Our first snow was actually just enough to be really pretty. I thought it would be an ugly old dusting and I'd be embarrassed later by the lame photos i posted getting all excited abut it :) It also meant i could (unnecessarily) get the snow shovel out and have my first shoveling experience. Alex and Owen headed off to school pushing theirs which was funny because i could see where they had been at morning and lunch breaks :) I took millions of photos of snow on trees, snow on roofs, snow on people etc etc. By that afternoon it was kinda ruined - the pristine white school field was a white/brown sludgy mess with three giant mucky looking snowballs (have just discovered this phenomenon is called 'snirt'. :) )
After Christmas we headed up to the cottage on the lake (one of Matt's workmates very generously left us keys) at New Ross. The day we arrived it was cold and clear with snow predicted in the evening. The lake was kinda choppy but not iced at all. Like clockwork it started snowing at about 8 and continued through the night. We woke to a good 5-10 cm of lovely snowball ready snow and it was on! Despite the continuing snow we headed out with our shovels and snow ball makers and had a fantastic snowball fight :) The snow sat on the top of the lake like a layer of slush which was quite funny! Headed back inside for a late lunch after a solid morning of fighting :) The locals appreciated us filling the bird feeder and providing peanuts!
Next day was clear with about a foot of snow so perfect for more play Back out into the snow for an attempt at a snowman (snow a bit dry) and another snowball war. We tried a bit of sliding but got a bit late in the day so headed back inside for lunch, pool, air hockey and a little electrical engineering :)
The third day was also clear so after meeting the neighbours we headed out with the sleds. We ended up spending most of the time on the slope down below the house - Matt made a ramp for doing bone shattering head aching jumps which the boys seem to like! Amelia made a princess house and spent most of her time 'sleeping'... The slush in the lake had frozen overnight, leaving ice about a foot thick covering the lake. We gingerly stood the boys on it (keeping them within arms reach) but were not brave enough to put our full weight on it!
The last day of the trip we made snowmen :) The weather had warmed up a bit so the snow was stickier and you cold roll it into balls. All round the perfect snow holiday.
Was a bit grim back home tho - the piles in the car parks are quite spectacular but take up a bit of room!
Through January and Feb we had several reasonable snow events, several 'snow days', lots of shovelling, aching arms and swearing at the snow plough/pavement cat who kept block the end of the drive. Our lovely neighbours took pity on me when Matt wasn't around (most of February) and ran their snow blowers over the drive for me :)
Late Jan we headed back up to the cottage and honed our snow ball making skills along with trying skiing and snow fort making :) The skiing was less of a success (for me anyway) than the fort making, but we had a great time. Matt stood the boys on the front of the skis and took them for a ride down the hill which was pretty exciting :) I spent my time on the skis either screeching for it to stop, so lying in the slow thanking God that it was over - anyone who has seen the little video knows what I mean....
The fort making was great fun - we got snow brick makers from Dollarama (nothing over $3 in the shop!) and Alex (and me) and Owen (and Matt) set to and made a couple of quite impressive forts. They didn't withstand much snowball pelting and there were many tears when Alex's finally collapsed. Owen ran though his head first so really had no-one to blame but himself :).
While we were up there we called in to Ross Farm Museum, a farm run pretty much as it would have been in the 1800s. The site has the original farm house, a big ole barn, blacksmith, saw mill, wood working shop and even a school house. The boys tried their hand at writing with quills, we watched sled making and even had a go on one :) I went for a walk in snow shoes (so much easier!) and we drank hot chocolate in the farm house. The highlight of the day was a sleigh ride around the perimeter. It was absolutely perfect. The snow was pristine and the sky was blue. We were pretty much alone on the property so got the sleigh to ourselves and the driving even took us off road when Alex asked how they make roads in the snow (strong horses!). The path we followed skirts around the edge of a lake and goes through a forest, all of which was coated in snow and chocolate box beautiful. We went around twice! We went back the next day, but there were more people and less snow on the trees so not as pretty as it had been. They did strap some sleigh bells onto the horses which quite made my day :)
Babcia (Matts Mum) gave us money for Christmas to put toward something fun. We used the money to buy the skis, and skates/helmets for everyone (fantastic second hand shop here!). Since we had the skates we set to and tried teaching ourselves to skate. The local rink is about 5 mins drive away and I discovered they have tot mornings (free) for me and Amelia, and family skates three times a week (also free). They also had handy frames for kids (and their wobbly parents) to hold onto. Alex was a bit tall so had to tough it out without a frame, but we had lots of helpful advice from old hands and within two visits he was able to get around the rink without gripping on to the side too much! Both Amelia and Owen used the frames, mostly pushing themselves around at speed using one foot. It was great for Owen who learnt the fine art of falling without hurting yourself (mostly) and by the end of the season (rinks shut at the end of March) he too could skate without the frame.
Amelia came and went on the actual skating. Sometimes all she did was ice angels in the middle of the rink, or home making under her frame :) That said, she is actually quite good without the frame too. She would drape herself over the front of it and scoot around madly, then stand up, and push it away in front of her, skate over to it unaided and drape herself back over it to zoom away again. Occasionally she would even step onto the ice without one - the most memorable occasion being with a little plastic hockey stick we got for Christmas. She scuttled around with it knocking the plastic puck into people way, occasionally grabbing a hold of my arm for support :) They all did so well - Alex ended the season with nearly 50 times around the rink as his record :) I imagine next year they will be off with speed, leaving me well behind! Matt failed in his attempts to learn how to stop (other than falling or hitting the boards) and skate backwards.. Plenty of time next year...
As I write this it is snowing again - probably/hopefully the last of the year - and I imagine the few brave little flowers that have emerged will be toasted by the morning. No sign of buds on the trees or anything - a very slow start to spring!
No raccoons, but in their defense they are perihibernating!!! Lowest temp we got was about -17. The kids had one day where is didn't get over -13 so they were not allowed out to play.
