super family fun day

we were supposed to go to new york city on saturday for a super family fun day but we had to cancel our plans (thank you snow).  so instead, we had a slow morning and hung around ithaca. we went downtown to see the ice sculptures and did some christmas shopping.  and in doing so, 

i learned a few things . . .

• marshmallows make a good "secret ingredient" in pancakes.
• macy can eat four pancakes!  (not with marshmallows, but definitely with lots of powdered sugar just like parker.)
• the girls can play for hours together, entertaining themselves pretending to go shopping or running from the alligators/sharks/bears.
• no matter what, when a child sees an ice sculpture, they will want to put their tongue on it.  (don't worry . . . we stopped her.)
• parker is completely unaffected by the cold.  
• parker loves the snow.  so much so that she carried a chunk of it around calling it her "baby nutcracker" and singing to it.
• parker doesn't care if her pants are soaking and her face is frozen . . . she'll still run through snow piles and throw snow in the air and get it down her jacket.  
• parker has idaho blood running through her veins.
• macy does not.  
• macy is truly my daughter.  not a fan of the snow.
• oliver is content doing whatever.  even if he has a big jacket on and his mittens make him look like he has lobster claws for hands.  
• ithaca is truly, truly a hippie town.  the biggest ice sculpture? a peace sign.  no surprise there.  the "berkeley of the east" is how i think of this place.
• target is fun no matter what.  it always holds the promise of free popcorn and an icee.
• santa claus (whom we met in the mall) has very strong persuasive skills. up until we met santa, parker's wish list was very specific. "a butterfly toy that flies, a new barbie, and a snowboard".  however, when standing face to face with santa, all parker could do was smile and look embarrassed, so santa asked, "do you want to be surprised?"  and parker nodded enthusiastically.  later parker said, "maybe next year i want a butterfly toy, a barbie, and a snowboard."  to which i replied, "so what do you want from santa this year?" to which she said, "i want to be surprised!"  
• macy will agree to wanting anything you suggest.  "a 'my little pony'?"  smiles and nods.  "a barbie?"  smiles and nods.  "books?"  smiles and nods.  however, after meeting santa, i'm sure macy wants to be surprised too.  after all, that's what parker wants.  and whatever parker wants, so goes macy . . .
• oliver, according to parker, wants anything "star wars".  
• a pajama pizza picnic in the living room with only the lights from the christmas tree, is definitely a great way to end the day.  
• oliver likes pizza.
• macy still does not.
• and most importantly . . . sometimes, a simple day spent mostly at home is the best kind of super family fun day there is.