we hung out for awhile, took some snow pictures, and finally realized that we actually could get out of the house to go to the grocery store. but none of the kids wanted to come. i was rewriting a list for scotty when i realized that i'd like to go to. so we went grocery shopping...by ourselves. and while grocery shopping is generally an enjoyable and fun experience with the kids, there was something especially fun about going with scotty alone. we were gone for about 4 hours and we only went to earth fare and krogers!! there was no rush to hurry and get home, we just took our time looking at things we normally don't see and sampling food and talking and laughing and asking the employees questions about products and just having fun. we also spent more than usual. scotty got some fancy cheese with truffles in it, and i picked out several things that weren't on the list.
ahh, the list...one of the reasons we bought so much was because i had the kids write the grocery list this time. something i decided to do again as it had been forever since we had done it. it's so easy to just be on auto-pilot when buying food. it helps me to have the kids remind me of things they actually want in-that-moment as opposed to just getting things i know they usually like. because that changes. often. they put snacks they wanted, specific kinds of chips and fruit, they put certain meals they like. silas put "kabetori" on the list which is something i try to make every couple months, as well as homemade salsa instead of the usual herdez, and doritoes. sadie put mostly fruit and then candy canes, tissues, ice cream, and sriracha!! samuel put macaroni and cheese and cereal. it was an interesting and diverse list.
at earth fare, we learned from my favorite cashier that "chop chop" is not politically correct. scotty was joking with me to hurry and put the groceries on the conveyer belt so he could get the bags...and he said "chop chop!" ah, you learn something new every day. we had a few laughs with her about where the cash in my wallet really came from. she is funny and nice, she's the same one who thought tim traaseth and i were siblings...and she gave me a rose last time i was there. at krogers we took more time just because i'm trying to learn the layout of the store...since i don't shop at wal-mart anymore i have to figure out how to navigate in different places. one fun game we played at the checkout was don't-give-the-cashier-your-kroger-card-until-after-all-items-are-rung-up...then when she swipes it and you watch all your savings add up you shout out "lottery!!" it made her laugh. she looked like she needed a laugh.
we finished around 4:30, went home, unloaded and put away groceries and then went to get some mexican food which i hadn't had in ages, probably since duncan stayed with us. it was so good...scotty and i shared veggie fajitas with all the fixins! silas discovered that one of the knives on the table was slightly magnetized and we had fun playing with that for longer than you'd think 5 people could play with a bunch of butter knives in a restaurant setting. we left full and happy!
as we were leaving scotty suggested we run across the street to earth fare (again) to get my floradix as i'd been craving ice and paper towels lately. did i mention the restaurant is next door to krogers. so yeah, we went to both places twice that day. as we were pulling into earth fare i told everyone how moments like these made me realize how filled with abundance our lives are. i had a house full of groceries and yet we went out to eat. i had a full belly and was sitting in a warm car. all these luxuries when there are kids with not enough to eat, little to no clean water, or decent shelter. these are things i'm thankful for. that we have so much and being able to express to my kids those feelings of gratitude and abundance.
then we went and got 2 movies from redbox ("julie & julia" and "whatever works", which i fell asleep watching). on our way home we decided to drive around the tree streets and look at lights and search for snowmen. to everyone's amusement one of the first houses we saw that had a snowman also had a 6 foot snow penis!! merry christmas indeed!! we drove up and down for about 20-30 minutes enjoying it all, talking and laughing. at some point i shouted out...this is our new tradition!! every year i start thinking about family traditions and how we simply don't have any other than putting up a tree and going to my parents' house to eat and open presents. yeah, i know that's a lot and i am thankful for all of it. but i can't help always wanting some special tradition of our own. so now i think we'll do this every time it snows enough for good snowman making. i was really surprised at how many huge snowmen there were to be found! it was encouraging to see that people still get out and make them!!
when we got home, the kids played out in the snow for awhile until the snowball fight got a little rough and silas got hurt. everyone came in and shed their wet, snowy clothes and settled in to watch movies...except silas, he decided to play WoW instead. it was a wonderful, cozy evening. i fell asleep on the couch feeling content and happy to be part of an amazing family that loves to spend time together in so many different ways.
a few snowy day pix...
sadie's snowflake window
the snow covered mail box
samuel and silas' fertility god snowman (inspired by the statues made in the movie "accepted")
sadie heading out to play in the snow
