The Big Snow, #1

At the end of February we had two big snows in less than a week, the first one was about 14 inches or so, and the second one was about 7-8 inches.  We have never had this much snow before!  What a winter wonderland!  Both times we were snowed in for a day or two until the snow plows made it to our area.  So we got lots and lots of playtime in the snow.  This first batch of pictures were taken at the end of the first giant snowstorm.

Dominic uncovered a buried toy lawnmower.

Joseph investigated one of the many snow drifts.

Anne.

The pile of snow from Dan shoveling the driveway.

Anne and her snowmen.

Dan got out on the tractor to try to pack some of the snow down on the road.  He does not have a snow plow attachment, but it helped to just drive over it.

The twins helped pack down some snow in Daddy's truck, to weigh it down for safe travelling.

Anthony was glad of some tractor tracks to walk through.  He really had a hard time walking in the snow otherwise.

Dominic made a deep snow angel.

Anthony insisted upon going sledding, and every couple of feet he would fall down trying to get out to the hill.  I ended up dragging him out there on the sled, pushing him down the hill once, then dragging him back.

Snow mittens!

And afterwards we drank hot chocolate and ate freshly baked cookies, while we made snow ice cream.

The Anniversary Celebration

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary in February with a night away.  We chose to do this a couple of weeks ahead of time, since our anniversary was during Lent this year.  Dan's brother and his wife graciously kept all of our kids overnight for us.  This was a first for us in 10 years!   It was hard to choose a restaurant at which to eat dinner.  The first criteria was finding a place where we would never take the kids!  We decided to try the Chapada Chophouse and Churrascaria.  We had never been there before, which was also a plus.

The Churrascaria is an all-you-can-eat experience where the gauchos come to your table with all sorts of delicious, slow-roasted meats which they slice off for you right there.

Here is one of the gauchos slicing off pineapple.  They give you little tongs to grab the food as it is sliced off.  It was all so yummy!

Later in the evening, we went to Barnes and Nobles and drank some cappuccinos, then wandered around looking at books.  We found one on raising chickens that was full of pictures, good for the whole family to read.  Finally, we stopped at one of those self-serve frozen yogurt places near our hotel, which was near our hotel.  What a fun evening!

We stayed at the Homewood Suites by Hilton, at the Waterfront.  It was a very nice hotel.

We brought champagne!

 
The next morning we had a wonderful complimentary breakfast at the hotel.  The food was excellent.  After that we drove downtown and ended up at the Spice Merchant, where we bought some loose-leaf tea, as well as some fresh-roasted coffee beans.  That is definitely a place we would never take kids!  After that, we went to Bradley Fair and walked around, going into a few shops. 

We had a late lunch at Il Vicino, where we often ate while we were dating, though at a different location.  The pizza was not as exotic as I remembered, after all of our pizza-making!

 We almost called Dan's brother to say we just couldn't make it to pick up the kids til the next day,  but we didn't.  :)  They were happy to see us.  If you are wondering if I mean the kids or Dan's brother and his wife,  probably both!  A big thank you to them for making our night out possible!

On our actual anniversary date, we celebrated with wine and cheese after the kids went to bed.

We also looked through our wedding photos.  Happy 10 years to us!

Adventures In Chickens, Part III

In February, Dan worked on the outdoor chicken pen. 

Putting up the frame.

Digging a hole to put chicken wire down so as to foil any digging predators.

Dominic and Joseph.  The chicken coop doors are finished.  Dan was able to use leftover material from the shed for the front of the coop.

The chicken pen door has a flap you can unlatch to give the chickens vegetable scraps.

The brooder box has been built, we are ready for the chicks!

Art Class!

This semester, the three oldest kids have been taking an art class.  A real art class, where you learn about different art techniques by trying them out.  They have been enjoying it.  These pictures are from early February, when we had a St. Valentine's party after class.  We had it early to avoid Lent.

Busy working in art class.

The age range is 6 to about 16!  The teacher handles them all with ease.

Okay, Mom, when does this party start?

Anthony kept wanting me to take his picture, so I did.

One way to amuse a toddler while waiting on big brother and sisters.

Joseph drew some pictures.

Finally it was time for the party!

Each kid had decorated a sack or box to hold their valentines.  Siblings got to participate as well.

Oh, they had so much fun putting in valentines and then opening up their sacks to see what they got!

Can't have a St. Valentine's party without treats!

Eating the good stuff!

Adventures In Chickens, Part II

These pictures are from January, as Dan continued to work on the chicken coop in his spare time.

The east wall.

Now with a hole cut out for a window!

The south wall with its new window.

Two windows for the chicken coop!

Looking out at the kids.

Anthony and Cloudy.

Anne inside the coop.  Note the finished roosting boxes there on the west wall.

Joseph.

Here is what the kids liked to do when they weren't allowed inside the coop while building was going on.

Adventures In Chickens, Part I

On the south side of our big shed, there were two horse stalls.  Dan decided to convert one of them into a chicken coop.  This project was started in November. 

After pouring some concrete at the base, Dan built a wall between the stalls.  There's Anthony, Daddy's little shadow.

Looking inside the coop area.

Dan continued working on the coop into December.  As you can see, this was a warm day:

The side wall is finished and now Dan is working on the front wall.

At this point Dan had started building roosting boxes on the side wall, with a door in the wall so we can collect eggs without actually going inside the coop.  That was smart, wasn't it?

Daddy's helpers looking on.

The front wall finished, now Dan worked on the doors.