Stuck INSIDE

When one is stuck inside in the middle of winter, projects are GREAT, especially when it means turning a cold, unfinished basement into a warm, completed one!
So far it's not very warm yet, but Nate has two bedrooms rooms framed as well as a bathroom. He had lots of help for the messy concrete plumbing part:

What else can be done in the middle of a snowstorm? Oh yes, pretend it's SUMMER!!

This was 100% Rhya's idea. Brielle was very happy to go along with it, and even completed her outfit with a winter hat. The laughing and giggling coming from the girls' bedroom was heartwarming.

What do two girls do multiple times per day in the middle of winter? Spend hours and hours reading books.

Most of the time it's Brielle who sits by the bookshelf in the little white chair or on the floor and flips through every single book on the shelf. She just loses herself in them. Sometimes Rhya takes it upon herself to perform a storytime.

When the books and swimming suits and rough-housing and ahem-fighting wear off sometimes it's time for a satisfying snack. Fresh baked bread with warm butter hits the spot.

We have a rug in the kitchen that covers up a bare spot in the linoleum (another future project). It has proven to be the perfect 'snack' rug. Whenever I announce that it's snack time the girls race over to the rug and wait expectantly (and very excitedly, with shrieks of anticipation).

When bedtime rolls around it is SO HARD to hit the hay. Sometimes a flat out refusal results in falling asleep sitting up:

We DO leave the house, on a very rare occasion. Our Sunday highlight was a birthday party for 'The Travis' They both turned 23 five days apart from each other. Mark and Marilyn cooked up a fun bash:

The girls' relationship this winter has changed significantly. There are trying moments and super duper sweet moments. My sleep fighting Brielle was screeching away as I was trying to rock her one day. She started crying out for Rhya. I asked, "Oh, you want RHYA to rock you?" "YEEESSS" she wailed. Rhya grasped the opportunity to perform a very grown up task and rocked her to sleep in under 5 minutes. Brielle laid right down and they put their arms around each other. After Brielle had been sleeping for quite some time I suggested that we lay her in her bed. Rhya looked down at her sleeping sis and said, "Nah, I better hold her longer. She's not super sound asleep yet."