Screaming in a Good Way

Now the we finally have some snow to sled on, the kids were excited to head to our favorite sledding hill . . .

. . . especially since Uncle Rob sent us a couple new sleds for Christmas.  Is everybody ready for their first run?

There they go!

Well, most of them anyway.  It looks like Daniel's engine stalled.

Anna found the green sleds to be too fast for her taste, so she stuck with a snow tube most of the time.

To my surprise, Todd preferred the speedy sleds.  After he careened down the hill one time, I asked Daniel, "Was Todd screaming?" He replied, "Yeah, in a good way."

Family Shovel Sessions

After a virtually snow-free December . . .

. . . we got a proper snowstorm last night.

Daddy was excited to try out his new snow blower . . .

. . . while the kids and I shoveled the walkways.  After two winters in this house, the kids have learned that family snow-clearing sessions are What We Do when it snows, and they tend to help out in good spirits.

Once we finished shoveling, Joy went inside to heat up cocoa while Anna made a snow angel . . .

. . . then the kids had a snowball fight on the driveway we just cleared snow off of.  'Cuz that makes sense.

A New Year Piano Concert

It feels like just a few weeks ago that Daniel and Anna performed a piano book concert, but it was actually way back in April.

In the months since then, they've each been working hard to learn and polish another book of songs . . .

. . . which they were happy to perform for their admiring grandmas and Uncle Andrew.

Daniel: "Will you put the camera away already?"

Me (sheepishly) : "OK."

(At least until the after-concert discussion.) 

Game On, 2022!

The first day of 2022 looked a lot like 2021:

Kind of dismal, really.

It was tempting to just hunker down and adopt this planner's philosophy . . .

. . . but instead our family decided to have some fun and make our own happiness instead of waiting for our circumstances to get better.

We started by researching new games to try, then we picked up a few of them at Target this evening.

We got home just in time to play a few rounds of Twister before bed.  It tied us in knots, but we had a great time!

We All Stayed Up

 All of the kids asked to stay up until midnight this New Year's Eve, so we decided to give that a try.

We had Mountain Dew sherbet floats for dessert, partly because they're yummy, and partly for the caffeine.

Todd looked pretty tired when we finally turned on the video feed from Times Square, but he made it all the way to midnight!

Couch Catch

 Christmas break is just a week long for us this year . . .

. . . and things look a little bleak outside . . .

. . . but we're having fun inside!  The kids made up games using a purple fluffy thing Anna's friend Sam gave her.

The catch in Couch Catch is that if the purple fluffy thing falls on the floor, you have to retrieve it without touching the ground.

There's no rule that a squishmallow can't touch the ground though!  Thanks for your help, Pip!

Tools, Cozy Blankets, and a New Little Table

Our Christmas Day started off with . . .

. . . Daddy passing out gifts, and Joy reminding everyone of proper gift-receiving etiquette (i.e. say "thank you" for each present, and keep any negative opinions to yourself).

The rest of the day was filled with cozy blankets, sticker books . . .

. . . a new tool set, and loud bubble wrap.

We also made kitchen sink cookies . . .

. . . and a little laptop table.

Endie's kind of over Christmas at this point, but the rest of us had a nice day.

I hope you did too!  Merry Christmas!