While the months of January and February aren't my favorite, there was still a lot of joy, learning, and good times to be remembered.
Tanner decided to shave off his beard and Chet felt like this stage of the shave made him look like a pirate and insisted on taking a picture.
Austin had a pretty good wreck while sledding and ended up with a scraped up forehead, black eye and scraped elbow. He handled it like a champ though.
Eliza still loves all her dolls and asked me to take a picture with some of them
Chet had a crazy snaggle tooth that was driving Tanner and I crazy. One night we told him if it was out by bedtime we could have an ice cream party the next night. There were tears and a few panic attacks but by bedtime it was out! Chet went to the store with me the next day to pick out his ice cream and was so proud of himself.
We also had our friends the Daugherty's from WV come and visit. We had planned to meet up with them at a Great Wolf Lodge at the beginning of the pandemic but that ended up being cancelled. We were so excited that they decided to come out to spend a few days with us.
The kids played hard the whole time and had a blast together. Alice and Eliza spent most of their time playing with babies and got along so well. We got to introduce Ally and Levi to Dutch Blitz and Ally brought some of her delicious macaroons to share with us. They weren't here long enough but we were so happy to be back together for a little while.
When Mariah and Chet finished learning about the American Revolution we had a little party. The oldest three dressed up, I made meringue cookies (apparently a favorite of Thomas Jefferson), potato soup and molasses bread. I'm grateful for American Heritage Family School that motivates me to do these fun things with my kids.
And yes, Nerf guns are totally accurate to the times...
One weekend the cousins came up to visit and celebrate Annalie's birthday and we had a great time filled with sledding, snowmen and an epic igloo. Uncle Baydon and Tanner did a great job facilitating and the kids were enthusiastic helpers.
These two were so cute giggling together and spent most of their time inside the igloo.
It started to rain and the snowman couldn't hack it, but the igloo is still standing. The polar freeze we've had the past few weeks has helped.
We were more than happy to help Anni celebrate her birthday. Especially since she wanted crepes for breakfast, pizza for lunch and sushi for dinner. A whole day where I don't have to make a meal is a good day for me. Brittany made this delicious cake and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Austin made this baby carrier for Eliza and was so proud of himself. He has been much better at playing with Eliza lately and it helps a lot during school in the mornings.
One night Tanner and the boys went to a hockey game with a friend and we had a girls night. Mariah has been reading some of the Anne series and we watched the first half of Anne of Green Gables and ate ice cream. Mariah really enjoyed the movie and it was fun to introduce her to something that was a big part of my growing up.
Eliza asked me to take a picture of her and Gus and flashed this cheesy grin.
Valentines was a little different this year with no party through the homeschool group but we still tried to celebrate as a family. We made chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels and then the kids made Valentines for the neighbors and each other.
The polar freeze wasn't our favorite but we are grateful for a warm house and hardy chickens that can survive below zero temperatures for extended periods of time. Mariah and Chet were real troopers and went out morning and night to feed and check on them with very few complaints. We're making farm kids out of them after all.
