WE are the Leaders

I never thought I would have to explain to Addie what is going on in our country (AND what she is seeing on social media as a teenager) with the lack of integrity and accountability towards human beings living in the United States and towards the United States Constitution. We will not become numb to violence and loss. We will not become fearful of the consequences of speaking up when we see actions that conflict with the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Silence will not be mistaken for our compliance. 

I have not written at length about Addie's anxiety but techniques that she uses to take control of her anxiety can assist anyone searching for *something* positive to do as a path forward to calming oneself and contributing positively to our Country: help "others" (human beings and animals) in your community, build face to face community and connections with human beings, be present with family and friends, and be kind and respectful (to oneself and others). We are the leaders based on our integrity and actions.   

 
I wanted to document the "Bedtime ritual" that Addie and Adam go through just about every night (before Addie grows up - and out of wanting to spend time with us).  As Adam is getting ready to go to bed (brushing his teeth, turning out the lights...), Addie will sneak onto his side of the bed and make it hard for Adam to get into bed.  The struggle is real. The covers get untucked as the shoving and wedging commences. You would be surprised at how hard it can be to move a teenage girl that weighs less than 100 pounds. 

Addie petting Stormy while Amy tested out the flask on her camera.

Sigh, Addie eating out of the ice cream container and NO she did not finish all the ice cream so the container is back in the freezer taunting the rest of us.

Adam cooked up a cozy and tasty breakfast Sunday morning as the snow started to fall: potato pancakes and chocolate chip pancakes - yum!

Addie procrastinating from drying and putting away dishes by showing Amy how she "drives" with a lid...haha.

Ayson joined us for a walk with the puppies after breakfast.

The ferocious teeth!

With the frozen ground, we were able to walk down to a deeper section of the creek.

The puppies waiting for Adam to tell them to cross the road.

The puppies greeting their "person."

Ayson eating the plate sized pancake AND he has a new haircut - the mullet is gone:)

Over the weekend, Adam and Ayson were helping neighbor Chris with his goats while Chris was in Jamaica (lucky duck!).  The water was frozen and the boys had to haul buckets of warm water.

The goats are too cute!

Fun with Family and Friends

We hope everyone is doing well and taking care of themselves! 

The kiddos had a short week and extra long weekend (lucky ducks!) with Friday as a snow day and then Monday off for the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday.  

Playing a round of Sussed with the family after dinner :)

 

On Saturday, Grandma Collene and Mike came over and showed us how they make homemade perogies!  Adam prepped filling before hand: potatoes with garlic and cheese and add ins such as soppressata, dates, prunes, and other cheeses.  Grandma started by making the dough.

The kiddos filling the perogies.

Johnny Jett did NOT want to be left out of the party.

After the perogies are filled and the ends pinched, they go into the boiling water and then to the frying pan (with butter and onions).

We made two batches because we had SO much filling.

The kiddos were exhausted afterwards!

Addie and Amy made dessert perogies: nutella (Addie) and nutella with peanut butter (Amy).

Yum!!

On Sunday morning, Adam took the dogs on a hike to the west side of Labrador Pond.

Meanwhile, Addie and Amy went to the "big" mall for a birthday party at Apex (bowling, laser tag, and arcade games).

The girls had so much fun :)

These three dared each other to eat the bean boozel jelly beans: is the flavor barf or peach??  Hard to tell from looking at the jelly bean...hahaha.

The flavor was NOT peach...hilarious!

On Monday, Amy and Addie joined Leena and family for a little afternoon ice skating.

Back To It!

The first week back to school and work flew by with Adam out of town on a work trip.  The pictures are from weekend activities. We are sending good thoughts to all our family and friends and hoping everyone is taking care of themselves!  

We lost all our snow with temps in the 50s last Friday!  

Loss of snow uncovered the many MANY piles of dog crap all over the yard.  Ayson spent over an hour (at a slow and steady pace...he was no ball of fire) on Saturday morning picking up dog poop before it rained.

Adam made a yummy cordon bleu type chicken dish Saturday evening - yum!!

On Sunday, the boys burned a bit of broken tree limbs and Ayson tested out his survivalist chain saw (a chain with handles on each end).

Amy did not think he would tackle such a thick section of wood for his first effort but it worked!

On Sunday, Amy and Addie "petted the pets" at the cat shelter.  THIS crazy female orange kitty was climbing the walls of the cage to get at the tasty treat!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  We hope everyone is staying healthy and enjoying time outside. We started off the New Year by playing outside in the snow.  We are sending good thoughts to all!

 

The cats snoozing in the new cat condo.

Addie making the dogs complete circles before she gives them a treat.

Puppy cuddles.

We went to Pratts Falls on Friday morning (we were out the door by 8 am - THAT is an accomplishment for teenagers!) below is a picture of the waterfall.

There was not enough snow to use the snowshoes but we still had a good walk.

The kiddos needed a break.  Addie is eating snow while resting.

Gorgeous morning!

On Saturday, Amy and Adam went cross country skiing in the orchard with the puppies.  Stormy is looking for Johnny Jett.

Jett came trotting to us with a PRIZE!

He carried the deer leg all the way home and would not share with Stormy.

Amy's goal for the winter break was to take the kiddos to "big" snow country for a little snow shoeing.  A colleague/friend of Amy and Adam let us borrow 2 pairs of snow shoes for the kiddos.  Note- We pick blueberries at their property in the summer :) 

The Tug Hill Plateau was our goal but we had to wait for the weather to cooperate as the area was under a state of emergency due to the amount of snow.  Luckily, the last day of winter break, Sunday, was perfect for a trip to Chateaugay State Forest.  We selected this area because it received the most snow - right off of Lake Ontario.

The State Forest recreation area parking lot was not plowed but a neighbor let us park in his driveway.  Check out the snow bank in the driveway!

Even the mail box is covered in snow and Adam's truck looks small next to the snow bank!

The kids now understand the term "post holing" while walking in snow.

Ayson broke trail first and then we rotated as it was tiring to break new trail.  

Snow over the creek.

A break for Addie to add toe warmers to her boots.

Addie enjoyed the walk back (on the trail that we created during the beginning of our walk) and THEN wanted to play in the snow.

Addie attempted to dig a snow cave but she quit because she was tired.