Boxes are the Best Toys

David Shannon writes this funny children's book Too Many Toys.  In this story Spencer has so many toys his parents don't know what to do with them all; they're taking over the house.  In the end, Spencer finally decides to part with some and he fills a box with the ones he wants to get rid of.  When his Mom returns to get the box, she finds it toppled over and all the toys are scattered across the floor.  Spencer ends up saying, "We can't get rid of this box, it's the best toy ever!"

When we were at Sam's Club the other day, we brought our groceries home in this really large box.  This box has been a boat, Toy Story reading chair, and tonight has turned into an art canvas.  Ava and Isaiah took their bath and then we all spent the rest of the night decorating the box.  Isaiah drew things like lightning bolts and Jackson.  Ava drew Isaiah, Jackson, and a kangaroo (kind of random).  These are just a few of the things they drew.  Anyway this plain ordinary brown cardboard box, is now radiant with color and creativity.  This reminded me of the story that we often read and I just got a kick out of how many toys we have all over our house and the most entertaining toy of the night was this box.

We'll see if we have school tomorrow.  The snow accumulation is suppose to be over 10 inches.  If we're home, I'm sure we'll have a day of crafts, movies, and what the kids call "The Beach" (we pile up all the chair and couch cushions and add all the pillows and blankets we have to make this gigantic pile that they jump into...I have some pictures from this weekend of them doing this I'll have to post later).

My Three Happy's:
1) Inexpensive toys like "the brown box" that provide entertainment
2) Snow, Snow, Snow...that means a possibility of a delay, early out, or no school tomorrow
3) Jackson...he drags in mud and snow, slobbers all over the floor, chews up bones and leaves crumbs all over, and sheds his fur everywhere...but he is the best dog anyone could ever ask for!  We all love him so much, even though he's like having another kid. :-)