A Narnian winter

Okay, so this is an older photo (taken from the first big storm of the year in December), but I would like to convey a sense of what this winter is like.  It's like cold and snowy.  Except not the nice fluffy white snowflakes floating to the ground while we're drinking hot chocolate and watching White Collar.  No, it's a gale force wind whipping those flakes around.  But it doesn't all fall at once, more like a 1/2" every day.  In the weather's defense, at least it warms up sometimes and melts all the snow before dropping back to single digits.  

 We spent the holidays in Nashville with Jill's family.  On the Sunny, 50 degree day, Jill and I left the kids with grandpa and grandma to take a nice hike at the reservoir.  I think we walked 8 miles.  It felt like spring.  On Christmas eve, all the kids put on a nativity scene for us.  This tradition will continue.

 This Christmas was the first that Clara was super excited about one particular toy.  Thankfully she reminded us what it was every day so that we could eventually figure out what it was.  She called it "control dusty", at which I nodded knowingly without knowing.  Jill ordered Remote Control Dusty, a remote controlled airplane that rolls around on the floor.  It's not a bad toy.  Clara has played with it several times.  But even better, she made her own airplane out of toilet paper rolls, tape, a spice container, and flashlights to match Dusty and played with it about as much.

 I got Jill a new short chef's knife (it's Japanese!), and she got me a soldering gun (still looking for my first soldering project).  Janny got a lego organizer that looks like a big lego head.

Janny's funny new saying goes like this.  "Mommy, can we have dessert?And says yes!"

 New projects are created daily around here.  Our desert scheming tonight led to the idea shown below:  toasted marshmallow chocolate m&m cookie (broiled in the oven).

Church league basketball started again this month.  Our superduperstar from last year moved away and several solid players are busy (hmmm...) this year.  So we've struggled in our first two games.  I suspect we'll struggle all year because we can't defend or score well.

Have I mentioned that I'm really trying to practice guitar this winter?  I'm doing pretty well, almost playing through Over in the Meadow mistake-free.