Busy with school

 It feels like all we do is school work right now. But our load will be lighter in about 8 more weeks, so the light is glimpsed at the end of the tunnel! I can tell by the pictures I have taken, that we still have been doing things that aren't school work, so maybe it's mostly psychological. ;)

Evelyn playing with Lego during quiet time.

 Jennifer up early -- I hope she set the table!

 We did a bedroom switch up, and Nathan has an empty room all to himself, and the girls are boarding three to a room! Melanie has the bottom bunk with a curtain for extra privacy. Evelyn the monkey has the top bunk. Jennifer the princess has the fancy bed.

 I gave away my fancy dresser so they can preen in the mirror instead of using the bathroom with no sink. That way there isn't too much fighting over bathroom time. The girls actually did there hair regularly for two weeks after getting the dresser!

 Matthew made himself a bookshelf. Now his books are up off the windowsill in his room, which is much better!

 Don't assume popsicle sticks will be used houses and pretty crafty things. Swords are far more fashionable!

 Evelyn made a bouquet of flowers.

 Jennifer lost a tooth! Her third one, but her most obvious one. Yup, the next one is wiggly already!

Nathan has been doing some woodworking. It is awaiting a coat of paint.

Tips on reading

The second most import thing (after finding a good book) is to find your most comfortable reading position.

You may need to try lots of different places and positions to see what works best for you.

Odds and Ends

Melanie made me and Philip out of plasticine, and once we was no longer new Evelyn played with us.

Nathan finished off the organ repair that Stanley and him started during the visit in December. It required a bit of improvisation, but it now works great!

Melanie, inspired by Matthew's drawing book, did some drawings. And she collected drawing pencils of all the different soft and hardness that she could find, made a case for them and tied them up very elegantly. Now will she remember to draw?

She is never in a good mood during school. Why not?

After the big thaw we had a very light layer of snow again. Hardly enough to go down the hill...but as somebody (still don't know who) dropped off some sleds at our door while we were out, it was time to have some fun anyways!

Oma visited us briefly. Evelyn colored her a picture that I sent digitally instead of mailing.

Matthew did some baking. Or sampling. I'm not sure what he did more of.

Jennifer worked hard at her piano. Her teacher has been impressed with her effort!

I haven't been as faithful with bedtime stories...but they are never entirely forgotten!

We had to take out some toys we hadn't seen in a while just to take care of the "no snow cold weather doldrums".

The Big Thaw

 Mid January we had really warm temperatures. Snow melted very fast and as soon as school work was done the kids donned their rubbers to run and see if there was a stream flowing.

 Bring your boats everyone! The creek is running!

 A lovely bent tree was a perfect place to keep the boats waiting while hunting for a lost boat or damming or diverting the current.

 The source is here on the golf course, and instead of going through the culvert as per usual it flowed over the banks. The culvert was frozen underneath the pool!

Jennifer didn't bring a boat, so she had to walk all the way back and get something that would work.

Great fun for two days! But then, when the snow was all gone and it was cold again, life seemed pretty boring!

Early January

 Melanie sewed up a few skirts for the dolls and helped Jennifer have a whole corner full of furniture for them (made out of cardboard) to go with the bunkbeds her and Nathan made for her birthday.

 New clothes means new hair styles too!

 I bought popsicle sticks to inspire pretty crafts and wooden houses and things...but swords were made instead. :o

 Nathan finished his latest lego motor. He'll add the frame of the vehicle after, but is testing to make sure it drives well.

 Good thing I lost that game of Qwirkle!

 When I check on the kids in the morning they are usually stuck in a book.

 It's hard to make it to breakfast on time when your bed is cozy and you have something interesting to do! Many a child is tardy when the breakfast bell is rung!

 Jennifer has to get up a bit faster than the others and set the table. She occasionally is up all on her own and getting things done!

 Matthew is usually buried in blankets when I check on him. He can't be reading 'cause his head is under them and it must be dark in there! He loves to just lay there dozing, or meditating. Sometimes when he is caught up in a really exciting book and he remembered to take it up with him, he'll be ready that. And deaf to the bell!

 Jennifer is one motivated reader! She has been trucking through so many books all on her own. It certainly has made my job easier!

Snapshot of a calm moment

Sometimes at the end of the day it is fairly quiet and calm. Usually it is very loud in at least one room in the house. But there are exceptions!

 Evelyn is supposed to be putting on her pajamas but is playing instead.Sometimes just by herself it can be very very loud!

 Books are a wonderful thing! It is hard to imagine life with none at all, or only a few to read over a whole year!

 Daniel is playing the violin for us, a very relaxing tune I am sure.

Skating Rink

 Another way to go skating for free this winter has been to go to an outdoor rink. The first time we showed up it was being used for a hockey game, but we were given half ice with a net (once I brought our hockey sticks). 

 The ice was a bit bumpy, but it was huge!

 Evelyn tried getting at the puck. Her and Jennifer only did well at pass, but couldn't handle games of "keep away".  Good thing there was an extra ball around so that we didn't have to share too much!

 Evelyn isn't really good enough on skates to use a hockey stick...but she was very opinionated about it, and there was room enough for the rest of us to keep a safe distance from her!

 Later we got full ice. Man is the rink big and it is tiring if you have to keep chasing the puck around from one end to the other!

 We played until Evelyn's feet and hands were too cold...then we packed up and headed home.

Daniel rushed onto the playset quickly to get one slide in before buckling up and heading home!