Random stuff about the kids

We had a game as kids that we called Deadman. Our dad would lie down on his back and pretend he was dead. Then usually lift one limb at a time and we would push it back down. Our kids love playing this game. Although, they like pretending they are dead. They’ll play with me, grandpa, or just each other.

Bryce has an OCD behavior that is very noticeable. When we put his coat on, he has to hold the end of his long sleeve shirt so his sleeves don’t go up his arm. He also insists on having his coat zipped up.

My father-in-law gave Bryce a small knife this year for Christmas. Bryce loves it! He is only allowed to have it when we are home and there are no friends over. He also has to keep it in his pocket unless one of us helps him use it for something. It’s been very funny to watch.

Bryce also has an uncanny talent for walking backwards. We think it started when we saw Mater and he commented that he was like Mater a few times. He will be talking to us and leaving the room walking backwards. He doesn't look behind him, he just uses some other sense of where he is going. He'll be just about to hit something and LaDonna and I will think he's about to hit it and he turns or just misses it. It's hilarious to watch.

Lonna was given a card game called Sleeping Queens from a friend of hers. She loves it and we’ve played it at least once a day for almost a month, most days it gets played multiple times. She loves to tell you the rules over and over and loves to explain the game to new people who come over. To play the game you lay all 12 queens on the table face down and as you play certain cards, you’re allowed to choose a queen from the cards that are facedown. There is one queen, named the Rose queen, that if you pick her, then you get to choose an extra queen. The deck we are playing with is kind of old and has some marks on some of the backs of the cards. We noticed Lonna was pretty good at finding the Rose Queen and I asked her one day how she was so good at picking it. She pointed to a bend in the card that you can see when the cards are lying face down. I was amazed and kind of scared. She didn’t put the bend in the card, but she was definitely using it to her advantage. I wouldn’t suggest anyone play cards with Lonna unless it’s a clean deck.

What? Is this a joke?

The forecasters were predicting snow, but always had the line added that it depended on the track the storm took. So, I've heard that line so often in Maryland that I didn't think we'd get much. Well, this morning I looked out the window and the pictures below are what I saw.

We moved to North Carolina and left our snowblower and snow shovels in Maryland. All joking aside, I'm actually excited that it is snowing and looking forward to playing in it with the kids - who cannot wait to get outside. Neither of them really know what to expect with snow so it will be interesting to see their reactions. Right now, they are gathering items to make a face on the snowman they plan to build with the three inches of snow we have. By the way, EVERYTHING (schools, government, businesses, non-critical medical facilities) is closed today. Today is our normal trash day and I would bet they aren't coming.