Snow, Christmas Trees, a Date with my Boyos, and 20 Weeks (Is that random enough?)

Today we woke up to a skiff of snow on the ground.  The boys were in heaven; it was all I could do to get Spencer out the door to school.

After whining about it for 30 minutes I finally gave in and helped Josh get into his coat, gloves, and hat.  It took a good 10 minutes to get him ready because he's not exactly helpful in that department.  He went outside.  After about 30 seconds he took off his hat and gloves.  (That kid runs hotter than a pot belly stove.)  He played around the swing set.  He licked snow off of the slide.  He was back inside after a total of 2 minutes and demanding hot chocolate.

Smartie.  (BTW, yes, that's a UofU mug.  I keep letting the kids use it in hopes that they accidentally break it.  I don't let them use my BYU mug.)

I finally finished decorating the Christmas tree.  Notice anything unusual about it?  (Besides the crooked star on top?  Stupid star.)

Yep, only the top half is decorated.  Any idea why?

Yep. This kiddo.  He actually leaves the tree alone - unless there's an ornament that he can reach.  Then he goes all crazy.  It was a lot of fun with Josh 'helping' me this morning.  He kept hanging the ornaments too low while I wasn't watching, and then it was a race between Cole and I to see who could reach it first.  That toddler looks all innocent and sweet, but he can really be a punk when he wants.

Every year Lance goes out of town for 3 days to some convention in Chicago.  This is really poorly timed because it's right after all the excitement of Thanksgiving and right before all the excitement that is my birthday.  So every year when he leaves I take the boys out for a night on the town.  Mainly because I get lots of great coupons and such for my birthday and want to use them, but also because it's pointless to make dinner at home when Lance is gone because I'm the only one that eats.

Tonight I first took the boys to get their pictures taken.  Spencer for his 7th birthday (a few weeks early), Josh for his 4th birthday (a few months late), and Cole for his 18 months (right on time!).  They were pretty good, all things considered.  (It was close to dinner time, the portrait studio was way understaffed, I don't think Cole is feeling that good...)

After the pictures we went to McAllister's Deli.  They are so nice there!  They helped me herd the boys to a table, wouldn't allow me to carry a high chair, and even gave me a free birthday cookie on top of my free sandwich.  Sweet.  I love their sandwiches and their customer service so very much.

After dinner we went next door for my free Coldstone Creamery ice cream.  I was just going to get the one free cup, but the boys were pretty insistent on getting Cotton Candy ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.  Erlack.  So I splurged and also got a dark chocolate peppermint with Oreos.  Josh probably ate the most of all of us.  In fact, by the end he had a spoon in each hand and was going to town.  That kid was born to eat.

Lance was home when we finally got home, so I didn't have to wrangle all the kids into bed all by myself.  Hallelujah and amen.

I almost forgot my 20 week self portrait.  I'm sure you were wondering about it.  Here you go.

I swear I feel a lot bigger than this.  Here's what I see when I look down.  (Or rather, what I don't see.  Where are my shoes?)  This is why I don't like bending anymore.