Ice Fishing Field Trip

Cole's third grade class had a field trip .  I took Friday off, to I tag along and learn a lot. There are only 7 kids in the class, but the Northwoods Stewardship Center donated a full size bus. I was the only parent chaperoning, so it was a nice chance to get to know Mrs. Tester a little better.

First stop was the Northwoods Stewardship Center. It's kind of a long bumpy ride on the school bus, so the first thing our guide, Maria Young, had the kids do was play a couple of games outside and run around a bit. 

When all the wiggles were out, it was inside to do some learning.

The kids learned about wildlife preservation and more specifically learned a lot about salmon. I never knew that salmon find their way all the way to Greenland to spawn before returning to their home waters.

There were also many questions about this giant moose. He was not a native Vermonter. He was shipped in from Alaska. Or rather, his head was.

Bear scat...

Casting of a bear print

Eagle talon

Next, Maria met us in Island Pond for some ice fishing. We learned how to set up this contraption called a tip-up.

Each kid had a turn drilling a hole in the 16 inches of ice with this auger.

The pond was very busy with ice fishermen and speeding snow machines.

Before we started, Marie said that she had never caught a fish  with a group of school kids.  Today was a lucky day. This group caught 4 perch.

Taking a break to roast some marshmallows over the open fire.

They also showed us how to fish with this short pole called a jigger.  

One of the most exciting moments of the day, according to Cole:

A group picture before we board the bus to return home. Mrs. Tester is on the left in a dark hat and sunglasses. Maria Young is in the middle with sunglasses. Sadly, I do not remember the names of the 3 guys in the back, but they were very nice, helpful, and patient with the silliness of these 7 third graders.

Feeling Better

We were all happy to say good-bye and good riddance to January. We didn't have a single healthy day all month long.  Whenever February starts, I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's a short month, the days begin to get longer, and spring starts next month. Although, I have to admit, that last year, February was out "sick" month. As I write this, we are being pounded by a snow storm, but as long as we're all feeling better, I'll take it. My class for tomorrow has been cancelled, so we will have some time to play in the snow and get some much needed fresh air.

This amaryllis was a Christmas present. Since I took this picture, it has produced three more blooms. It really brightens up our dining area.

Heather writes a letter to her cousin. I won't say who - maybe you can see in the picture.

Last Sunday was a beautiful day. We had previously had some very warm rainy days, and then some very cold days with just a dusting of snow. Wayne, Heather and I went to the pond and scraped the dusting off to find perfectly smooth ice underneath. (Cole was snowshoeing with Joanie.) It was a sunny day and we spent all afternoon skating. These pictures were taken after the sun had dipped below the tree line.

Just a couple of short skating videos.

And for a good laugh, go back in time 3 years and check out this old skating video.

Skating Video 2009

Getting Through It...

I still have pictures from Christmas that I've been meaning to share, but until I get them organized, I'll just put up something recent. Wayne, Cole, and Heather had a piano recital yesterday. Cole was sick and couldn't go. Heather's video won't upload for some reason, so here's Wayne playing Gypsy Dance by Joseph Haydn.

Hmm. Not such a great picture of Heather in mid blink. Oh well.

Cole has had a strange tummy bug. Wes and I have flu like symptoms (fever, aches, chills) so I'm really glad there's no school tomorrow in honor of Martin Luther King Day. Keep your fingers crossed that Heather and Wayne stay healthy. The odds are not in their favor.

Heather's Birthday

There's a lot of catching up to do here, but let's start off with Heather's birthday. She had her party on a Tuesday after school. Luckily for us, school was cancelled on Monday due to a slippery mix of bad weather. It gave us extra time to get everything ready. Here, she decorates her own cake with letters and snowflake sprinkles.

 Her friends rode the bus home with her. Wes met them as they got off the bus and gave them a ride up our long, long driveway on the trackster. Of all the girly activities I had planned, I think the trackster ride was the highlight of the party.  Look at them piled on there clutching their backpacks. 

 Heather and I had made gingerbread girls for decorating. These are twins, Ella and Evy. They were in my preschool class last year and I learned to tell them apart. Now they have their hair cut differently so it's easier.

 Kiera seems to be a minimalist...

 ...but not Anya!

 Many thanks to Joanie for engaging them all in a game of twister while I got dinner ready. 

 Again this year, Heather requested sardines, but I reminded her that her friends might not like them as much as she does, so maybe she should choose something else. Her next best choice was hotdogs and macaroni and cheese.

 Then time for cake and gifts.

 Last of all a pinata.  Look at the determination on that face.

 In the end, it was Wayne and Cole who smashed open the pinata.

It was a really fun party and everything went very well. But it was lovely to see all the parents arrive promptly at 6:00 to pick up their girls and take them home.

Christmas morning pictures coming soon.

Happy Birthday Heather!

Heather turns 6 today! I can't believe that my baby is 6 years old. She had her "friends" party yesterday after school, and we'll have our family thing tonight after piano lessons. I've got lots of pictures to show you when I get the chance, but here's the gang. She invited all 8 girls in her class. Only six attended, but what a wonderful group they were. I was very impressed with these young ladies. I'm so happy Heather has such a nice bunch of girls to go to school with. 

Back: Keira, Ella, Maia, Kelby. Front: Heather, Anya, Evy.

Happy Birthday Little Big Girl!

Getting in the Spirit

With no snow on the ground, it's hard to get into the Christmas spirit, but we're getting there. I've got my shopping all done. (I can't speak for Wes.) The kids are getting excited. Heather's counting the moments until her birthday and her birthday party which is going to be Tuesday after school.  We got a humongous tree which takes up two thirds of the living room and smells like a tom cat. We've made gingerbread cookies. It's even been snowing a little bit off and on today. We're getting there.

When I was in high school, I was in the school chorus. We were pretty good.  We were in many competitions around the state of Maine and won a lot of awards.  Not everyone appreciated our talent. One Christmas we visited nursing homes to sing carols. In the middle of an a capella version of Silent Night with 4 part harmony, one outspoken elderly resident crabbed, "This is terrible! I never heard anything like this! I don't have to sit here and listen to this!" and she spun her wheel chair toward the door and rolled herself away.  You might feel like you don't need to sit here and watch these videos, and I wouldn't blame you,  but for the die-hard aunts and grandparents among you, what would the Christmas season be without a middle school band performance of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"? (Wayne is in there somewhere.)

And then there's this. Wayne and Cole were playing around in the basement - Wayne playing piano and Cole singing. Cole was being goofy and silly, but he actually sounded pretty good. Then when I came around with my camera and tried to get them to recreate the performance, he clammed up.  You can't hear him, but at least you can hear Wayne playing the piano. He learned this a couple of years ago.

Thanksgiving and Some Other Stuff

We all had a really nice time at Joanie's for Thanksgiving dinner the other day. We were in charge of making the mashed potatoes.  It was a team effort. Heather and I peeled and Wayne cut them up.

Then Cole helped mash them all up.

The turkey was roasted to perfection.

What a feast we all had.

Time for photos.

Peter took this photo. It's been circulating around via email.

And then dessert. (Katie took this pic.)

Joanie, thank you for a wonderful day!

The kids really wanted to decorate for Christmas during the rest of their days off from school. I thought it was still too soon, but we did do a little.  Wayne got out some lights and hung them around and we made these glue and glitter snowflake decorations that I learned about at preschool.

You "draw" snowflakes on wax paper with school glue. You could put a template underneath to help get the patter right, but that's way too organized for me. We were just winging it.

Sprinkle on some glitter and let dry over night.

Next day, carefully peel from the wax paper and hang. (I know, they look a little like spider webs, but magical, Christmasy spiderwebs, nonetheless.

Heather and I also painted a tree on the window.

Those glitter snowflakes must have brought us good luck, because when we woke up in the morning, the ground was covered with enough snow to go sliding.

Here are a couple of really quick videos to get you in the mood for some winter fun.

The Family Tradition Goes On

After dance class this morning, Heather decided she wanted to go bow hunting.

Here she is looking nearly as stealthy as Katniss in her Dora the Explorer boots, capri pants,  jacket from one of her favorite aunts, Wayne's hunting vest, hand crocheted hat, and pink clip-on hair extension.

 I never got around to doing a blog post about this, but during the last days of summer vacation, Wayne built a "tree stand"  just in the woods near the house. That's where Heather chose to do her hunting.  At one point, she thought she heard a deer scurry nearby. She drew her bow and aimed vaguely in that direction. The bowstring went "boing" and the arrow glided gently into the leaves on the ground in front of her. It was a miss, but at least she took a chance.

The Weekend

Well the weekend is a few days behind us now, but I'm just getting around to posting these pictures.

Heather and I made cinnamon swirl bread. We used to make this all the time, but it's been quite a while.

 Yummy with a drizzle of honey on top.

 We went skating Sunday afternoon. Heather doesn't need the milk crates anymore, but this was her first few moments on the ice since last year, and the place was so packed, she had a little trouble at first getting her bearings. She was fine after a few minutes and abandoned the crates.

 There's Cole skating away in the center of the picture. Wayne didn't go with us because he was at a his friend Ben's birthday party.

 We set up our "Thankful Tree." I hung some leaves from years past and I thought this one was cute from Heather.

Hope everyone is having a productive week!

Free Press

If you live within range of the Free Press, you might want to check out pages 1C-4C. If you don't get the Free Press where you live you can try these links, but they don't show the picture with Wayne.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20121103/LIVING20/311030005

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20121103/LIVING20/311030004/Storyteller-story-finder

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20121103/LIVING20/311030006?nclick_check=1