Six and counting

So will was on a gun kick a while ago. He switches hobbies all the time. We have always had a gun but he usually left it in his car or between our matress and box springs (hand gun) which I would always push to the middle so there would be no way the kids could stumble onto it. Will thinks my over caution is a little silly but doesn't mind because he would rather me not complain. He started hunting and he was leaving his riffle around. It would be in our room but the kids were always in there. I told him how I was uncomfortable with it in our house while the kids were so little. He thinks it is important for them to see the guns and learn to respect them etc. I agree to a certain degree but think it is too early to be so passionate about introducing them. I don't care if he takes Cole outside to shoot and everything but he is not old enough for Will to be laying them around the house (over exageration. Will is cautious and not reckless.) He tells me that I need a gun around incase he is not around and someone breaks in. I told him I wouldn't use it anyway because I am not familiar enough with them to know how to load, undo the safety etc. I could figure it out but not fast enough that I would pull it out with an assailant. He gets kind of mad with my attitude, which I tell him if he takes me shooting more often, I would get comfortable and then that situation could be changed, besides, I would stab the guy. I know how to use a knife. Anyway, I hadn't seen the gun since and the hand gun is no longer under the bed. I don't know where either are.
We were going outside one day. I told Cole to get his coat out of the hall closet and I would be right there. I was changing Sage's diaper. Cole calls my name and is lauging. I walk down the hall to see a riffle pointed right at me. Not my favorite thing to see. A little 3 year old who has no concept of what it can do and "smoking a deer" is more of an exciting phrase than a real action. I get him to put it down and explain gun safety to him. I tell him he is never to touch Dad's guns unless his father is with him. Never to point them at people and that they are NOT toys.
Of course I told Will about this and I was glad to hear that it was not loaded but that he would definately move it to a place that the kids can not get to. You can never be too careful and honestly, I would rather be killed by an intruder than have one of my kids accidently kill someone or themselves.
This is not a dig on Will at all because I do agree that the more familiar you are with something the more you respect it and know how to handle it. I just think it is important to understand how kids find things all the time!

On Fri. it was supose to snow. Okay, nothing to get to excited about, I am thinking just another heavy frost type thing. Oh was I wrong. It snowed for hours. The big puffy flakes. We got home from running errands about 10 min. after it had started. Sage got out of the car and started to dance in it and try to catch it on her tongue. Cole jumps out of the car and says, "Mom, it's winter time!" It was really cute. He jumped on the tramp and played in it until nap time. After his nap (1/2 hour) the other kids were sleeping so I took him outside and we played. It was really starting to pile up and you couldn't even see the grass anymore. We started a snowman. Then I decided to take him sledding. We were going to use big trash bags buy my next door neighbor gave us a little sled to use. We crossed the street to another neighbors house who has a big steep lot and we sledded down their hill. It was really fun. Will got off work at about 3:40 and he didn't get home until nearly 6! His truck wouldn't make it up our hill to our house so he went strait to his Dad's house and was going to get his 4 wheeler. He couldn't make it up his Dad's hill either. So he parked on Mission Ridge and walked to his Dad's to get the 4 wheeler to come home. He took the kids riding and sledding down our street. There were probably 6 cars parked at the bottom of crest on Johnson because they couldn't get up either. 2 people in my neighborhood were on 4 wheelers and when they saw people walking up the hill, they would ride down and get them. It was so fun to see so many of my neighbors out and about and helping eachother. I loved it. The first time down the hill sledding with Cole, I put him on the front. When we got to the bottom, his face was covered in snow. I started to laugh and wipe it out of his face. He says to me (very seriously) "Mom, I don't like it". I made him go a few more times but on the back, then he did like it. We had a really great time and I am glad that it is all gone now:)

What do you do when it it freezing outside and you are sick of the snow...Well, there are a lot of things to do but we chose face painting.

As you can see, Cole wanted me to paint his and Sage wanted to have all the control.