Thawing Out (just a bit)

Not much new going on. I think January had only two days that reached above freezing, but so far February has been pleasantly warmer (getting into the mid-30s!), and melting some of the ice sheets and snow piles around town! We'd been trying to find new ways to enjoy the snow and subfreezing temps. Here's a frozen bubble. The air was so cold, it froze in a few seconds on the wand and broke upon being touched.

The kids also really enjoyed writing and decorating the snow with squirt bottles filled with some food coloring and water. 

I managed to get out for a ski day with a friend for my favorite snow activity. This is at the top of Grand Targhee, which overlooks the backside of the Tetons. This is the same view in the morning and later in the day. We had a gorgeous day!

On a whim, I submitted a picture of the kids at String Lake to the newspaper's contest, which asked for pictures of families enjoying nature. A few weeks later, we were told we won tickets to a film festival as a result, and the kids' picture was in the paper! They were both amazed that their picture was in the paper.

Another great find for indoor entertainment has been Perler beads. The kids really focus on them for a good chunk of time and can handle them all on their own. They've been especially handy for the last couple of Hadley's sick days.

Finally, we've reached 100 days of first grade! Can you believe it? In celebration, Owen dressed up like a 100-year old (or the closest we could get). The finishing touches were an umbrella/cane and some white face paint in his hair.

His teacher also took their pictures and aged them digitally. Here's Owen at 100: