a snowmound celebration

Mike's older brother was in town this week, so we celebrated Christmas with Barb and Kevin a little bit early. It was really nice for us (and, I imagine, *very* nice for Barb!) that we could all spend some time together. We had a delicious brunch and opened gifts, and I got my baby fix by spending some quality time with my nephew Richie ... then the kids started getting a little restless, so despite the fact that none of us was really prepared with the proper gear, Erin and I took them outside to play in the snow. We tried to make a snowman, but we just couldn't get the ball rolling (har har), so what we ended up with was more like a ... snowmound. Barb popped out to give us some pistachios for eyes, a carrot nose, and a green bean smile, and Liam gave up his beloved Santa/reindeer hat for a little while. Voila! Right after they let us take their picture, the kids suddenly realized they were cold and wet, so inside we went. (On the way in, Liam started a snow fight with Erin and ended up with his glasses full of snow.) Barb threw Lucy's pants in the dryer, and we gave the boys their spare set of clothes (ever since the horror of St. Patrick's Day 2007, I never go to Naperville without a spare outfit for all of us!), and then it was time to head home.