Wisconsin Winter Day.

Ah, the sun! Just in time for our sledding outing, the sun returned. Cold but bright blue sky and glorious rays. We visited farm friends who live near a rural sledding hill ... and a big one at that! The sun and cold after a week of crazy weather meant that the hill was pretty icy. Before we even could start sledding, one girl was launched out into the middle of the highway at high speed. A few minutes later another girl shot off into the woods and hit a tree *head* on. Her shrieks could be heard all the way at the bottom of the long steep hill. But, the boys wanted to do it. After that intro, though, they were relieved that we brought helmets for them...they could come down pretty fast without being too scared (although it was icy fast and they were a bit intimidated). The trick was to dig in the heels 2/3 of the way down to slow down and stop before being launched into the street at something like 35 miles per hour. We stood at the bottom to jump and catch the kids before the road if their heel brakes or the ROLL OFF THE SLED NOW!!! didn't work. They figured it all out after a run or two. Needless to say, the kids had a blast, and I didn't get any photos of everyone sledding. ;)


After a fun but exhausting hour or so of sledding (that is a long hike up!), we went back to our friends for some hot cocoa and play time. From there we stopped by one of our favorite cafes for an afternoon snack and a game of chess.


After a full day spent enjoying the winter weather, we headed home. The snow in the fields was so shiny it looked more like waves than frozen fields. So beautiful. Tired boys, good day.

Happy Winter!

Whirlwind.

Wow! While we have had plenty of time to cozy up to read, play, and craft, we have also had lots of family and visitors.


We've been making, building, decorating, creating, and baking...


A lot of baking...


Of course lots of playing with all the holiday goodies.


With lots of time for music - playing, singing, drumming, dancing.


This time of year is a whirlwind, and we are looking forward to January to center ourselves at home, and work on all of our projects we saved for those coldest of winter days.



Can't wait to share!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

Holiday Tradition.

I am always amazed to see how different these two boys are - who spend every moment together, enjoy many of the same toys, and are close in age. A is a big fan of model trains. Even when he was 3 years old he had already memorized all of the different types of engines, passenger cars, freight cars, all of the different motors and rail types. He reads model railroad magazines and books. He visits train shows whenever he can. He LOVES them. Every winter we visit the holiday model train show put on by the botanical garden. It is a small exhibit, but A can watch for an hour without even blinking.


G, on the other hand, enjoys them...but, ya know, no biggie. He tolerates train shows and enjoys the first 1.2 minutes, but after that he is ready to GO!!!! Or, perhaps, see how riled up he can get his brother. Because, HEY, don't they have SUGAR COOKIES in the lobby? ;)


This year the tradition continues...

Photos of the Day...Saturdays.

We took a break this afternoon from our crafting, baking, cooking and other holiday busy-ness, and wandered a bit. Warm cider, cookies and a game of chess at a cozy cafe. Shopping in a small town (yarn store!). Watching snowboarders at a local ski hill (in preparation for their snowboarding class soon).




Ahhhh.

crafty days.

The boys craftiness lately ebbs and flows. I have noticed that they are interested now in tradition - doing what we do every year, just so. So now that the holiday season is upon us, they have been crafting away - in between their other projects that have been keeping them away from the glue, of course. ;)


They have made ornaments, stamped clay,


painted and decorated all kinds of things,


iced and assembled - both from scratch and from a kit they picked up along the way.


They have made gifts, cards, baked goodies, knit and more. And we have many things still to make on our list.


I love that they enjoy the tradition of making gifts, crafting, and baking in the kitchen, and that those are the things that make them feel at home and in the spirit of the season.


While they may have opened every single window in their solstice calendar in the first week, the crafting has been going on daily - so our countdown is being measured in activities, not chocolates. And with many days to come, I'm looking forward to it all!