Snow shoeing in the backyard

This afternoon, Arnie and some of the girls were able to go out back and take advantage of the first substantial accumulation of snow all season.  It has been a real odd winter but there is no mistaking it now.  The season of the neverending piles of wet snow clothes and muddy boots is upon us.  I took pictures of the brave winter explorers from the safety and security, though not that much warmer living room.

The intrepid adventures

Malia holding on to LT's leash while taking a breather in the snow.

Jessi showing off her red snow shoes

Arnie looks back to ask me one last time if I'm sure I don't want to come along.  I'm sure.

Off they go into the wilds of backyard

I found Christmas pictures!

I found the pictures I took from Christmas and so I wanted to do a brief post on our Christmas day celebrations.  We had a very nice Christmas eve and Christmas just the six of us here in New Hampshire.  We missed our extended families very much.  The girls loved giving each other presents using their creative talents as well as their small allowances.  It was great to see them getting into the spirit of giving this year.

Malia loves her new Pokemon toy that allows her to "battle" Bethany with mini plastic flying discs. 

LT loves his new rugged camouflage Frisbee given to him by my folks.

Jessi's favorite movies these days are Barbie movies and A Fashion Fairy Tale where she goes to Paris is the creme de la creme!

 

Kaitlyn got a Barbie radio/CD player and she is thrilled to be able to play her Kidz Bop CDs that she borrows from the library anywhere in the house!  Watch out American Idol!

Arnie got plenty of help opening his presents.  This is a snow globe, made by Kaitlyn from a recycled baby food jar, and it had a miniature candy cane made of clay in it.

Bethany got a nice blue sweater.  She is practically the same size as me. 

I haven't checked any other cameras so there may be pictures of me floating around.  I got a wonderful heated blanket which is such a marvelous thing that I find myself wondering how I ever got along without one.

As a family, we received a video game for our Nintendo Wii.  It is Zelda and the Skyward Sword.  Malia is the main person who plays but we all enjoy watching and giving advice.  I am called upon to defeat the scarier monsters from time to time but that's what mothers are for, right?

Cold Snap, crackle, pop

Winter has officially arrived here in NH.  It really did take it's sweet time and you know what, I really didn't mind because when it got cold, it got WICKED cold!!!  Going to church on Sunday, the temperature gauge in the car read 3 degrees (with the sun shining!)  Are you kidding me?  Unfortunately, no.  Arnie, bless him, has been swinging his ax and providing us firewood that heats our living room up to 85 degrees and thus warms the other rooms a couple of degrees although you have to wear your swim suit in that room and then don your jacket for the rest of the house.  We still haven't figured out how to evenly distribute the warmth.  Arnie has done such a great job with chopping wood that he broke the ax blade right off the handle.  When taking it back to Home Depot, the gal who immediately offered to replace it, told us that it had a life time guarantee.  Yeah, who's life time?  A goldfish's?

My girls don't like the cold but they love having the snow.  They have spent more time outside in this freezing weather than they did when it was warm.  Ah to be young and numb....
I am loving my heated blanket that I received for Christmas.  Alas, I am not allowed to stay in bed all day.  I am coping, though, with my warm crackling fire that eases my poor popping, aching joints. But as the snow starts to flurry outside again, I long for the green on the trees and the warmth of the sun.

My icy wonderland