Baby, It's cold outside.

Well, cold comes and goes in these here parts of Texas.  This last week was downright balmy.  Just yesterday I was sitting outside in my camping chair reading for almost an hour while the kids played, in short sleeves.  It felt amazing.  The week before that was cold (Texas cold) so we spent more time indoors than usual.  Here is some of what we did...

Some creative writing.

Grandpa came for a visit.  This is the state of our breakfast table when he is in town.

His view of the world.

Now the table's getting a little out of hand.

Popsicles.

Sunday afternoon football.

Sunday afternoon nap by the fire.

Glow-in-the-dark puzzle.

Daddy's phone is always fascinating.

Grandpa with his grandsons.

Playing around the house.

And our week wouldn't be complete without a bit of cry-crying.

Sleeping, and some Aperture fun.

I just got Aperture and have no idea how to use it.  But I've had fun with some of the presets.  Here are four of them.  Which is your favorite?

By the way, for those of you interested in moving beyond iPhoto on your Mac, Aperture used to be $200, but now is $80 if you download it from the new Mac App Store.  Love it when things get cheaper over time.

There's nothing quite like a sleeping child.  I could look at him for hours.

Ode to snow.

Maybe it's because it's January.  Maybe it's because I've been listening to John Denver this morning.  But today, I miss the snow.  It's beautiful.  It looks so clean and crisp.  It's great entertainment for kids.  These are some pictures taken from last winter when we lived in Minnesota.  Texas is great, but the grass is very brown this time of year.  Today I wish I could tell my kids to go play outside like this...

Boys and their legos.

A continuation of retro week:

If I had a dollar for every lego piece I've stepped on, every lego piece I've helped find, or problem I've corrected while someone is working on a lego project, I'd be a very rich woman.  We have a tradition in our family.  When you finish a lego project, you get to have your picture taken with it.  It's a corny tradition.  Yes, I did say corny, but after looking at all these photos, I think it's a good one.

In our old house, we tried to take the picture in front of the red wall.

When he was too young to finish a project, he wanted to hold something up in front of the red wall too.

Oh, and sorry for all the red eyes.  It's good to see my editing has improved ever so slightly.