Family Fun

Today we matched our record high for February 18th in our town--62 degrees. After SO many day in the teens and 20s, it was so nice to be able to be outside without freezing our hineys off! While the boys gleefully ran around in the snow and played with their bikes, etc., I celebrated the warmth by, um, cleaning out the chicken coop.

Yeah, I know that doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. It's more fun when you compare it to cleaning it when it's 19 degrees outside, though. It's all how you look at it!

So, here's what 62 degrees looks like in our neck of the woods...


Looks toasty, huh?




We can finally see some grass again! After having snow on the ground solidly from December 26th until now, seeing even a small bit of grass gives me hope that spring will indeed come! Some day, anyway...



The chickens finally got to come outside! They pretty much refused to leave the doorway when there was snow on the ground, but now that there's a small snow-free area of grass/gravel in front of the coop, they were all willing to come out and explore a bit.



Miss Princess watching her brothers play while clutching a teddy bear...she always has to have something to hug!

After dinner and chores we all sat around the table for a family game night. Our game of choice was Apples to Apples, which we like because it can be played by just about any age. It doesn't require any real skill or knowledge, except being able to read the cards.



Joanna looks so tiny in her little chair!



Jonathan and Joshua plotting something or other. That's pretty much what they do.



Snacks consisted of popcorn... and chow mein noodles. Yep, I've got some weird kids.



In addition to being tasty, chow mein noodles make a handy art medium. See the face?






Happy Josiah, boogers and all. Just keepin' it real, folks!



Joseph gets some help reading his cards from Daddy.






Joanna was all about the popcorn. And stealing Jon's cards when he wasn't looking.



More plotting, I'm sure. Secret plotting. One day these two are going to take over the world!

Tomorrow we have grand plans to grab our binoculars, dig out our birds of New York guidebook, and participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. I'll let y'all know if we see anything exciting!