February Rain and Snow

We hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy.  The kids had a full week of school (no snow days) and they are now off for the entire week (February 17-21) for Winter Break.  We are supposed to get a bunch of snow so of course the kiddos are annoyed that there is NOT school (so that they can have a snow day).  No pictures were taken during the week but we have plenty of pictures from the weekend.

Ayson warming up his hands while collecting firewood.

Addie using her hair to play with Saffron :)

Luckily Addie did not get scratched!

Adam walked the puppies Saturday morning.

Two boys cuddling:)

Ayson's creation: banana bread with Nutella and fresh strawberries.

It rained Sunday (the temperature was 33 degrees) starting early morning and finally turned to snow Sunday afternoon.  Ice coated everything!

 On Monday, we took the puppies to Tinker Falls.  We were the only ones on the trail!

The frozen waterfall was dark with the sediment from the rain on Sunday and the full creek.

Addie wanted to roll down the hill.

The gorgeous amaryllis!!

Weasel Sighting and Weekend Fun

We hope everyone had a good start to February!  The kids had another snow day on Thursday. It was more icy rain in our valley than snow and turned everything slippery through the weekend. We are sending good thoughts to all of our family and friends.

Snoozing puppies from Tuesday.

On Wednesday, our friend Kate trapped a weasel that had been in her chicken coops!  She brought the weasel to our house so that the kids could see it.  Thanks for thinking of the kiddos, Kate!!!

Based on the tail length, we think it is a short-tailed weasel (From the NYSDEC: The general rule of thumb for telling them apart is that long-tailed weasels have a tail longer than half their body length, while short-tailed weasels have a tail that is around a third of their body length.)

So cute!!!!  Of course, Addie wanted to keep it.

The weasel was released far from Kate's house so hopefully her chickens are safe.

Amy and Adam took the puppies for a walk but they insisted on walking each other.

Addie and Adam playing poker.

Adam trying to figure out if Addie actually won...hahaha.

Thunder checking out the puppies.

On Friday evening, Kate and the kiddos came over for puppy cuddles and to hang out.  The kids playing Mine Craft together.

During the weekend mornings, the boys have been cutting and hauling wood from a friend's house.  So far seven truck loads have been brought home.

Ayson had a craving for spinach artichoke dip. He remembered how tasty Ms Annie's dip was from this summer so he texted her for the recipe :)  

Yum!!!  

Straight from the oven, Ayson immediately scooped out some bubbling dip.  He waited long enough to cool his scoop of dip before he stated that it tasted good :)

The amaryllis we received from Annie and Bob bloomed this week! 

Three Day School Week and a Dinner Date

The kiddos had a short week with a snow day on Tuesday and Wednesday off for the Lunar New Year.  We took the puppies for walks and we had a dinner date with Grandpa Chuck and Marie on Saturday.  We hope everyone is staying healthy and looking forward to spring!

The cats enjoying a little catnip!

A walk in the orchard Monday early evening with an incredible sky.

The kids had a snow day on Tuesday and they also had Wednesday off.  The kids helped Adam with the puppies during the day and other than that, the kids lived their best slug lives.  At least the kiddos were active with walks with the dogs and virtual reality games.  Ayson told a friend he could beat him in a video game without using his hands - so Ayson wrapped duct tape around his waist and attached is video game controller to his waist in order to play.  Silly boys.

Another walk on Wednesday with drastically different weather but notice that the kids are still not wearing coats...sigh.

The puppies were snoozing after a walk in the orchard.

For reference - the puppies the first day we brought them home (12/22/24) :)

Adam helped set up the Optimist Winter Fest Saturday afternoon: ice skating, games, food, and live music.  We did not go to Winter Fest because we had a dinner date with Grandpa Chuck and Marie.  Thanks for an enjoyable evening, Grandpa and Marie!!!!  It was the first time we left the puppies home alone in their crate and they did well (no accidents in their crate).