Weekend Update

I took the girls to the library then to an indoor pool Friday afternoon/ evening. We're planning a vacation later this year with extended family and the house we are renting has a pool right in the backyard, which is going to be be really fun, but that's also motivation for me to strengthen the girls' water skills between now and then.  We will do swim lessons and have a lot of practice in the summer, of course, but swimming more consistently throughout the winter won't hurt them at all.

We made it to the gym Saturday morning before it started to snow. Here's my post-workout breakfast.

After we got home from the gym, the snow really started coming down and the roads weren't being plowed, so we just stayed home in our warm pajamas, made a fire, cleaned, worked, read, played Carcassonne, etc. It was really chilly down in my office.  I couldn't get the space heater close enough to me, so I actually order a small heated seat cushion/ lap blanket/ shoulder throw to keep down there to use when I am in that space.

For dinner, I made a big pot of stew using my homemade beef bone broth and a combination of barley, herbs, and vegetables that I had on hand, including green cabbage. I don't really use recipes anymore. I'll refer to them, but I haven't actually measured ingredients in months.

The snow stuck to the windows and piled up on the window seals outside and I thought it looked pretty with the girls' snowflakes still on the windows inside. 

On Sunday morning, we had to dig out of the snow.  We made it to church and then after coming home for lunch, we went up to the hill to sled.  

Here's a short video of our family sledding. You will see me take Adele down the hill and then Norah and Avril go down after us.  When the fresh snow gets thrown up as we sled down, it came be shockingly cold and uncomfortable for a few minutes afterward since it sticks to your face, etc. Notice how much fresh powder gets thrown up as Norah and Avril go down the hill.  Poor Avril was very cold when she finished this particular sled run. 

A friend from church bought a house only four minutes away, so I visited her at her new home on Sunday evening then did some grocery shopping before making dinner.  Dwayne and I started listening The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson on audio book when we were driving while on vacation earlier this month. Now we are listening to a chapter or two before bed every night.  It's an epic story, so it's taking a while to hear the whole thing, but we are recommending it to all our friends. It's very good.