Father Daughter Square Dance

The Newton Girl Scouts sponsored a Father/Daughter Square Dance today. Maddie was over the moon to go!I must admit, I love to square dance. Do you think I have a chance to get Nathan in on it regularly?

Troop 75174 square dancers: Isabel, Emma, Ashley, Amelia, Maddie and Taraneh

Jericho Hill

Take the longest sledding hill in Massachusetts, add Maddie and Theo and you have a lot of fun! Must say walking up that hill with Gabriel was something else, quite a workout. The kids loved zooming down the hill. Theo even brought his sled in for winter showtime to share with the class his accomplishment. Gabriel watched for a bit and then we tromped over to the playground. The unpacked snow was up to my midthigh - grueling. We celebrated at a delicious Brazilian restaurant afterward.

Three Little Monkeys

Look at the cute aprons cousin Katy made! Maddie was tickled that Katy is learning to sew at the same time.

Structures

Maddie was so proud of her structures that she made at school. Thankfully, Ms Ross told the kids the gumdrops were not for eating!

Myopia Sled Dog Races

I was so excited to see a sled dog race about 45 minutes from our house. It's something I've always wanted to see. We stopped for coffee and drove up north with another family to Ipswich. Though I was a tad concerned when the temperature was 3 degrees at 8am - luckily it warmed up to the teens and the sun helped. It was interesting to see the different dogs - much smaller and mangier than I expected - as well as the various techniques of the sled drivers. It was run like a time trial, so every few minutes we were able to see a new team speed by. Most teams were from New Hampshire and the owners pair young dogs with old to teach the youngsters (even as young as 8 months).

The Atris and Sanders bundled up for the dogs

Now CBS spotted our kids watching the teams finish and asked if they could be interviewed. Naturally, everyone clammed up but I think he got some cute footage. We'll see if they will be stars on the Sunday night news.

Now This is a Blizzard

So sorry December 2010, your blizzard was nothing compared to January 12, 2011 of 18 inches. It was the biggest snow storm I've been a part of. We loved the snow day! The downside is that the snow was very wet and heavy, making for some worry about our poor trees. We lost two large branches on our hemlocks.

Crazy husband trekking to the T to get to the office. It was a 2 hour trip.

We went out during the storm but it was pretty miserable with the wet snow. I think Theo was frozen here.

Our neighbors snowblowed our crosswalk, we did the walkway and then I corralled a snow plow driver into doing our driveway, for a very steep price. But, figured it'd be better than the four hours Nathan would need to shovel when he returned from work. He agreed!

The kids made snow villages and forts under the trees. It was very magical. There was slight concern that we might lose Gabriel in the drifts. His first words when he stepped outside were "I'm stuck." The best part of the storm was the next day when the sun was out and the world was a crystal wonderland. The trees still heavy with snow, sparkly snow everywhere, and kids excited to play. Maddie's class spent an afternoon working on physics - building ramps, testing sled speeds, etc. And Theo's outside time was spent sledding. That's winter for you!

Sharpened Santa Skates

Oh that Santa. I'm sure he thought it'd be no problem to take three children skating when he delivered three pairs of skates on Christmas morn. And once we got going, it really wasn't. Maddie flew onto the ice, surprisingly as we didn't skate much last year. I must get her in lessons, she really has a knack for skating. Theo had been on skates once before. He wanted no help and by the end of our time on the rink. He was upright and moving forward. I was very impressed.

And Gabriel did great! It helped that he had the tiniest double runner skates around. But, he could move unassisted. Really fantastic news as I plan to take the kids alone to the community rink as much as possible.

Bring Your Living Room Movie Night

Indoor movie night, bean bags, pizza and fun!

At the Doctor's Office

Maddie had Louisa, a new friend from school, over for a playdate. It's always a challenge to give Maddie her space and keep the boys occupied, they just want to play with Maddie and her friends. Theo was very patient this playdate. He had me write a note: Maddie and Louisa, Can I please come in and play? Response: No, Theo, not now. Then I watched as Theo very carefully wrote out YES and slipped the note back under the door. Back it came with another nicely worded no. Theo asked me to write Pretty Please on the note. Finally, the girls decided the boys might be fun. They invited them into their doctor's office where they were performing surgery. Under a blanket the boys went, pulled up to their eyebrows, while the girls did surgery on their hair. Everyone was more than thrilled!

Yankee Cowboy

Who's the cutest little cowboy?

We were headed to dinner at church and Gabriel wanted to wear his boots and hat (and his rock and roll shirt with a guitar like Daddy's). Once we arrived, like a proper cowboy, he hung up his hat while he ate dinner.