winter adventure no. 2

On a teaching trip to Buffalo, one very cold weekend in February, we were able to meet up with da Finks {in Bereket's lingo} and had a very fun weekend with our very fun friends.

Sometime earlier this winter Josiah got the notion into his head that he really wanted to try ice skating. So when Jesse suggested we try the public rink downtown where you can skate free if you bring your own skates, or rent skates for a couple bucks, my two cold-hardy boys were most enthusiastic. Bereket opted to ride in the heated car with the ladies to pick up daddy from the university while Jesse walked the three blocks with my 7 year old and 3 year old to go ice skating, outdoors, on a day when the high was a whopping 12 degrees.

Another adventure. When we joined up with them, Casey and I couldn't just sit out so we strapped skates on our feet and wobbled our way around the rink. I guess I should speak for myself. I wobbled around the rink. He just looked like a dork skating in his suit.

It was fun. It was classic. It was very, very cold.

Thanks for the adventure, Finks! {And for the pictures, Melissa.}

winter adventure no. 1

Since spring is officially here {yet not} and I am for the first time in months getting the itch to organize pictures, and because we've had such a l-o-n-g winter sprinkled with fun outdoor activities, I thought I might share a few pictures of some of our winter adventures.

February 19th was a noteworthy day for us for two reasons.

We saw the first robin of the year in our backyard. {always cause of much rejoicing!}

And we went snowshoeing. The temperatures soared to 49 degrees and we still had a heaping amount of snow on the ground--perfect conditions for the boys' introduction to snowshoeing. We packed a picnic lunch and headed out to Jennings Environmental Center, which has free snowshoe rentals, for an adventure that I didn't anticipate being quite as much work as it turned out to be.

But hey, we were outside on a gorgeous day. We did a lot more laughing than crying. The many birds sang us our own private symphony full of the promise of spring. And everyone was ready for baths and naps when we got home.

Uh, T?