Hanukkah Parade

Well, our foray into the snow on Wednesday afternoon was a good idea in concept, but it turns out that Alex and Ari are a little skeptical of actually touching snow. We got them all bundled up- this part they enjoyed, running around, laughing hysterically, trying to push each other over- but when we tried to go outside in the snow, Ari refused to even step outside and Alex went out only after a lot of coaxing. He seemed to enjoy himself somewhat after he got outside, but decided he wanted to come back inside after just a few minutes (don't worry-- Mommy bought Alex a hat and boots today so he is now better equipped for the winter...)

Last night before bed time we took all three kids out to see a very unique Hanukkah celebration- a parade of emergency vehicles starring a fire truck with a huge menorah on the front. The parade is sponsored by the local Chabad congregation and members of the center pass out Hanukkah goodies like dreidels and gelt along the parade route. The trucks stop in several neighborhoods and ours just happens to be one of them, so we just had to drive around the corner to enjoy this spectacle. It was freezing cold outside so we bundled up the kids, including Kira, who was snug in the Baby Bjorn (see below). Daddy, on the other hand, had just come from the gym and was in shorts...prompting neighbors to ask us if we missed the news bulletin that it's now winter time. Alex, who is a big fan of fire trucks, was speechless when the parade arrived, blaring sirens and broadcasting Hanukkah wishes over a loudspeaker (actually, Alex and Ari seemed to be thinking "what in the HECK is this all about?!")

Tonight Nana and Poppy Jack are coming over to celebrate Hanukkah and Shabbat- Alex and Ari have been looking forward to their visit all day and keep shouting "Nana!" and "Poppy!" And they don't even know about the gifts yet!