Boys ..

The weather warmed up enough today to let us brew. Yes, I allow (and encourage!) brewing on Valentine's Day, I'm not your typical wife. ;)
The boys got bundled up and headed out with Daddy like they always do on Brew Days. Today they had fun playing in the snow. It had been packed down pretty solidly, but the temperature at least seemed to warm up today, the sun was out, and so they had fun.

Lesson 1: Playing in the snow with your bare hands makes your hands get cold and hurt. ~ This was learned by Tristan (age 3 1/2). Gloves help.

Lesson 2: Cold & wet fingers can stick to cold metal Hot Wheels.
Lesson 2 1/2: If you scream bloody-murder over every little thing anyway, Mommy is busy trying to make you lunch, Daddy is busy trying to brew beer, and you are too busy screaming & crying to let people know what is wrong ... well, they might not notice what is wrong. ~ Again, Tristan. We thought he was crying because he was inside and Shannon was still out. Turns out his finger was stuck to the Hot Wheels van. *I'd like to thank the Academy for this 'Worst Mother Ever' award* Luckily, his finger came off without tearing or bleeding. Just lessons learned .. hopefully.

We managed to survive through lunch with hot cocoa, topped with lots of "smarsh-smallows", and mega-cheesy, bologna scrambled eggs. Nap time arrived much to adult delight.
Tristan still takes long naps, but Shannon (age 6) merely has 'quiet time' that lasts however long I need it to. When he got up it was back outside to add hops to the beer and play a bit before a fun diversion occurred. A walk to the library.

Ok, so the walk to the library isn't anything terribly special. It was a nice walk, and we got to check out new books. It was the walk home where the "boys" title comes into play.

We're walking home, and cross a bridge that spans a small creek. Sometimes it is dry, but it can get to be raging at other times. It is always interesting to see what level it's current state is. Today, it was running beautifully.
We stood there, Shannon & I, gazing down when I promptly said "watch this" and kicked snow into the water below. An outburst of laughter ensued from Shannon and we both began kicking as much snow as we could into the creek a good 8' below us.
I peered over the edge of the railing and noticed the bigger chunks were floating. AHA!! Teaching moment. I told Shannon that we had created icebergs. That icebergs were chunks of ice that floated on water.
We walked home, noticing signs of Spring beginning to peek through the snow and ice, and giggling about the icebergs.

We get home and, of course, I have to tell Justin about our fun. I asked Shannon what did we see on our way home?? His response .. "River Virgins."
LOTS of stifled laughter from Justin and me, along with exchanged glances of "wtf??" and we began again.

Me: Shannon, what did we see & make today?? You know .. with ice ....
Shannon: Ice Virgins!

More stifled laughter. Bergs, Shannon, iceBERGS!!
Side note - when we attempted this again for the in-laws who stopped by a little bit later in the afternoon, his answer was "Snow Virgins"

..... boys ...