Bring on the snow, bring on the fun.

Despite the somewhat stark, very snowy reality that this winter may simply be one blizzard after the next, we are forced (by our resident almost-three year old) to see the bright side of even the worst winter weather. It's hard to be too grumpy about the nearly endless shoveling when you have an assistant so willing to help that he jumps for joy at the mere thought of getting a shovel into his hot mitten-clad hand.

Take a look at these pictures documenting the thrills of toddler snow shoveling, but keep in mind that this was before part 2 of the most recent storm which brought an additional 10 inches of snow on top of what can be seen here. Yikes.

After the essential areas were adequately shoveled our attention turned to more ol' fashioned snow fun. Since our small yard is entirely slope-free we have to get a little creative when it comes to playing in the snow.

This time around we shoveled a big pile up on the deck to make a snow fort (which eventually morphed into more of a snow tunnel.) And also packed some snow off the side of the deck to make a snow slide. I took some video, because that's what we do around here:

I realized after the fact that it would have been cooler to combine the slide and the tunnel to create an amazing winter version of the Crocodile Mile. Well, there is always next time, and if we've learned anything so far this winter, it's that there will definitely be a next time.

White Winter Morning

Another week, another snowstorm here in southeastern Pennsylvania. We are getting pretty used to the routine by now: shovel and salt the sidewalk, clean off the car and driveway, and then hunker down with some hot drinks and a movie. We've got it down to a science.

One change this winter is that with Aiden another year older he is that much more excited to head out and play in the white stuff. I know that it is a pretty universal thing for all kids, but he really likes it. A direct quote from him when looking out the window the morning after the storm: "It's SO snowy!" For this particular snowstorm we decided to take advantage of the close proximity of Mom and Dad's new house and head over for a morning sledding session. Aiden had a great time (if it was up to him we'd still be there) and for us it was great to just be outside on such a beautiful, cold and quiet morning.

A Moment for Music

Instead of doing the long-winded top five albums of the year post that I've done previously, this year I decided to keep things simple. At the beginning of each new year I start a new iTunes playlist named after that year (for example "2009", "2010", you get the idea.) Over the course of the following 12 months I drop in my favorite songs, and the result is an always developing, constantly evolving "best of" list. So this year I thought I'd just share my best of 2010 playlist. It was a good year for music, and if there is anything on this list that you haven't heard, please check it out. It'll be worth it. I promise.

You might notice that there are a couple of names that appear in the playlist over and over. Sufjan Stevens, the Tallest Man on Earth, Mumford and Sons, and Kanye West (yes, I know that he's crazy, but I think that he might also be a genius) all put out albums that IF I was going to make an album of the year list (which I'm not) would undoubtedly be featured. Here we go, listed as Song- Artist- Album:

Power- Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

The Cave- Mumford & Sons- Sigh No More

Heirloom- Sufjan Stevens- All Delighted People

See How Man Was Made- Josh Ritter- So Runs the World Away

Forget You- Cee Lo Green- Forget You

Burden of Tomorrow- The Tallest Man on Earth- The Wild Hunt

Runaway- The National- High Violet

Runaway- Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Excuses- The Morning Benders- Big Echo

Swim- Surfer Blood- Astro Coast

Ambling Alp- Yeasayer- Odd Blood

From the Mouth Of Gabriel- Sufjan Stevens- All Delighted People

I Think Ur a Contra- Vampire Weekend- Contra

Generator (Second Floor)- Freelance Whales- Weathervanes

The Drying of the Lawns- The Tallest Man on Earth- The Wild Hunt

Folk Bloodbath- Josh Ritter- So Runs the World Away

Zebra- Beach House- Teen Dream

Dog Days are Over- Florence + the Machine- Lungs

Too Much- Sufjan Stevens- The Age of Adz

Flume- Peter Gabriel- Flume/ Come Talk to Me

Lost in the World- Kanye West & Bon Iver- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

The Wild Hunt- The Tallest Man on Earth- The Wild Hunt

Roll Away your Stone- Mumford & Sons- Sigh No more

If I was absolutely forced to choose my favorite 5 songs from the list (stop twisting my arm!) it would probably go something like this:

1. Runaway- Kanye West

2. Burden of Tomorrow- The Tallest Man on Earth

3. The Cave- Mumford & Sons

4. Too Much- Sufjan Stevens

5. Dog Days are Over- Florenece + the Machine

OK, that's it. I'm done. No more unsolicited music suggestions. (until next year)

Holiday Highlights 2010

2010 may have come and gone, but I still need one more posts worth of pictures to do justice to those last few heady holiday weeks that inevitably put an exclamation point on the end of our year. December does always seem to be the busiest month and this year was no exception. Thankfully our busyness was due to all the time that we were able to spend with family and friends during Christmas, New Years and all the days in between.

Our holiday activities started this year with a train trip into the city where we saw the Macy's light show, walked through the Charles Dickens village, and visited with Santa. Aiden was a big fan of the train ride, and while he didn't sit ON Santa's lap, he did sit next to him. So, that's a start.

Christmas eve found us all at Mom and Dad Jones' new house in Phoenixville. (It's right down the road!) Old traditions were carried over in a new setting, and we had a great time celebrating together and even got to spend time with Gwyn's friend Adeline who was visiting from Wheaton.

Christmas morning mainly consisted of some quiet hours at home for our little family. Jen made sticky buns, we sat around in our pajamas, gifts were unwrapped and played with, what could be better? Some notable gifts: Aiden got a super hero cape (modeled below), Rob got a beer making kit, and Jen got a new pair of Ugg slippers.

In the week between Christmas and New Years we made our yearly pilgrimage across the Pennsylvania Turnpike to State College PA, home of the Nittany Lions, Peachy Paterno Ice Cream, and the Penn State Jones family. For Aiden, State College means lots of cousin play time. In the picture below you can see cousin Claire in the adjacent swing, and in the background cousin Owen is cruising by in his off roading big-wheels Jeep. We had a great time catching up, sharing pictures, and watching all the kids run around together.

This picture may require a moment of explanation. What you see is cousin Chloe hugging Aiden, while Aiden pets a tiny, fuzzy baby chicken. The cutest picture ever? You be the judge.

There are plenty of other get-togethers that I wish we'd been better about documenting. We were able to spend time with the extended Weidner/ Hultslander family, and also had a great time celebrating with friends on New Years eve. Sometimes you are just having too much fun to reach for the camera!

That's all for 2010. Bring it on 2011!