Second half of January

 We enjoyed some time with my brother. It was really nice to connect. The kids loved it too, learning lots of random facts during the visit. 

 A robot game that involves computer programming skills. Dad can help with that!!

 Memory in the bedroom.

 Daniel the pirate with his homemade robot. (they make for an interesting pair!

 Evelyn has been working hard at reading, and moved into chapter books.

 So it was time to get her her own Bible! And she was ready for it. :)

 We hosted the daughter of a friend for a couple of days, so her parents could enjoy a brief getaway. There were enough players to satisfy her desire to play many rounds of her favourite board game.

 I invested in a grow light this year. I always have lots of plants sprouting by the end of spring, and this way I could try be a bit more successful with a few fussier ones.

 Grow little flowers, grow! (only a few special plant started as early as Jan)

 Ice fishing

 See any seals in there?

 Melanie bundled up a sled full of seal blubber

 Almost packed up and ready to go.

 Nathan putting in some hours to get the ice back up to snuff. Skating is where it is at, none of this "playing house" for him!

 Jennifer busy with her own thing (while Matthew and Evelyn went off trying random hills in the back of the property.)

 The ice is ready!!

 A rowdy game of hockey is the result

 I stayed out of it this year, can't handle all the competitiveness!

 Oooh, look at the cute little flowers all coming up!

Evelyn trying out a "jet engine" from the engineering book.

First half of January

 January was a pretty uneventful month. We did a lot of school work. Housework, piano practice, a bit of skating (at home and with the homeschool group) and a bunch of play.

 Jennifer reading on the "kindle".

 Matthew making tacos for Saturday dinner.

 Lego (aka, toys all over the floor)

 Comics

 Peanut gallery

 Model in training :p

 Old lady knitting :p

The ice of our rink was in pretty good shape at the beginning of the month. So we the kids made sure to use it!

Lots of snow had to be cleared though. So nice to have snow and ice!!

 It is nice when there are eager helpers to clear off the ice. They are harder to find later in the year!

 Jennifer and Evelyn like to lounge around when I read to them.

 And Daniel (who is supposed to be doing his own work) comes "sneaking" in to enjoy the stories too.

 More winter

More lounging

 more of the same

 I actually took two pictures of our skating outings!! This one is of the hockey side of the rink. All the kids except Evelyn tried joining the hockey, and most of them did it most of the time.

 Melanie making something out of Lego is a bit unusual. So I took a picture. For posterity.

 Daniel making "sausage sauce" for dinner.

 More Lego (aka more toys all over the floor)

 more of the same

 A classic Nathan smirk to his mother's attempt at a witty remark.

 The hard working math student.

 Evelyn making rice krispie squares.

 Nathan's tank. It was hard to find enough camouflage pieces, and getting the track to turn (he didn't have enough of some piece to get it perfect....he speculated it was due to younger siblings' neglect of cleaning up Lego off of the floors everywhere. But it turned out despite all that, drives (even over uneven terrain) rotates, etc. Fortunately it does not shoot. :)

 Daniel worked on a background scene for a play/game with Evelyn's help. Very impressive, and they had fun with it.

Evelyn the Mom, not sure why she needs such a fancy head covering, but it seems to keep her baby happy. :)

2020!

 We left the chickens for the overnighter. Checked and double checked they were safe. Arranged for someone to give them fresh water (it would freeze overnight, for sure!) and hoped for the best. They didn't get their fresh water so when we arrived home in the dark the next night I held a flashlight up and watered them in the dark, poor things! Good thing it was only one night!!

 All packed up and ready to go! Very excited kids are eager to go.

 Some hours were spent in front of the screen

Evelyn brought her new pillow craft and let her friends help her put it together.

We brought some board games and the kids had fun with that.

It was a real treat to be hosted. We were spoiled with lots of delicious food, and it was a whole new experience for the kids, as a sleepover event is a rarity for us. What a great way to roll in the new year!