Fun Times in February

February was both long and short.  Looking back it was fun, but while still in it, it seemed it would never end.  Here's a collection of photos that share some of the good times, as for the rest, there are no photos, just a pulsing memory of this packed farmhouse pounding with the energy of many restless children. I admit I sought the refuge of earplugs and an insulated hat on more than a couple evenings. For the rest, I grabbed the same insulated hat and simply joined in the fun and occasionally brought my camera along.

When the snow was fresh our neighbor Hank treated us to a tractor pulled toboggan ride.  He tugged the kids back along a path in the woods and around his pond several times.  We even tied another sled to the back and had 6 of us along for the ride.  Our dog Archie would not miss out on the fun and kept right on our tail chasing us along the trail.  

    

Back in our yard the kids mastered "snow surfing" and happy to report that only one goose egg resulted from it. 

We also spared a full morning for family sledding in the sunshine at a nearby park.    

At home it's been a constant chore to catch Pickles the barn cat before sneaking in the house. 

Speaking of chores, we've gone through a lot of wood this season, more than we were able to stack in November so we had another long weekend of it.



And to stay warm we've heated constant quarts of herbal tea and I'm still wondering how it is that even on the coldest of winter days the kids are leaving the doors open and stripping down to bare skin!

Valentine's Day was celebrated fondue style with fancy cheese and stale bread, and followed with chocolate and strawberries.  We exchanged homemade cards and coupons and Paul presented me with the most romantic gift of all..........a huge box of ear plugs!

We also spent a few evenings hosting friends and family.  Mary came with her family to help us look for Polar and that unforgettable evening moved from cookie making, chess playing, a into the woods dog search party and a tearful chicken funeral.

On a much slower day the kids rediscovered the comfort of hanging out and napping in baby wrap hammocks.

I rediscovered the ease of simply putting all the younger kids to bed at once, for as wild as they may have been just hours before, seeing them asleep and snuggled up like kittens was priceless!

And finally the big joy of February has been cheering on Charlie as he's learning to walk.  We'll find ourselves in circle and everyone will call and clap until he carefully finds his way into some one's lap.  Watching him slowly step and looking into his joyful eyes has been the much needed sunshine around here.  It has reminded me to not wish away even the coldest days of winter.