Pre X-Mas Event: Reindeer Food!

I suppose you could say that making reindeer food is becoming one of our X-Mas traditions. Last year the kids made it at daycare and brought it home for us to throw out into the snow on X-Mas Eve. This year we attempted to make a 'yummy' concoction ourselves, which Will repeatedly tried to consume. I popped a bunch of popcorn, dampened it with a little water and sprinkled the mess with red and green sprinkles. A little messy, but not hard.
The kids were so excited to get their winter gear on and head out into the snow. Surprisingly it wasn't as bitterly cold as it had been!

They started by throwing the popcorn, piece by piece, into the snow. After a good 5 minutes of this, I encouraged them to throw handfuls...or heck, dump the whole darn thing into the snow at once!

They liked to show me some of the more special pieces too.

I finally convinced them to git er' done, after which Will showed me his messy hands and fussed for me to wash them. The kid is a freak about his hands...just like his Mama...

I love how Lili's little button nose turns pink in the cold!

Will's rosy, puffy cheeks made me want to pinch them! I resisted as I thought about how many times my own cheeks had been pinched as a child...

After the reindeer food was ready to go, it was time to go for a walk. Lili made it about 10 feet down the sidewalk and turned around...

The monkeys even helped their Daddy with the snow. Will was a lot stronger than I gave him credit for!

Lili was total girl and didn't last long with the physical labor.

I'm pretty sure Will could have gone all day if we had let him...and if he had kept his mittens on. With as much as that kid hates having his hands messy or wet, you would think keeping them warm inside mittens wouldn't be a problem.

This was probably one of the most enjoyable days we've had this winter so far. It was so nice to get outside and have some fun, without freezing to death. I remember spending so many winter days out in the snow as a child, but in Ohio, we didn't have below zero temps all that often. Here in Minnesota it seems to be the norm. I consider a winter season successful if we can get out even a handful of times!