Not so warm homecoming.

We had a very long drive home after Christmas and pulled into the driveway at 8 PM to find out the house did not have electricity.  We were the only house around that didn't have power.  In this house that also means no water since we have a well, and no heat.  My thoughts of doing some laundry and running to the store for food ended quickly.

The house never got too cold, the coldest it got was 54 degrees, so we bundled up and called the power company.  The guy who showed up couldn't help and said a different crew would be by later.  Later happened to be the next day, when it was snowing.

 Apparently the people who installed the new fence right before we moved in put a footing on top of the buried electric line.  It just took a lot of rain, 7 months, and some freezing temperatures before it shorted out. 

We figured we were only without power for about 24 hours, (the ice cream in the freezer was still solid)  So it wasn't too bad, it was just not the way we planned on coming home.

Christmas 2012 part 2

We did spend Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa and the family in Mass, again this year there was not much snow, but we had lots of rain and lots of fun.

Hanging out with Grandpa and using snap-circuits.

 Ice skating with Aunt Ruth and the cousins- This is one of Aunt Ruths typical expressions.  It make me smile.

 Buddy loves the ice and has picked up a lot of speed.  He loves it.

 The girls however loved skating with Mrs. Claus, this was after she handed out candy canes.

 These 2 girls had to be together the whole day.  They are a year apart in age and almost exactly the same size.  They could be twins.

 We had all 3 kids sleeping in one room, we were never sure where they would be when we checked on them.  These 2 slept together more than once.

 We did go on a short and VERY COLD hike one sunny morning.  Boots would have been better than shoes.  We turned around pretty quick.

 The ice on the canal was pretty.

 Buddy got a chance to go play hockey with Uncle Scott.  He loved it and had to put on a lot of gear.

 In this picture #87 is his 9-yr old cousin. He has been playing hockey for years.

 He shoots, He SCORES!

Thank you Uncle Scott!

Christmas 2012

We celebrated family Christmas early this year again.  My kids kind of expect it and love it. I didn't take many pictures, partly because Princess got a Kindle Fire, and pictures of a kid staring at a pad are not exciting.   Buddy got a new bow, so stay tuned for pictures if him at the range.

 

  We got Scout a tent and a table and chairs.  His tent is a little bigger than I planned, but he loves it.   It is set up permanently in his room and he hides in there a lot.

 

Of course every toddlers favorite part... the wrapping paper.

He loves his little table and chairs.  They are set up in the dining room and he loves it.

 

 Plus there is room for a brother to eat breakfast.

 

 Munchkin got Lincoln logs so now with 2 sets they build lots. - Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.

Munchkin turns 5!!

How is it that Munchkin is 5?  She was just a little baby when I started this blog.  The day of her little family party she (and some siblings) were sick so we cancelled it, but she still had cupcakes and ice cream at home.

 This guy was making us laugh.  He didn't want to use his hands and ate his entire cupcake without them.

 Munchkin's creative side is coming through.  I know this picture is fuzzy, but she took it and it is of the signs she made for her store/restaurant.  It had pictures of the stuff she sold and she spent a few hours playing store.  It was fun.

 

Gingerbread houses

Sometimes we make gingerbread houses at home. This year one of the familys at school had a huge party and decorated houses.  There was lots of people and every kid got to decorate their own house.  Buddy had a scout event, but the girls and I had lots of fun and ate lots of sugar.

 

There were about 80 houses decorated that day.  Lots of fun for the kids and parents. The host family used it as a fundraiser for a charity that I completely can't remember the name of right now.  I thought it was a great idea.

Teacher Gifts 2012

This year the teacher (and neighbor)  gifts were bags filled with 6 different types of cookies.  I had fun making little bags.  The day spent making cookies was fun too, but not as much fun for me. The teachers loved them, I think partially because I gave them out a full week before the last day of school, so they were not overwhelmed with stuff on the last day of school before break.

 Each is different and they are fully lined, usually with the accent fabric. They can be folded over to stand up. 

 

This is the only Christmas themed bag, the print says NOEL.

Achery is for girls too

It is cold enough that we have moved to shooting at the indoor range.  It is heated and we can go anytime.  The girls like to shoot too. Princess needs to work on her form a little. 

 Buddy has better form and usually has better results. He uses the kids bow and my bow. (he got his own for Christmas)

 Munchkin is doing better, but is not quite strong enough to pull the bow by herself.  We try to spend time with her and let her shoot a little too.

Reading the Paper

Someone was trying to read the comics like the big people in the house when he got tackled by a big brother.

The big brother just wanted the Nook to play games.

Cub Scouts Hike

Buddy is a Tiger Scout this year, and of course Daddy is the den leader, so the family has been to a lot of scouting events.  We even went hiking on a very chilly rainy day. The boys and siblings still had lots of fun. 

My cool Cub Scout in his uniform for a picture.  He does not usually like his picture taken, this was no exception.

 

Hiking in the fall/winter can still be lots of fun and pretty in its own way.

 Once in a while we let him out of the carrier and he gets to walk.  Don't be fooled, it didn't last long.

 It is even tough to see the other side of the river.

 Then the kids did some leaf rubbings, because with scouts you can never just do one thing. 

Aprons

I really think aprons are cute.  However I rarely wear one. I typically cookwith a dishcloth on my shoulder, but no apron.  The kids however wear their aprons most of the time when we bake.  I have a collection of kids aprons. This is only some of them (The ones without kids names)

This is my first apron from when I was little, I believe my aunt made it for me.  It is threadbare but still cool. My sister copied this pattern and Princes has one similar with her name on it.
 (yes, I still keep it even though my name is spelled wrong.)

This is mine from when I was a little older, my mom made it for me when I outgrew the 1st one.  Princess wears this one lately.

 

 

 This is Buddy's apron that my mom made for him.  Of course it had to be camo.

 This is one my mom made for Munchkin. 

 This is one I made for my niece.  Actually I made 2 of these, one for my gift closet and one I added my nieces name on it and it was part of her Christmas present.  I was temped to make one with ruffles, but eventually decided simple was better and easier.

Christmas baking 2012

It wouldn't be Christmas without lots of baking and cooking and little helpers licking the fork.

He climbed up by himself and picked up this fork when I was in the other room.  He is a smart little guy.