Great Wolf Lodge 2016

We took our "February vacation" week a week early and took advantage of lesser crowds. Originally, Gabe took this week of vacation with the intention of skiing, but due to the lack of snow and poor conditions, we are taking another approach. We visited the Great Wolf Lodge in Framingham, MA. Ironically, we had to travel through a winter storm to get there... We all had an absolute blast.  They really make it a "resort experience", in other words, they make it easy to spend your money without you realizing how much you are spending;)  There were two indoor water parks complete with a wave pool, water playground, a lazy river and lots of waterslides. There was an arcade which Gabe likened to a casino... there are lots of flashy lights and sounds, but it is impossible to tell which way is in or out;)

The best part for the kids was the ropes course.  There was a high course for the older two and a really cute smaller ropes course for the younger two who felt pretty special to be able to harness up just like the bigger kids.  Both Noah and James really had to push themselves to not be terrified of the height.  By the second day they had conquered their fear and were running all over the course. We got an awesome free upgrade for our room and loved all of the space we had for sleeping.  Gabe was especially thankful because he forgot to pack the sleeping bags for the kids... We can't wait to visit again!

100s Day!

We have made it to the 100th day of school!  I can't believe it, but only 75 more days until summer vacation!  We spent the day dealing with any and all things 100. Everyone voted finding the Hershey Kisses and filling out the 100 chart with the number stickers their favorite part.  We also made necklaces with 100 pieces of cereal, stacked (and then shot down with Nerf guns) 100 cups, made art with 100 dot stickers and enjoyed a tail mix made of 100 treats.  

Winter Fun

Now that we have entered what appears to be the "spring thaw" portion of winter, we are getting the  opportunity to explore more in the woods, have lots of snowball fights and build snowmen.  James and I found a spot in the back of our yard, last fall, that we think will be perfect for a treehouse.  Since that time, we have to visit periodically to come up with more and more extravagant plans and visions for the area.  A favorite part is this tree that is growing sideways... it is a perfect balance beam and hanging spot.  

Not to be outdone by the sunsets, the sunrises the past few weeks have been pretty incredible too.  This picture is taken through the window (since I was too much of a wimp to run outside) so the quality isn't great, but still a great way to start the day:)

Noah, James and Audrey worked hard to build this snowman all by themselves (while I cleaned out the chicken coop).  Where was Ben during all of this?  Well, he started outside with us, but lasted for a total of 5 minutes, then took up post inside the house, happily supervising from the window...

Art & Skiing

Our latest art project was inspired by Ghiberti and his work with relief sculptures.  This took a little more patience from the kids and they had a bit of difficulty envisioning what the final product would look like, but they were good sports and quite proud of themselves when they saw the finished product.

Last weekend we bit the bullet and went to Sugarloaf for their last Family Weekend of the season. I had not been to Sugarloaf during the winter since college. Gabe has been a few times, but the kids have never skied there, so it was a pretty exciting day for all of us! Gabe, Noah, James and I got to ski the mountain together for the day. Ben had a full day of ski lessons and was so excited to ski more with his new friends.  Audrey didn't want to leave her new friends, but was very proud of herself for taking her ski lessons too:)  Hopefully we will get another chance to visit Sugarloaf this season!

Winter Outdoors

We are taking the "this may be as good as it gets" approach to this winter.  So, this morning we all skied at Titcomb Mountain.  Audrey and Ben did a great job and were just so happy to be on skis for the first time this year!

After skiing we got the snowmobiles out and spent some time packing down the snow in our yard since there isn't quite enough snow to ride from our house and we are a bit too lazy for trailering them anywhere;)  We finished the day clearing off the pond for skating.  All in all, a fun and exhausting winter day!