A City Life For Me

We got just enough snow this week for a sledding day.  We have been eyeing a big hill by the reservoir but never had enough snow (or not-too-frigid temps) to give it a try.  The kids did double school lessons on Tuesday in hopes of a snow day on Wednesday.  When we woke up on Wednesday they were dreadfully disappointed that there wasn't a single snowflake on the ground!  However, the snow came that afternoon and we hurried to the sledding hill Thursday morning before it all melted. Elaine Nehemiah Henry did better with Daddy than Mommy The kids spent a lot of time belly sliding down the hill!  This is Nolan... Twins race down the hill.  Liberty won because she chose the sledding path! View of our hill from the bottom Libs

We are living in the Hudson River Valley, nestled against Schunemunk Mountain State Park.  So, we have had our fair share of snow this year!  The driveway to the church where we are living is over a quarter mile long, so everytime the snow is plowed, there is a good pile of new snow for the kids to enjoy.  We recently had two forts, and a tunnel built!  The kids loved playing in the snow, and I loved being able to send them out unsupervised, since we are secluded away with no neighbors! Snow fort #2, with tunnel entrance – Nolan, Elaine, Nehemiah, and Libs Liberty exiting the tunnel, with Elaine trying to dodge Daddy’s snowball arm. The house/church where we are staying.  We live in the little “popped up” part in the center of the top.  The kids have enjoyed roaming this area in snow and sun, on foot, sled, and bike.  It has been good for us to be here, but I am definitely ready to move on! This storm on Feb 10-11 dumped us over a foot, to the deli...

On Monday we took a “snow day” from school…to play in the snow!  We drove about 40 minutes away to a small ski resort called Powderhorn,  near Mesa, CO.  The ski resort used to be located about 3 miles further, and is now called “Old Powderhorn.”  They turned the ski slope into a sledding hill!  We were a little disorganized at the beginning.  In fact, Liberty got set on a saucer, and went flying down the hill.  She hit a giant jump, and went airborne, landing flat on her face.   Ben rushed down the hill and when he got to her she sobbed, “I hurt my face!” Eventually we got into a “groove”, the kids made a friend, and we all had a wet, freezing time! The view from midway up the hill Nehemiah viewing the slope.  After the first run down, he said “I want to go to the car!”  But he pressed on and had a good time! The view of the mesas. Libs, right before the traumatic flight. Henry spent the first half of the day like this…then...

Our day started out like this... And finished up like this...   "Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all His praise?" Psalm 106:1-2  

There is a Nor'easter moving up the coast, so we decided to move our travel plans up a day.  The road from home to Ben's parents in the Berkshires (MA) is a two lane winding road, so we didn't want to drive it in 8-12 inches of snow!  Having arrived around midnight last night, we enjoyed watching the white winter wonderland develop as we made preparations for a "white Thanksgiving".  Here are a few shots from the day...   The kids couldn't wait to get outside, so Ben took them out to the parking lot to play in the snow.  He wrote their names in the snow!  I was happy to watch from the window in my PJ's and with my coffee in hand!   Giant snowman with not too much snow on the ground yet!      Waiting to get out the door!  This is the first snow storm they've really been able to play in...   She didn't seem to mind falling very much!   Everyone enjoyed playing outside for a while!   I thought she...

We got snow last week.  And it’s still on the ground!  Its been a cold week, but the kids have enjoyed the white stuff.  It was a nice wet snow, perfect for making snowmen and snow balls.  We scraped the yard pretty bare to make our snowman, but it didn’t take long before the ground was covered again! Our neighbor has a vending cart in Times Square where he sells these hats.  He gave one to each of the kids. Nolan wasn’t happy unless he had two snowballs.  He held onto them for so long that they froze to his mittens!  If he dropped one, he cried for “’nother ball, Mommy” until I made him another one! Elaine wanted to write her name in the snow.  The smile quickly faded when she realized that Nolan was standing on her “N”. I wrote Nolan’s name too, but he didn’t really care.     Catching snowflakes on their tongues!

This week we made indoor snow following these guidelines from Modern Parents Messy Kids.  The recipe just said two boxes of cornstarch and 1 can of shaving cream.  The sizes were not specified.  After a little trial & error, we did end up with some snow.  I wanted to pass some tips along to you so you can make your own snow! I used: 2 – 16 oz. boxes of corn starch 1+ – 10 oz. cans of Barbasol Original shaving cream. Here’s what we discovered… it’s really hard to mix the shaving cream into so much corn starch.  I started with all of the corn starch in my bowl, and added the shaving cream a little at a time.  Even after I thought it was mixed well, and divided it between the kids, I still had to add more shaving cream to each of their piles. It would be best to mix the shaving cream into 1 box of corn starch at a time.  It will probably take closer to 3/4 can of shaving cream.  Maybe I bought the jumbo boxes of cornstarch? ...