FINALLY!

 We FINALLY got some desperately needed snow! It was welcome after virtually no moisture at all this winter. Since it was back in the 80s the next day it wasn't great, but we will take what we can get.

BRRRRR!!!!

We are in the middle of a freezing cold snap- barely getting above zero, and well below zero at night. But, Ben is ready to go shovel some of the snow!

Georgetown Loop Railroad

For Christmas, my parents gifted us money to go have an experience and create memories. They sent it before Matt's death, but it felt all the more poignant afterwards.

We decided to take the girls on the Georgetown Loop Railroad, something we have wanted to take the girls on for years.

It was fantastic! It was so beautiful with all of the snow.

Ebeneezer Scrooge joined us and told us about his life and how he changed over the years. It was fun.

It was a bit chilly, but aside from that it was perfect!

Snow Days!

We ended up with about 24 inches of snow and a late start with two days off of school! It seems the kids have outgrown sledding and playing in the snow, but we did watch a Hallmark Christmas movie, the girls baked some cookies, and we definitely enjoyed being able to sleep in! And, we got our family Christmas pictures done!

I have lived here for over 20 years, and I don't ever remember getting this much snow in November. We'll see if this is a portent of things to come.

Snow!

 We finally got some good snow so I made the girls go out and play. They built a snowman and lasted about 30 minutes. I guess one are the days when they would spend hours out playing in the snow.

Ice-Skating

We went on our annual ice-skating family activity! We tried out a new rink which was fun. It was a long line to get on the ice, but once on it wasn't crowded which was really nice. We had a great time!

 

Ice Skating

 Audra decided to organize some friends to go ice-skating. I think they had a good time! It was cold (the sun hasn't come out in a week, everything is still ice). Liesl and Ivy also joined us so Claire and Camille had someone to skate with, too. It was a good day.

I'm not posting a whole lot over break because, truthfully, there hasn't been much going on. I thought we should go to Great Wolf Lodge, but the kids didn't want to. They pretty much just wanted to stay home, so we did.

Snow!

We got over a foot of snow. It wasn't great as it all turned to ice and none of it was shoveled. But, the kids had a great time sledding so that was good. 

Ice Skating With Cousins

 We only ice skate once a year, but the kids all have a good time when we go. We went down to Parker where they have a nice outdoor rink. We lasted over an hour before our ankles started to hurt and we called it quits. Camille fell twice, Ben once, and the cousins quite a bit, but there were no injuries and lots of smiles, so I call that a win.

Afterwards, we went to the library super fast. They have trees decorated as different books, so we very quickly walked around to get a peek at the creations. They are absolutely brilliant, and I love that our library does so many neat things like this.

Sledding!

 Luckily there was still a little bit of snow on the ground so the kids could go sledding with friends. It was a good day!

Snow!

 We FINALLY got some measurable snow. It sure took long enough! I don't enjoy snow, actually, but we desperately need it so I'm not complaining. The kids aren't either!

On Saturday we dropped them off at the high school to sled, and the temp was in the teens. The kids played for over 4 hours and only came home when the sun started to go down. So, yeah, they were ready for some snow to play in.

Ice-Skating

 Our usual favorite ice-skating rink closed down so we went to a new one down in Parker. It was a lot of fun! We only go ice-skating once a year, but it was a lot of fun. We had a great time, and we really like this rink. Our girls are becoming pretty good ice-skaters, especially since we go so seldom. It was a fun day!

KABLAMO and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

 Audra and Claire have been reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe for their writing this year. They finished reading it so we decided to watch the movie.

Before that, the girls put together a "Choose Your Own Adventure" in Narnia. It was so cute, and they did such a great job with it.

You start by going through the wardrobe, and then you roll the dice to see where you go.

The first two times I won and made it out of Narnia, but the third time I was turned into stone.

Then, the big news of this past week was preparing for Snomageddon, or "KABLAMO" as my favorite weather person likes to call it.

It was predicted we would get anywhere from 2-5 feet of snow Friday night into Saturday.

We woke up Saturday morning to.....nothing. Dry as a bone. It was very disappointing. We make caramel sticky buns in anticipation that snow might eventually come, but I was beginning to doubt.

But then, we woke up this morning to over a foot of snow, and it has snowed all day long. Church was canceled- even the Zoom lessons, I'm not sure why. We were kind-of glad, though, because we reverted back to the same church sacrament we did all through quarantine before we started meeting in person again. 

It is supposed to snow all night tonight as well, so I think we will have close to 3 feet by the time this is all said and done. It came late, but it definitely came.

The girls went outside and played "Narnia." These girls are awesome! They are so creative and never have any trouble coming up with some kind of game to play with each other.

The snow easily goes up to Audra's knees. It really is quite the storm! I'm not sure when we will be able to leave our house again, we will have to wait until the plows come through. Thankfully, though, we were totally prepared and have no plans, so we are fine.

Also, we really don't need to worry about the power going out- thank goodness! The power lines are underground and everything is very well insulated- we know how to do winter here, and I'm very grateful for that.

Too Cold!

 We are at FREEZING temps- a high of 7 degrees today- so I got the girls to sewing to keep us occupied while we are stuck inside.

Audra finished her quilt top- now she just needs to bind it and she's done. I'm so impressed- it turned out so beautiful!

And Claire made a Harry Potter pillowcase for a Birthday gift for a friend:

And now we will see if snow falls. We might get up to 6 inches. We will see.