Warm Inside

When we're not sledding, we're inside staying warm and finding things to entertain ourselves. Like slime! This came from a slime making kit that Owen got for his birthday. The kids obviously enjoyed it!

But most of the time, it's a bit more mundane around here, like 1) making cookies...

2) Drawing and coloring.  Hadley loves to color more than I recall Owen doing at that age. She even filled in one of these adult coloring patterns.  I was impressed that she found and colored the same elements in this complex design. And that's her writing her name (and Owen's) at the top of the page.

She also drew this self-portrait of her running. I saw her running just like this picture and went to see what she was doing.  I think she was modeling for herself! Ha! That's two filled eyes and two cheeks; the open circles are her shoulders. (Owen's people just got bodies this year. I guess that's another benefit to being the second child.)

And 3) going to the library.  So thankful they love books, especially when Owen "reads" to his sister. Came upon this surprise in the middle of the kids' section. :)

These were dragons they made at a library story time. We got home and I think the dragons were trying to melt some of the snow with their fiery breath.

H and I have also been known to picnic in a basement fort.

Did I mention that the cats are getting lots of attention these days? Friend or foe, just depends on the day.

And then we go back and sled some more.

Sleddy Times

So, I was misled by this El Nino phenomenon and an article that said our area should be warmer and drier than usual this winter. Not even close! We have been getting snow pretty regularly, not terrible amounts, but more than we've had before, I think! Here's Hadley practicing her snow angel form in the backyard.

And the kids posing on the snow hill on the side of the driveway after more shoveling. Owen was trying to dig a hole down to the concrete, but tuckered out before success.

And when we can make it out before dark, we go sledding in the drainage area a few houses away.  

 Or we just wrestle in the snow, which is fun too.

On a sunny day, we opted to try sledding on a bigger hill, so we headed to the sand dunes. We were the only souls out there until some youths showed up with their snowboards a bit later. Just the little bit of slope sent our sled way out by our car, bumping over the icy tracks...

...so we hiked further back on the dunes to a different slope and had smoother runs.

See how far the sled went?! The ride was fun, but the hike back in deep snow was pretty tiring for all sizes.

All sorts of sledding combinations were done, but my favorite was the ill-fated backwards, triple stack,

which ended in pieces. See all of the trails we blazed? It was worth getting out of the house to do this, even when 3 of us were hacking and fighting bronchitis. Nothing like some fresh air!

The kids also had fun digging down to the sand

and making more snow angels!

Happy 2016!

2016 is off and running! We finished 2015 by taking the kids to the ice skating rink.  This was H's first time on the ice, so we got her a plastic guide that was pretty valuable in keeping her upright.  She was fighting a cold that became an ear infection a couple of days later, so she tuckered out after 40-ish minutes, but I think she liked it.

Owen spent a lot of time on the ice, but I was so proud of him for not giving up.  He had lessons last year, but it took him a while to remember what to do.  By the end of our hour, he was doing really well!  We might have to try this again when they are both healthy.

We had a very quiet, calm winter break from school.  Between illnesses and the frigid temperatures, we laid pretty low. The kids did go play in the snow a few times though. I think I've mentioned how Owen loves to fall down for comedic effect.  The snow increases that! Although he claims not to like winter or having to put on all the extra layers...

But winter has its perks!  The house building going on behind us led someone to use a snow-covered dirt pile as the starting ramp for a ski jump they created in the drainage area. You could pick up a lot of speed going down this ramp! The kids always veered off the path before the jump, which was probably a good thing, but Mom hit the jump a few times. Ouch! I would have taken a video, but my phone decided it was full. :(

And lastly, the gingerbread houses saw their demise. Someone was not deterred by stale gingerbread or hardened icing...