Snow!

We probably got more snow last year in terms of inches, but we've had more snowstorms this year than last - and more snow days off of school and work.  We had a couple of inches here and there in December and January, but it was usually gone a day or two later.  Then we got a very short, but very powerful white-out storm on Valentine's Day.  In the 10 minutes it took us to drive home from treating the kids to Ethiopian dinner, the roads became slick, we had an inch or so of accumulation, and it was a true white-out driving experience.

It was snowing so hard when we went to bed that we couldn't see our neighbor's home across the street.

So the next day was a snow day for the kids and the government closed so Patrick got to stay home as well.  Somehow our bedroom window has become the official "look-out" when it snows.

We piled into the van and drove back to the old neighborhood to enjoy their sledding hill.  The kids went by themselves, in duos, and as a three-some.  Even when they weren't the one sledding, they tended to run down the hill.  So after an hour or so, they were exhausted (yeah!!!).

Luray Caverns

In mid-January, we ventured deeper into Virginia and treated the kids to Luray Caverns.  It's a HUGE set of caverns with formations made primarily of limestone and calcite.  Patti and Patrick have been to caves in Madagascar and Puerto Rico, but the kids had never experienced anything like that before.  They really were expecting a room-size dark cave so when we ventured around for an hour, looping up, down, and around, they were amazed.

The kids learned - and remembered for a short time - which formations were stalactites (have to hold tight to the ceiling) and which were stalagmites (might grow to the ceiling).

Will was amazed by the Dream Lake, which is an optical illusion because it's only about 20 inches deep.  He took Patrick's hand and walked right up to the guide to ask him why the lake didn't turn into a formation too.  The guide thanked Will for such a good question before explaining to him that the water drips slowly out the back of the lake, making a waterfall formation that no one can get over to see and appreciate.

First-ever ice skating

In early January, we took the kids ice skating at the local rink in Silver Spring.  They had never skated before, and we haven't skated since LONG before kids, so it was a little rough (but fun).  The kids thought it was pretty fun to get real skates and to use the support penguins.

 

The kids weren't getting the hang of skating, even with the penguins, so Patti and I broke our backs leaning over and "skating" with the kids - which was basically just holding them up.

But it was a lot of fun.  The kids liked that they'd tried it, no one even fell hard on the ice, and when the Frozen music came on you'd think we were in heaven.