids!

The evening we arrived, we told the kids we were just going to walk on the beach a bit, since the sun was going down and the air was cool. They did their best to stay 'mostly' out of the water.

This is as far as Josiah's ambitions got him the first night, when he tried to build a sandcastle. However, I promised him we would be back the following day to give it another go.

Elise enjoyed carrying sand around, throwing it around, and then digging up more.

This was Titus' posture for most of our beach time. I loved having him snuggled in so close, especially since it will probably be the last time I get to carry him in this sort of way. I am sure he will be another explorer in the ranks when we visit the beach next time!

After a wonderful dinner at a local hole in the wall "Mr. Fish", we headed to the hotel. We made the decision to go swimming. Mike took the older two in, while I got Titus dressed in his swimsuit for the first time....and did a little photo shoot!

Here he and his daddy adventure the water together. Do not mistake Titus' face for fear, no, this child was intensely kicking!

The other two joined in a photo, but only for a moment. They too enjoy splashing around a lot more than posing for Mom's pictures.

Now if this photo doesn't speak of a good day, I don't know what would. Krispy Kremes, Starbucks, kicked off shoes, and a wide open beach for enjoying!

And here we are enjoying it!

It was a lot warmer this morning, and so the kids were given a lot more freedom to be wet!

And, much to Josiah's delight, there was the building of a sandcastle. Michael, the head architect, made sure to include seashell walls for solidarity and design, a pyramid, and both interior and exterior walls and gates.