December

 Nathan likes to take pics of his lego creations before they get taken apart. They don't come with instructions, so it's worth remembering. They always move realistically as well, which takes a lot of work to sort out.

 Skating time is here! We certainly love having hockey in the backyard!

 I finished a curtain which I'd promised to make, finally! And Melanie and Nathan worked on the matching pelmets.

 More shuffleboard!

 Boys and trucks! The whole world turned into a gigantic sandbox!!

 We are so blessed, with a chunk of land like this that we can call ours. So beautiful and peaceful!

 As a motivator (have to get your school done!) through the winter, I signed us up for a very affordable homeschool activity (wow, we got out with other families regularly!!) to help us slog through the really busy winter months of schoolwork. It certainly helped keep us motivated. I even took one picture (out of seven biweekly get togethers). There was informal shinny hockey on one side for kids who were interested, which certainly included my older kids!

 Trying to get the rink back into shape after a big thaw!

 More hockey

 A rare cozy evening fire.

 We hosted a Christmas/Boxing Day dinner, and the kids had a hoot. They skated until the ice was mushy, and some played hockey until it was beyond mushy. Lotsa fun!

 Evelyn got a craft from some dear friends--they know my kids well after many quality hours together with some of them!

 Jennifer tried very hard not to do her craft for her (she needed some help with remembering not to ;)

 Jennifer got a kaleidoscope.

 Matthew got his first model. With super tiny pieces.

 And Nathan too, his pieces being slightly smaller even (hard to believe that was possible!)

 Melanie made some decoration for her room.

 Daniel got a waterproof motor, so he made a boat for it to run.

 It did quite well, despite the limitations of the ocean size. Too bad the paper couldn't last the moisture longer...but that gives him a chance to work on different designs!

 Another doll dress magically whipped up!

 Melanie was gifted some origami. Very neat colours and designs!

 We got invited to celebrate New Years elsewhere, and since it wasn't a Dutch family, Philip broke tradition (second time in our marriage!) and made oliebollen early. Only once for the year though...I was hoping we could have it extra. :)

 Yum!! Everyone is enjoying them! Note the boys on the corner

 You can peacefully share a comic together! You just need to be a bit flexible about the arrangement. :p

 Another fresh batch ready. Mmm!

Moments

 Waiting to leave for church...see how much sjoelbak you can get in before everyone is ready to go!

Ever wonder what we are all doing at a given moment in time? Evelyn is checking out photos Grandma sent on my laptop

 Matthew was just playing songs for fun

 Daniel, finishing up his math work.

 Jennifer doing her chore

 Melanie reading

 Nathan doing lego

 A normal glimpse of my kitchen (not tidied up for guests/partly cleaned for the evening)

Me, wondering if I should tidy up a little, hmmmm....maybe?

Sinterklaas 2019

 So about half a year ago now....we celebrated Sinterklaas. Almost everybody made a gift for somebody. So that was neat.

 The snacks and treats were great (maybe somebody liked them better than a book and homemade presents, who know?)

 A punny shirt

 police pants (to match the birthday vest)

 quilt and doll dress

 another quilt and doll shirt...all these were made by Melanie...she was stressing out about getting it all done in time!!

 The obligatory book...which is more challenging each year to find for everyone!

 The shuffle-board. Nathan spent many hours on this!

 Nice and smooth, the pucks slide across so nicely!

 Daniel posing in his, now complete, outfit.

 He has a reflective strip down the pant leg as well, which matches the vest.

 Jennifer made a necklace for me.

Matthew made a box for my salt (so I didn't have to stare at salt bags all winter long)

 The girls dressed up their dolls in their new clothes.

 Evelyn made me a bouquet or roses that won't wilt. Melanie had to help her, as her first effort was not going as planned, so together they got the job done, with a different design.

 Definitely have to try out that shuffleboard!

 New books have to be enjoyed.

 And we have snow! This is not normal for early December, so we certainly enjoyed it~

 It was dep enough to go sliding

 So the kids made a run along the side of the driveway like they did last year.

 And the ice is about ready for skating!!

 Testing his creation, or rather, practicing and honing his skill!