Happy Birthday

My grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday last week. The kids and I were able to share in the celebration with many of my aunts and uncles.

49.6

That was what my indoor thermometer read when I happened to look at it around 2pm this afternoon. Everybody, put your shoes on your going outside. Surprisingly, there were not complaints. I think they may have actually missed the outdoors.



Peter was in a tree (literally) so I wasn't able to capture him! It was such a nice change of pace to actually spend some time outdoors. We definitely all needed it.

Coming soon...

So maybe I'm on a roll...oh wait I hear Nathan waking up from his nap.
So for those of you who haven't seen this picture of Emma on facebook- this summarizes our trip to Boone. This would be Day 3- sledding down the hill at the back of our "Boone house" as Ryan understands it.
This would be Day 4 - after a few hours of sledding in what is now a foot and a half of snow. It's amazing how much snow can accumulate in 24 hours.

The

I am so far behind with my updates it almost seems silly to begin posting. However, God has given me a sweet simple gift this afternoon and I have to record it before I forget. According to Peter we haven't "done school since like Thanksgiving". He is little off but that is probably what it feels like. Today is the first day that we got back to a full day of work. A full day is what my kids think of as a school day- you know, chores are done, language arts books are used, handwriting is checked, math is done...In a quiet moment, Ryan had the opportunity to have my attention so we could do his school work and when my gift arrived. His writing is the highlighter. It's his story I recorded but he wrote the word "the" (in every sentence). Most days, I hope this little fellow will read by the age of 10. Today, I have renewed hope that even though he is the third child and has no where near the amount of one on one teaching time that Peter had as a 4 and 1/2 year old, he is learning.

Arctic/Antarctic Animal Survey

Here are the results.

year end

We spent the last of 2010 with a morning at the museum. It was a nice day to burn some energy and explore new things. We are making preparations for our annual Boone trip. We are all looking forward to getting away. The kids are so excited about skiing. I'm really excited because I don't think it will be quite as frigid as years past.
Happy 2011!