Mum in the snow and Asher on a slide

Off to the airport to pick Brendon up this morning. And then on the way home we picked up Ruth and Hannah. Thankfully we had some time to visit before getting Asher home for her nap.
We were so impressed with Ruth learning to play a bit on the accordion. They played a Christmas Carol and Ruth did a harmony.

It was really pretty. Unfortunately the video I took didn't come out well.
And then they let the little ones have a "play".

Ruth asked me to take a photo of her at the woodworking area. She had helped make a wooden spinning top this week.
And she suggested Hezekiah have a turn with the helmet too.

Once Asher was in bed I asked Ruth to come out with me so I could take some photos of the igloo. I didn't get any "finished" photos yesterday.

This is the window on the the back.

From this angle you can see that there has been a bit of water damage from the rain overnight. There were a few holes in the roof.
Asher enjoying some whipped cream when she woke from her nap.

Brendon didn't get any sleep last night as he arrived in Auckland at midnight and then flew down to Christchurch this morning. So he napped while Asher had her nap.
Once they were both up, I asked if Brendon wanted to go out in the snow. He was far too tired though. There was however, a small little something inside of me that made me feel like I wanted to go out and enjoy "playing" in the snow.

It was only a little feeling, but I was sure glad I decided to head out. We learnt from the Redepennings to use warm thin gloves (my merino gloves are wonderfully warm) with dish washing gloves over them (to keep dry). Hezekiah was the only one without gloves - so he regularly put his hands in his pockets to warm up.
First we added some snow balls to the roof to patch up the wholes. Then we got the wheelbarrow to collect extra snow for small patching up. Hezekiah did a great job pushing the wheelbarrow for us. And Ruth did a great job repairing the inside of the roof. Hannah and I focused on the outside.

I had such a fun time with the children. It didn't take long for my jacket to come off. At least now I know not to insist that the kids have extra layers on when they are working.

Our goal today was to try and get everything nice and smooth so that if there is more rain - it won't further open any holes. We couldn't really smooth the top very well as I was too short. :-)

This evening I decided to let the two enjoy the slide on the castle. Up till now I have just had the step side up so that we take it slow with Asher's movement.

They had a great time. For a while Asher just happily sat watching TV while they played in front of her.

And eventually Asher decided to join in. She just loved the slide (as we knew she would).
We had to smile at her. She put one foot forward (pictured on the right) and then took it back and put the other forward. You could see her thinking "how do I get both forward". So she lifted herself up (where her hands are in the photo) and swung both feet forward. It was lovely watching her work it out. We are hoping that this extra bit of movement won't be a problem for her. In the past lots of head motion seemed to be a trigger for seizures. We have been slowly introducing more movement over the last couple of months though - so that she can just get to enjoy more things.