Winter comes to our house

It's been one year since we moved to Virgina; we had our Virginia-versary last week. Then, ironically, we had a do-over of our MLK week from last year: a rash of back-to-back snow days. The way it worked last year was this:
We arrived at the house last January on Wednesday. We unpacked and got organized from then through the following Monday, which was MLK Day. Then the kids started school - first day! - on Tuesday. Big news. But short-lived… because Wed, Thurs, and Fri were all snow days. So their 4-day school week turned into a 1-day school week, and we basically had to have a do-over first-day-of-school the following week.

It was hard. The whole first half of the year was hard, but the start - what I've been remembering so much this week - was hard too. We knew no one. Our house and household were barely functional; mess and chaos were pervasive. We had no outlets or community or routine.

I've thought so much about it, because this time around has been so different. So very much better. Such irony that on exactly the same holiday, the circumstances have been so nearly identical one year later. Tuesday it began snowing around 1 pm; school had already been canceled (of course). It snowed 3 inches before midnight. But school has been canceled ever since. They don't really plough here - not much anyway - and there are so many dirt roads. Little has melted due to below-freezing temps. Result: 3 inches of snow, and 4 days off of school. (Schools are still closed today, because there's too much ice on the country roads for buses to run.) 

Our homeschool-hybrid follows the town for weather-related closures, so our kids have had the whole week off "school" too. But this time it's been fine. Wednesday we had some local friends over for 4 or 5 hours (two boys 10 and 12, and a 4-year-old girl). Thursday Monkey went over to his fellow cub scout friend's house for the day, and Roo and Goose visited other friends' girls for the afternoon while Mouse napped and I worked. And this morning we had our homeschool co-op, so it was a normal Friday.

I am so thankful. So thankful to have a life and enough contacts and community now to not feel stranded and isolated. So thankful to have a house that "works" and feels cosy and home-like. So thankful for the difference a year can make.

And of course -- the snow has been nice. Beautiful and somewhat fun - though it's been too powdery to build anything (snowmen or snowballs), and too shallow to dig into much. We don't have sleds, and they sold out fast in town, so we didn't do much of that. It's also been so darn cold outside that the young set doesn't last out there very long anyway.

Some wintry pics:

Pinewood derby!

Every year the cub scouts do this thing called the Pinewood Derby, a first for me but something HF grew up doing annually when he was a cub. Each kid receives a small wooden car which they design, sand-down (as they may wish), paint, and assemble. Then they gather and race the cars against their fellow scouts among the pack. The name of the game is weight and shape: the cars with the best aerodynamics and are best weighted - up to the pre-designated weight limit - have the best chance of winning. 

The monkey worked hard on his car - with extensive coaching and assistance by HF of course - and ended up with something he called the "duck-mobile," really a very cool car. This morning was the race, and his car did very well. Each heat entailed four cars racing, and the duck-mobile came in second in most races and first in one. Overall his was probably in the top ten of the thirty or so cars that participated. And - big news - it was voted the top contender in the "nature" design category! Beating out two other contenders.

All in all a very cool and fun process - and morning, watching the races. Go monkey and duck-mobile. Well-played.

A January week

"Reentry" last week, which was a bit more intense than we'd anticipated. Two weeks off with lots of activity and family visits in the middle of it left people taxed and out of rhythm, and I wasn't quite prepared for the intensity of "back to"life. School, scouts, gymnastic-dance, Little Flowers girls club, homeschool co-op - the works. Plus it was crazy cold for these parts (they canceled public school - though not ours - two days for 'extreme conditions'! But then yesterday was 55.). Birthday party for the past two weekends… so nice to finally have been here long enough and have sufficient connections to be invited to some of these now.

[Whew!]

A few shots of daily life around here...

"Hard knock" life for Mouse - been listening to a lot of Annie, so it's apt

Roo with craft and coloring at her Little Flowers group

Goose playing a Lego game at a birthday party

Train play during 4's class at homeschool co-op

Big birthdays and such

HF and my sister are basically the same exact age; they were born three days apart. HF's is in the final few days of the year and Katie's is right at the start of the new year. We decided to do a little something to commemorate since this year was a big one (ahem). My sister and her family drove up from AL two days after Christmas to join us. Also my parents - who had spent Christmas with them in AL this year - flew in, as did my brother, his wife, and their three-year-old son Sam. [Their six-month old twins stayed in MA with their grandparents.] Super fun to have the gang all here, and the weather cooperated beautifully.

Uncle Robbie leading his son Sam on the zip-line

First ever farm tractor ride! Uncle Mac pulled the trailer

A few DC-area friends and family members joined us to celebrate

Wahoo!

Everyone except Katie and her family left at the end of the weekend, but we got to enjoy three more days with them before they headed back to AL the day after New Years. Busy, fun crew: Katie and Adam have three girls (youngest Eliza is 8 months old) and are expecting a fourth in March. Great times - games; hike in a local state park; swim in the YMCA pool; trip to Chick-Fil-A and more pizza oven action. Something for everyone!

Roo bonding with her bestie fellow-6-year-old cousin Caroline

The last four days have been spent cleaning up house and life, doing year-end stuff for 2013, and sorting out plans and basics for 2014. Kids start back with schooling this week, and routine will once again come to the fore. Thankfully we have all been healthy now - even me! for the past week plus. Phew!

We got two inches of snow on Thursday night which resulted in jubilation by the kids, especially Monkey. HF pulled out the snowboards and helped the oldest two figure out how to use them (note the grass showing through the thin snow layer). They were naturals like their old man….