1st Snow = 1st Hot Chocolate

Ugh. And if I had my way, it would equal the last hot chocolate as well. For real. How is it even possible to make the kind of mess my children make with hot chocolate? They don't do it when drinking chocolate milk. But somehow, if it's called hot chocolate, it apparently means you're supposed to dribble it everywhere and leave your sticky mug on the table or counter until it is cemented in place. But they love it and I want them to always remember that I enjoyed them more than I enjoyed a tidy house. I think it's safe to say they'll remember that I never really enjoyed a tidy house, but that's probably more because I never had one...

I digress. Here is the evidence of just how messy this stuff can get at my house (and a few just to show how cute my kids are). I'm not bragging. I'm just emphasizing the positives.

This was taken seconds before Bristol plummeted from the chair. No worries, though. It wasn't anything a few marshmallows (from the safety of her highchair with proper restraints) couldn't fix. This was also right after Leah said, "I'm going to teach you all about winter, Bristol. These are marshmallows."

I can't remember why he was mad at me, but here is Bo "enjoying" his hot chocolate.

It's hard to tell how messy it is, but this is where somebody dropped his mug full of the powdered mix right before adding water. I suppose this was better than if it had been wet.

See? This doesn't happen with a cup of chocolate milk, or any other beverage, for that matter.

I do like seeing that smile, though.

While everybody else was having hot chocolate. Bill and Fletch were walking home from Fletcher's afternoon preschool. Bill had done a fire safety presentation for all of the classes that afternoon.

Dressed for the weather.