The First Part of December

We started off December with a fresh blanket of deep snow. I love the first real snow. The snow that sticks. It's so beautiful. So majestic. So happy. Then the new year comes and it gets really old, really quick. But the first snow is always a lovely thing. Snowball fights, shoveling, snow angels, cold fingers, hot chocolate, these are all the things to look forward to when it first snows...ok I don't know if I'm ever super excited about cold fingers, but I definitely get excited about hot chocolate!

Snow covered trees

So pretty...

Yearly winter family photo

Daddy about to throw a big snow ball at Mommy. Good thing I had the camera!

Trying to catch a snowball. Not so successfully.

Our angel in the snow.

Stud...

I made falafel for the first time. Every one loved it! I don't mind saying that it was just as good, if not better than our local (and pretty authentic) falafel restaurant.

Heather received a medal for being the top reader in her class! We are so proud of Heather and her love for books!

And then...the snow melts. And it's really wet and muddy, and there are puddles everywhere...ick. But if you're a kid, you just can't resist jumping in the puddles. I even eventually joined in the fun.  It's true. I ought to jump in puddles more often, it relieves stress.  The kids were proud of their wet, muddy pants and coats. I tolerated it, saying to myself that they are only kids once. (I managed to only get wet, not muddy.)

Josh got stuck in the bush while fetching a ball. He was sad about it at first, until we helped him realize how funny it was, and he felt much better.

A happy helper.