Trick or Treat???

 I call this a trick.  18 inches of snow fell on October 29th.  Though we are used to crazy weather and temperature changes here in the northeast this was new for me.  I have never seen this much snow before Halloween and I wasn't really thrilled about it because it potentially could stick around until April.  Winters around here are long enough!  The temperature has warmed up the past few days and we have seen a lot of it melt but it still looks so strange to have so many leaves still on the trees and
the ground still blanketed in white.  Despite all the heavy wet snow we didn't lose electricity, only our internet service for a chunk of the day-no big deal as we were busy clearing snow for most of the morning!

 The charcoal grill resembled a giant marshmallow.

Tuukka seemed to be the most excited about the snow, bounding around and burying his head in it.  It was such a heavy, wet snow though that it stuck to his long fur and he came in walking funny as huge snowballs had accumulated all over his belly!  They weren't easy to get off either!

Suprisingly the girls weren't that excited to hear about the impending snowstorm, but that might have come from them hearing us talk and being less than thrilled as we rushed around the morning before the storm getting last minute winterizing done earlier than we anticipated.
Of course waking up and seeing all the snow they were as suprised as us at the amount and how stranged it looked to have that much snow and still have leaves on the trees.  It wasn't long before they were clamoring for me to get their snow gear out so they could go play in the snow.

Luckily we got our trick or treating in before the storm.  It was cold but fun!

And last but not least the dogs got a little Halloween action too with their bandanas that I got at Disney last year.  Getting them to sit next to each other was not easy but at least Tuukka smiled for the camera!

Mr. Snow Bunny

Mother Nature played a trick on us on April Fools day by dropping about 8-9 inches of heavy wet snow on us. Despite the fact that the kids will have to make up another day of school and by this time of year we are more than ready for the snow to be gone, we had one of the most fun snow days ever. The kids spent hours and hours outside playing in the snow and I got in on the fun by encouraging them to build a snow bunny with me. The kids lasted all of five minutes making the snow bunny before they took off on their own adventures. So I finished the bunny on my own and was able to coax the kids into taking a picture with Mr. Snow Bunny who I think came out super cute.

That evening we headed over to our friends the Beikmans, and had a bonfire and s'mores which was a great way to end a fun day!

First Snow

Saturday we got our first real snow of the season. It definitely made it feel more like Christmas. As soon as the ground was covered the girls wanted to got out and play in it.

This is the "I've got a snowball and I'm not afraid to use it" face.

Kenzie tasting the snow. Just watch out for the yellow stuff.

And here is Boomer who loves the snow too. That is not an orange he is eating. It is one of those mini pumpkin gourds. We threw then into the woods and guess who found one. Apparently they make a good snow day snack.

A Walk in the Woods

Over the weekend we took a little walk out into the woods. It had been awhile since we had walked down to the river, since before the ice storm in fact, and we were curious as to wether there were any down trees or anything that would need to be removed from the trail.

As is often the case when Dom and I suggest a walk to the river the girls put up resistence, once we get them out there we ususally meet with resisitance getting them back. This time was no different at least for Becca. It took a ton of coaxing to get her out there and then she didn't want to come back. And as for Kenzie she really is not a big fan of the cold but in short bursts she does okay. It is a given that she is the first one that wants to come in. But she and Boomer kept us amused in the meantime.

Here Kenzie practices her balancing.

And down she goes, narrowly missing getting run over by Boomer.

Undeterred she continues to climb on the downed tree and gets stuck.


Still stuck. Please notice that is her sisters leg in the lower left and she is offering no assistance just giggling at her. Wonder where she gets that, not that I was standing there giggling and taking pictures. Daddy ultimately came to the rescue.

Becca was very busy gathering sticks and leaves for some great imaginary adventure.

Dom the snow Ninja.

Boomer playing his favorite winter game, steal the mitten.

And here is the famous "I'm freezing" face.

Free Snow- take all you want!!

So according to the news we have the most snow in a season in 134 years with 115.2 inches. That means that there are people who have lived their whole life and never seen this much snow. How lucky are we to be experiencing such a phenomenon?? I have no idea, but lucky probably isn't what most people are thinking since it is almost April and we have snow measured in feet still sitting in our yard.

For all of you not "lucky" enough to have had this experience let me share some pictures of what record breaking snow fall looks like...

And because we can't do anything about all the snow the best we can do is try to enjoy it the best way we can as Dom demonstrates here.....

Now this is what you call ice cold beer!

Another snow day.

Yesterday we woke up to this:
Which then turned to sleet and freezing rain like this:

Which built up on the powerlines like this:

Which means we spent the evening like this:

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

We had our first big snowstorm of the season today, actual it is still snowing. We probably have close to ten inches. There was of course no school so we spent the day playing in the snow, watching Christmas movies, drinking hot cocoa and eating chocolate chip cookies. What better way to spend a snow day?? We did some snowshoeing too.

We have close to 14 acres of land behind our house and way down in the back is a river. The land was logged long before we ever bought it and many of the downed trees are still in the way making walking kinda rough. Because of this we haven't done much exploring back there. This fall Dom took on the huge task of creating a trail to the river which he just finished a week ago. Yesterday we took a walk out to the river before the snow and today we did it again in the snow. It was fun. We all used our snowshoes though the girls abandoned theirs about half way through the walk and alternately walked and rode in the sled. It was pretty fun though Boomer was an absolute pain in the butt!! Boomers favorite winter activities are "steal the mitten", "Knock the kids in the snow" and " sled tug 'o war". All of them are kinda funny the first time. By the fifteenth time it's not funny.

It is still hunting season so that is the reason for the very fashionable bright orange.

First Snow

We got our first snow of the season yesterday. Not a lot, maybe an inch, but enough that Becca couldn't wait to get outside in it once I picked her up from school. Kenzie was excited to see the snow and wanted to know how many days until Christmas. She had no desire to go out and play in it though.

Snow Day!

It's snowing again. No school today. It is really coming down hard and has been for several hours now. It is supposed to last most of the day but at some point turn to sleet. I think we are supposed to get 6-10 inches depending on if it turns to sleet or not. We already have about four and it is only 9:30 in the morning. Picture is not so great( Boomer was jumping on me and trying to chew on my boot!) I will try to post more later or tomorrow when we go out to play in it.

Snow Fun!

It's school vacation week and we finally got weather warm enough to play outside in the snow. The temps were close to 40 degrees which felt warm after having wind chills below zero. We we

went sledding, built a snowman and just had fun!

Of course no day of sledding would be complete without warming up to a hot cup of cocoa or a plate of waffles if your Kenzie. Kenzie doesn't like hot cocoa or chocolate milk but she likes pancakes and waffles and that's what she likes when she comes in from the cold! No, I don't make them from scratch. Good ol' Eggos or Aunt Jemima will do just fine.