Congrats to Mrs Oliver and Fun in the Snow

A quick week for the A^4 with lots of fun outside.  We hope that everyone is doing well and making time to RELAX!!! 

On January 15th, Amy found out that our friend, Mrs Beverly Oliver, is the 2022 recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr Unsung Hero Award, from Syracuse University. The University has honored MLK Jr for 37 years with celebrations and Mrs Oliver has been working with kiddos in LaFayette and Syracuse for over 35 years!  The ceremony will be on 1/30/22 at 7 pm and held virtually this year BUT everyone can participate for free by registering here.  We are so happy for Mrs Oliver - she has given so much to the families and she absolutely LOVES the kiddos. 

Amy and the kiddos had Monday off for the MLK Jr Holiday, so we slept in and then played outside after wishing congratulations to Mrs Oliver.

Sledding in the side yard.

Fort building time!!

Hi Addie!!

Full bloom on Wednesday

Ayson purchased a new game console that lets him play retro games that Amy and Adam grew up playing.

On Saturday, we investigated the animal tracks in the snow.  We had possum, squirrel, cat, dog, deer, White-footed mouse, bird, and fox tracks!!!  Also, Adam saw a SKUNK on our backyard security camera (purchased mostly so that Adam can see the outside world while he is working in his office:) So cool!

Of course after we looked at the tracks the kids wanted to play outside again :)

We started off sledding in the side yard and then graduated to the park across the street.

The kids are fearless and had so much fun!

Saturday evening, Amy and Addie joined Mrs Oliver at another friends house to help Mrs Oliver prepare for her interview on Tuesday and for the ceremony on Sunday.  While the adults were chatting, Addie and Piper had fun giggling and playing:)

On Sunday, we took the kiddos cross country skiing for the first time at Highland Forest (has a ski rental shop) and the kiddos did a fabulous job on x country skis!!!  Yay!  Now we have more than winter hiking as an option for the entire family.  Adam has no interest in downhill skiing and Amy is always afraid she is going to wipe out and hurt herself...hahaha.

Adam showed Ayson how to make pizza from scratch on Sunday afternoon: prepping and rolling the dough to adding toppings (cheese is still the favorite type of pizza for the kids :)

Meanwhile, Addie and Amy played with Addie's horse farm set.

Halfway through January!

We hope that our friends and family are doing well and are keeping warm!  A^4 had a good week of fun and family time.  The kids received their last Mail Order Mystery packages over the weekend and were disappointed to know that no more packages would be arriving in the mail for them.  Amy may need to check out another Mail Order Mystery option for the kiddos for their March birthdays!

 Ayson reading the secret message that was hidden behind the postage stamp!

Thunder rubbing all over Adam's "cow clothes" that he wears to helo milk cows everyone Monday night.

Ayson working on the puzzle that Grandma Collene gave us AND the flower that Ayson gave Amy is starting to bloom!

Addie received the third piece of the heart necklace from her Mail Order Mystery story about a sleeping Princess, a Knight, a Troll, a Dragon, and a Librarian :)

The kids under a fort that Ayson made in the play room.

More progress!

Shadow thought the fort was an excellent place for a nap.

On Friday night, Ayson and Amy went downhill skiing at Song Mountain - no pictures but both had a great time! 

Saturday was COLD with temps around -5F - perfect for throwing boiling water in the air and watching it turn into a vapor.

Addie playing with her slime and putty kit: magnetic putty!

Meanwhile, Ayson had fun with circuits.

Saturday!

Gingered Butternut Squash pie :)

Sunday!!!!

Addie opened her final Mail Order Mystery package...

A book about the Princess and how Addie assisted in helping the Princess wake from her 699 year sleep.

A thank you note (from the princess) in the book.

The creek in the orchard covered in ice

Interesting ice crystals.

Onondaga Creek has eroded the far bank.

Ayson working on his Mail Order Mystery Spy challenge.

Decoding a cypher that uses transposition of the alphabet.

Ayson's last Mail Order Mystery package contained a safe disguised as a book.  To get the safe combination, he had to decode one last cypher.

Checking out the contents of the safe: a spy certificate, spy ID card and...

A Whoopie Cushion!  hahaha.

The kids had SO much fun receiving the mail, working on the puzzles, and then WAITING for the next package to arrive :)