This is Dave's masterpiece on the beach today. The 2 little boys in the above photo are NOT our boys, but they were fascinated with Dave's handiwork, so they were our borrowed children for the day. They were adorable! Our 2 boys were busy digging deep holes nearby (see Steven in upper rt. corner in red swimsuit). 
We got quite a bit of snow in the night and this morning, therefore school has been cancelled once again. It wasn't long before the kids and Jake went out to play in all of the fresh snow. Here Jake hesitates in the small area we cleared by our sliding door, then he decides that maybe he'll just play by the door rather than hop through all the white stuff. After a few minutes he did venture a little farther into the yard, but he was barking at the door within just a couple of minutes. I think it's either too cold or too deep for him. He looked so cute playing by the door! 
This morning when I went out to get our morning newspaper, I noticed this house being built at the end of our street. I took this picture from my front door. I was very surprised because I never saw them digging or building the foundation or anything, until this point. Where have I been? I do feel like I've been unusually busy these days, and am very ready for our vacation coming up soon!
Dave and Steven get ready to take the plunge on their snow tube yesterday while sledding. I actually went down several times too, it was fun!
Hooray, Steven doesn't have homework, and he's going outside!
Jake LOVES to roll in the snow!
Jake decides to wait for his little squirrel friend to come back down to play. No pics of me since I was the designated picture taker.
Steven doing his homework like a good boy.
This is what Michael looks like these days when he ventures outdoors. Dave has snowblown another "mountain" in our backyard. It was too dark for me to get a good picture of it, but boy are Dave and Mike having fun on it! Poor Steven has had quite a bit of homework lately, so he has been busy working on it, while they're outside playing.
Tonight Steven wanted some ice cream, but after he got it he had a heck of a time putting it away. Evidently we need to start eating more of what's in the freezer. Stuff was falling out on him and he was shoving it back in. At one point, he had 1 hand in there and his leg in there. He was holding something in with his foot, and then he tried to slam the door really quick. It didn't work. I was laughing hysterically!
This is the view outside my back door this morning. I think that's enough snow for sledding, Martha!
This is one of our unsuccessful attempts last night, at getting a family photo for a Christmas card. Forget the dog, he was as much of a pain as the kids. We finally did get a good picture. Our Christmas card had a spot for 2 photos (a smaller one next to the family one), so we put the photo of Jake curled up in his bed in the little photo spot since he was uncooperative for the family shot. Oops, I forgot to get rid of our red eyes before posting this photo!
When we have enough snow, my husband likes to snowblow a bunch of it into a huge pile. Then he ices it over and digs the inside out for the kids. They love It! Even the dog likes it. Not only is it fun to play in, but it's fun to play "King of the Mountain" on. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe!
Today has been a very busy day. I ran from sun up til sun down, working, cooking, going to Bible study. Now I'm pooped!
The Adirondacks
From Wednesday to Saturday we went camping up in the Adirondack mountains with 4 other couples and their kids. All of us have been friends for quite a few years now, but a few of us had never camped together before. It was such a blast! We hiked to the top of Rocky Mountain one day. We had someone take this picture of us at the top (we are missing one of our guys who didn't climb due to a back problem). We cooked together, ate together, the kids rode bikes together, and we went kayaking together (most of us). Good memories!
