It snowed last weekend.
Snow means shoveling. Lots and lots of shoveling. And hard work builds character. Or something. So we all did it together, our big family of 7. Even Uncle Thomas came out to help, so I guess that made for eight. But Baby Man didn’t shovel. So really still 7. You get the idea. It was a lot of shovels.
(If you look carefully, you can see Edo at the far end of the photo staring longingly at our neighbor who owns a snowblower. This cracks me up.)
So, we happen to have lots and lots of kids. Which sort of makes shoveling go faster. And sort of makes it go slower. Depending on which kid you are talking about. The girls generally shoveled snow back and forth more so than OFF the driveway, but they were happy little workers nonetheless.
(Why yes, that IS a Harry Potter scarf Bug is wearing.)
Of course, those who were unable to contribute as much were more enthusiastic about the chore than the bigger, stronger ones. But that’s the nature of Little Kids vs. Teenagers (or pre-teenagers.) Still, the Biggest Kid did a lot of work and I was really proud of him.
And the littlest of all people was merely there to direct traffic. After about 10 minutes he decided being inside with Grandma & Grandpa would actually be a lot more fun.
Even the dog came out to help. And by help, I mean make yellow snow.
We made progress, slowly and steadily. More and more driveway appeared, and the snow drifts on either side got higher and higher.
And eventually, when the work was nearly done, the men proved they were really just the Biggest Kids of All.
When the chore was done and after a brief rest, it was back outside for some well-earned play time. There may not be any good sledding hills where we live, but luckily we have something even better: A Daddy.
He ran down the yard, pulling them fast and letting go just in time for them to slide a ways and crash in to the snow on the other side of the sidewalk.
Up and down the front yard they went over and over, often tumbling (very intentionally) out of the sled in to the snow.
Still, Daddy kept them out till they were soaking wet, and freezing cold, but perfectly happy.
Our lucky girls and their Crazy-fun Daddy:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/y8lXWQTG72g
Weather is calling for more snow this weekend and the kids have THREE days off school. They are already asking if they will have to shovel. I say the family that shovels together, stays together! What do you think?
Come on, Snow!
Wow, shoveling seems like intense PT for Vi! Wtg!
Haha how fun! It’s amazing how something tedious like that can turn into a fun family thing.
Wow! That is a lot of snow for shovels. We are spoiled with our snow blowers here.
And I am LOVING your 13 year old. What a smart kid! And very humble of him to admit that to you as well. Love him.
I was quite older before realizing that there were places in the USA that didn’t have snow. Unfortunately, I never moved there. Your crew needs a real blizzard, dumping 16-22″ of snow. Makes you contemplate buying one of those machines. Glad you had some play time for kids of all ages.