waterfalls and footballs

The days are getting noticeably longer and we are finding some time in the indoor schedules to sneak outside and promote some vitamin D. Friday night was rainy and we headed to the mall and some other errands including crickets for Mitch.  While Ella and Amy shopped Grace and I headed out in search of a new purse.  We are quick or maybe efficient but either way we were back in about 8 minutes with a new purse for Grace.  It has a big G on it and she checked the cargo capacity "to make sure she has enough room in case she gets diabetes"  She said it so matter o factly and seriously that I could barely contain my smile. Merrick had an early morning piano competition and Sophia an early soccer game before they headed out of town.  Grace left early Saturday morning and didn't return until Sunday off with a friend at a basketball tournament followed by a sleep over.  Ella too headed over to a friends house for a surprise birthday party so Amy and I had a surprise night alone too.  We hit the reforestation camp for some skiing and then a stop at our favorite sushi bar.  Sunday with the girls back home we headed out for a late afternoon hike near the house.  Crossing the frozen stream and down the ancient sedimentary rock ledges we were able to sit behind the frozen waterfall and listen to the persistence of nature at is still slowed within the frozen wall of ice.  We eventually returned home to a meal of rainbow trout sans the heads and a little Superbowl Sunday entertainment.  Ella and I made it to through the regulation time but when it hit overtime it was Ella alone that stayed up to watch her Patriots win the ring.

Winter Wetlands

With a wintery but wet forecast and temps in the low forties we packed up the family truckster and headed north to the cabin.  It was the kind of winter wet that soaked your boots and gloves but didn't really make you cold or even uncomfortable.  More late March than mid-January.  We were fortunate to be invited back and have no major mishaps to report this year.  There was plenty of wonderful conversation around the fire and always plenty of food.  Filling both the mind and belly.  Sophia did have a puker, but it seems her belly can't handle a weekend of sugary foods and no limits.  Fortunately she rebounds quickly.  The kids spent some crazy amount of hours with the monopoly board to dry out after an afternoon in the snow.  We headed into the woods aways to build snowmen, but that quickly turned into a snowball fight.  The snow men did not last long.  The plan was to put a 2 pound tannerite explosive into the largest snow man, but sadly after several rounds it did not explode as planned.  It still gave everyone plenty of shooting opportunities.

Charged for Dinner

Basketball season is in full swing and and Grace's first tournament was plenty exciting.  They dominated their second game and easily won, but the first game went into 3 overtimes before ending in a tie.  That same day Sophia played her first indoor soccer of the season and they too won although they were down by one with under two minutes to play.  They scored a goal from behind the midfield line, which apparently counts as 2 points, to win the game.  Fast paced games for both of them and a great way to spend a Saturday when the weather outside is more sloppy spring than it is snow covered winter.  The weeks are busy but we do our best to have sit down family meals every night.  At least once a week and if we are lucky enough to have the a clear schedule the meals turn into postprandial conversations with a variety of topics.  At one point this week the topic of batteries came up and it became apparent that only Merrick and I had licked batteries, maybe it is testosterone poisoning caused by the Y chromosome but by the end of the meal is was still only Merrick and I that put terminals to tongue.  Ella retorted, "that is why women live longer than men."

And That's a Wrap

The holiday season has come to an end and the kids went out with a bang.  They all had friends sleep over on the new year and I think it was eleven kids in all.  Eleven kids and no incidents to report, is a great way to start the new year!  The Christmas season came and went the Ella and Grace were up early and searching for the pickle.  We had a big breakfast and awaited the other twos arrival.  With the gift wrapping cleaned up we pilled into the truck and headed to TR to gather with the family.  Good cheer was had by all.  The Winter break was heavy on relaxation and recharging, just as it should be.

'Tis the Season!

The tree was decorated with care and the house smells like cinnamon and spruce.  The Yule is here.  Grace and Merrick have been keeping up with their music lessons and have a pretty good duet of jingle bells.  Grace had her Christmas sing at she was up on stage dancing behind a costumed snow man.  We made plenty of Christmas snacks and a new type that has rolled and crushed oreos in the center.  The cut out cookies are glazed and decorated and the kids have gotten much more detailed in their ability.  Each of the cookies looks much less like an impressionist painting and we are entering into the realist movement.  Ella had her band concert too and has adjusted to the clarinet braces combo and is looking forward to playing in the jazz band again.  We spent the weekend back with the Eau Claire Christmas clan.  We hit all the greatgrandparents and the apparent theme was to look through all their closets and back bedrooms.  The kids got a kick out of finding all the stuff that hadnt seen light in a few decades.

Sophia's Opener

Sophia made it to deer camp!  She had been putting it off for a few years but with the warm fall and an enjoyable youth hunt she decided to grace us with her presence.  The Friday before was shirtsleeve or shirtless weather while putting up the tent.  We dressed light and still worked up a sweat putting up the blind in the late afternoon.  By 6 pm the temperature had dropped almost thirty degrees and brought freezing rain along with the cold front.  We woke early on Saturday to fresh ice cover and snow but we stayed mostly warm in our little blind.  We hunted until the mid morning and then made a quick run back to town for supplies and a newspaper for Grandprize.  Getting him the paper seemed only far seeing as how we had spooked him by walking up behind him in the fierce winds and made him roll out of his chair when we broke a branch six feet behind him.  We warmed up in the car and ate lunch back at the tent.  I wasn't able to coax Sophia back into the woods.  She did think maybe she would walk back out to the blind after hanging out in Evan in the tent.  Evan made it back to the woods with about 40 minutes of light left and Sophia just made cookies and hung out.  The evening played out as it often does, we sang the old songs and Sophia was able to share her first deer camp poem.  At some point Grandprize even convinced her that she should use her gutting knife to give him a haircut.  Given that she had already used a sharpie to make a jack o lantern on his orange shirt, the hair cut It looked alright and maybe completed the look.  We were back in the woods early Sunday, the wind died down but it was still pretty cold and we packed up the blind and the season in the late morning.

I vote for family time!

It isn't always fun and games in the woods, we do make the kids get their homework done too.  Most evenings the counters are filled with the normal barrage of slips to be signed and upcoming projects that need to be worked on.  Fortunately to our knowledge all of the projects thus far have had at least 48 hours of parental notice rather than the parental fear of eight thirty on a Sunday night..."I have a project due tomorrow" conversation.  Ella and Sophia found Pintrest and it has changed their lives.  The weather has again been so warm for early November that this melted crayon project could be done outside.  Hot glue guns and hair dryers, extension cords and blown breakers but in the end they had some new art work to hang in their rooms.  The election season caught the kids it is circus-like atmosphere watching the debates and discussion the daily happenings at the dinner table.  On election night we headed to a burger bar to watch the election night returns.  It was a late night for a school night and we didnt stay until it was officially called but it was still a great experience to have them so interested in the process as well as decent discussions on the varying policies held by each candidate.