Matthew 11

 Long ago Matthew had a birthday, which we celebrated by going to the tank museum off somewhere distant. The weather was snowy and people were warned to stay off the roads. A church event was cancelled. But we had winter tires and no traffic to deal with...so we went anyways! (The roads weren't bad, it's mostly just hype...and traffic)

 The tanks are not small! There was a guy in the museum (who were working on a display) that came by a few times and gave us interest bits of information. When he wasn't around we reverted to asking Nathan questions. He had lots of interesting info too!

 A large number of these tanks get ridden in the summer, once they are restored. Too bad we're too cheap to pay for a ride. ;)

 We also tried on the clothes they had in a trunk.

 Oh, and the guns!

 Matthew got to pick out a model tank too, which had a motor that worked (for two days I think).

 It was fun putting together -- his first model!

 Someone made a joke, and Matthew's typical response is "that face" which is like a scrunched up grin. ;)

 He spent some quiet time in the piano room playing songs from the book of praise.

 Sounded very nice!

 Waiting for coffee...and then time to open presents! :)

 Melanie made a wallet for Matthew. An old purse of mine, repurposed!

We are very thankful for the years we have been blessed with Matthew in our family! He has matured a lot in the last while, and is turning into a responsible hard working young man. His is our faithful chicken keeper, and really does a great job looking after the birds! He has a great sense of humour and remains, over all, a very easy going guy.

winter

 Philip has been making storage shelves for Lego, so that the Lego can be neat and tidy and off of the floors all the time

 Under the snow was a super icy stretch on a steep hill.

 Kinda fun to try some "snowboarding" and other tricks.

 Hard to stop at the bottom though!

 Girls in books.

 Happy homeschooling mother. I'm told I look this grumpy all the time. :p

 More snow for sliding!

 Daniel the king, who's also a soldier?

 Working hard on copying a painting.

 Time to start some plants...trying to use equipment we already have on hand. Way too much spritzing required to keep the seedlings moist -- don't miss a day!

 Matthew made a fancy set up that makes the balls all fall and roll systematically.

 Five crowns. Lotsa fun!

 We had a few chickens attacked by an unknown predator. Maybe a mink? Maybe a rat? While two chickens were inside being monitored, Matthew took them outside to get fresh air...they seemed perky and bored, after all, despite the trauma their bodies had.

 Nice deep snow to play in!

Early February

 Toothless girl

 We had some warm weather, can't skate, but you can go boating!

 (well, float your boat, at least)

 Evelyn has become an avid UNO player. She played for several months with anyone who would join her.

 And Calvin and Hobbes became very popular, still haven't been able to get them to stay in the library.

 More UNO. And handsome Nathan.

 That's better.

 Matthew made a paper airplane launcher.

 It worked very well, but not when posing for the camera.

Working hard on school...

 After the thaw came a freeze. Complete with freezing rain. Skating was great fun -- who needs a rink now?

 It was kinda fun to zip around the patio!

 The kids even went on the trail around the property.

 Daniel made a blanket, pillow and bed for his teddy. Melanie helped him when he was stuck. I didn't even know he was using my sewing machine. MY machine!

 More skating.

End of January

 We got deep snow again! The kids had a hard time picking...

 Hockey on the ice that refroze or...

 Sliding down the hill?

 A train behind the GT is an added challenge for getting to the bottom of the hill.

 Boggle becomes a fad...spelling becomes important for points. Hey...some of them are getting kind of a bit good at spelling. Sorta.

 Evelyn, Jennifer and Daniel went to town with stencils. I think they used up a whole tree's worth of papers trying all the stencils I've been given. (Next school unit study should be "paperless art ideas for kids with no screens". Any tips would be appreciated. 😁 )

Scurvy? 

January

 Matthew and Melanie harvested some peas. Firstfruits for the year.

 I got spoiled and got a bunch of houseplants. Hopefully I am learning to keep them alive a little...

 Melanie and I went to Bibles for Mission and picked out a great rug for her room. The colours are great I think.

 I said to myself....one day I will wish there were toys in every nook and cranny. (today maybe not)

 More hockey...since there is no snow to speak of.

 Evelyn is skating!!! The goal of the rink has been accomplished!

 Behold the professional, a hockey pro also.

Our snow melted very fast. Was it 9C? Crazy!  Off the roof our foot of snow came. With a frozen ground below. It was trapped against the house by snow and ice. So the water went down. To the spare room. Fortunately Philip designed his storage shelves shortly after one of our burst pipe problems and had water problems figured into the design. So most things in the room are normally off the ground and didn't get wet. The window well to this room was just an inch short of the brim, loaded with water!! Btw, shop vacs are very useful to have in the house! Shlllluuuuurp.