Just playing and skating

Today at home it's super-cold - almost Montreal cold - which reminds me of the afternoon after we visited the Cider Press on our trip to Vermont.  After a good lunch, the kids just wanted to play outside in the snow and they got a bonus playmate - the family in the condo next to ours had not one, not two, but THREE friendly dogs.  Only one really wanted to play with the Sooy kids in the snow, though and the kids were happy to play with him, too!

After an hour or so, Daddy let us know that he would be done skiing at Stowe Mountain in a little while.  So we got into the car and met up with Thom John, Grummy and Pop Pop (who had been cross-country skiing all day) and explored the resort at Stowe Mountain.  We took a gondola from one part of the resort to another...

and we rented ice skates for Mommy, Daddy, and the kids!

It was slow-going at first but the kids were starting to kind of get the hang of skating towards the end of our time at the ice.  Plus, after awhile the kids were getting pretty hungry - the cold will do that to you!

Blizzard of 2016... part two

The kids' schools were closed on Monday and with two kids at home, two feet of snow on the ground, and an "alternate" train schedule in effect, I got to stay home with the kiddies.  We started off the morning pretty lazily, watching cartoons and playing tennis and bowling on the Wii.  On Sunday, I saw posts on Facebook from other local mommy friends that there is a big hill over at the local high school that makes for great sledding.  I took the kids over at mid-morning to check it out and it was AWESOME!  The hill was just the right for all ages - there were kids from toddler to high-school there having a good time.

The kids' last run after two+ hours of sledding and climbing up the hill - they went together this time and wiped out spectacularly!  That was the end our of sledding fun.  Afterwards, we went home and everyone napped for a couple of hours!

Blizzard of 2016

Winter Storm Jonas hit us last weekend and left us with about 20 inches of snow.  The kids were super-excited to play in the snow and help us shovel out(!)

After chores, we went over the playground to play on the snowslide!  Sean got the first turn but then the kids happily took turns...

Sean and Thom John started work on an igloo:

Sunday morning was bright and sunny and the day was actually pretty warm so the snow started to melt almost immediately!

We went to the backyard to make a snowfort

and a throne for the snow queen inside the snowfort

and a Basilisk (or "Basilips") to guard the snow fort.

The kids and Daddy worked more on the igloo and started another igloo so we ended up with a little igloo village in our front yard.

We went inside for hot chocolate (with marshmallows!) and crafts.  Then the boys watched football (Sean's so into the playoffs!) while the girls watched "Frozen"

Weekend

Last weekend, the kids had a three-day weekend for Martin Luther King, Jr. day.  We played boardgames:

Saturday was warm and sunny so the kids rode their bikes while I jogged alongside them.  We went across the "big, busy street" into the next development to play by the lake:

We tidied up a bit:

On Sunday, the kids had friends over for a playdate and everyone played with toys, Pokemon cards and decorated cookies for snack:

It even snowed a little:

Monday was clear and cold but after a morning spent indoors playing Legos, watching cartoons, and playing games, we suited up and went outside for a walk in the woods.