We don't exactly enjoy the same programs but we're hoping to find a few things to watch together now and then.
The trees have buds but they dare not open until April or May.
Snow quiets the morning. Our neighborhood is quiet already. But when it snows like this, there is a hush in the air.
We've decided to try (again) for a family TV room. I like to move the furniture around.
This is a work in progress because we are going to upgrade to a larger television. This old tv is so tiny that I can hardly see what is happening on the screen. Definitely time for a big flat screen tv, now that the prices are much lower.
This is the first year with our wood burning stove. We turned off the heater and loaded up with wood. The savings is remarkable. But you have to like wood. A lot. Luckily wood is a renewable resource when you have a 19 acre backyard of forrest.
After house cleaning time, I tried to play with the kids. It's not as easy as you might think because they get jealous of each other and fight for practically no reason at all. When they do get along, they get so excited about it that they sometimes fall or do spazzy moves and then begin to cry. They go hot to cold to hot to cold in seconds. It's hard to keep up. 
We also made a physical countdown calendar. This chain of loops marks the number of days remaining until our vacation to Disney World. We've been crossing days off a paper calendar but it's very hard for little Julia to understand what that means or how many days remain. This way she can cut off a ring each morning and observe the chain becomes shorter and shorter.
We'll have to keep the chain out of reach because if she had it to herself, she would no doubt rip all the rings off in one day to try and make the trip come sooner. 
Now begins the season where we carry a bit of hope each day, wondering if it might be slightly warmer than usual. Walking outside is so much nicer than doing laps around the mall.
Julia's favorite part of the day was playing at the outdoor park by the ocean. She was really laughing a lot. 
Kind of funny that we so enjoyed and celebrated 45 degrees today. Soon we will be in Florida hoping for temperatures in the mid-70s or higher! 
Ellie rewards Julia with stickers and candy whenever she goes to the bathroom on the toilet. Our family is all looking forward to the end of diaper days.
I washed Ubi today. I hope she does alright with the pet sitter while we are on vacation. 
She met two friends and enjoyed meetings with them in this space ship ball, suspended in the air. Sometimes she would look down to me. Sometimes I would look up from my book to her. Another little boy, only 1 year old, came and sat next to me with a french fry. Julia yelled down from the space ball, "Don't let him eat my french fries!"
We noticed the air force plane was doing laps in the sky over Portsmouth, as he often does. We drove over there to watch. This is the only airport around here. It's a private or military airport. Very educational for Julia to see a large jet touch down and take off. Since she will be going on a plane soon, I thought it would be a good idea to show her one first.
I don't know what these folks were doing there. I think they were saying goodbye to their family members, perhaps military people, as their jet took off to somewhere. For a while I was feeling empathetic for them and imagining their relatives might be headed off to Afghanistan. Then I noticed one woman was clutching a large garden gnome. That sort of changed the experience for me.
The jet is really big. It's like seeing the same old bear tramping through the woods. I remember last summer seeing this overhead hours on end as I was on the tennis courts or at the pool.
Julia seems ready to ride in a plane. She hasn't mentioned any reservations. She just says "let's go, mom. Let's go see Mickey now."
Julia amused herself (and the cat) by dragging yard around the house and cutting it whenever she became tangled or stuck.
Well, no. Although I carefully hand basted the top and base together, with batting in between, of course, there are a few tucks and pleats where there should be only flatness. What to do? This quilt, a donation to the school for the auction fund raiser, is too big to fail. There are countless hours invested here. I decided, after some seam ripping, that the best option here is to add stitching. The more stitching, the better the quilt (in my opinion). I am going to add as much stitching as I can before finally calling this finished. I will add so much stitching that every few inches has something, except for the art drawings, which will remain stitch-free. I stitched right over the erroneous pleat and now it is flat.
Yesterday was a snow day. Today is sunny and sparkly. The sky looks extra blue today.
Julia took a private swim lesson this morning, somewhat unexpectedly. I didn't bring my camera, which was too bad because she was so cute and happy in the water with her new teacher. Although the private lessons cost more, I believe I will ultimately spend less because she will learn so much faster with concentrated, enjoyable instruction. The aquatics director says that group lessons are the best setting for a child to learn to swim; however, I have to disagree at the moment. She may be right but after having seen the private lesson myself, I am going to have to put my money on that bet. The child will most likely surpass her older sister's swimming ability very soon. Time will tell.
After swimming, we lingered at the coffee shop, warm and dry. We picked up this fun sticker book for 1.57 at Target in their 75 percent off Valentine's Day merchandise. That was a good buy for Miss Julia.
Although the lift lines were out of control busy, the mountain itself was great. Once we got to the top of the mountain, we didn't feel crowded anymore. It was a lovely day. Ironically, out on this mountain today was by far, the warmest I have felt all winter. My long johns and ski jackets kept me invincibly warm today.
Ellie refreshed her skiing ability rather quickly. Mount Cranmore had two magic carpets. This is the greatest thing for beginners. Ellie gained confidence on these flat slopes and was quickly ready to go up the mountain for longer hills.
We enjoyed nice views of Mount Washington from the chair lifts.
We thoroughly enjoyed lunch! Although the dining room was crowded, we were tired and hungry. Ellie ate french fries. I loved my veggie burger.
The afternoon was equally busy at the lift lines, yet uncrowded on the slopes. The mountain has mostly intermediate slopes. 
Since I have not skied at all this winter, my legs were unprepared. My muscles turned to jelly. My lower legs felt incredibly squished inside my boots. Ellie's energy outlasted mine and I had to insist we stop skiing around 3 pm. My legs do not like ski boots! 
The greatest part about ending your ski day at Mount Cranmore is APRES SKI in the town! The village of Conway has something for everyone. The town is cute and easy to walk around in. I always feel happy coming here. 
One of our favorite shops is the yellow one called Zeb's General Store. It has a 100 foot long candy counter! Right up my alley. They have lots of old time displays and a high energy in the crowded shop.
Lots to choose from for snacks and endless gift options here.
Ellie chose rock candy on a stick. I chose orange and blueberry licorice. Yummy treats. Half of the joy of candy to me is just looking at all the colors behind the counter. Look at those giant jaw breakers.
My other favorite shop is the coffee shop called The Met. I love it there. The atmosphere is warm and cozy. There are couches. It's always busy with chatting happy people. The coffee is excellent. The menu is delightful. 
And there is a window of treats, especially heart warming to a weight watcher's person like myself.
I got the chocolate cupcake and shared it in half with Ellie. Since I burned all those calories skiing and skipped dinner, this actually came out fine with my calorie count for the day. Now that is just amazing, icing on the cake! I got to ski and eat extra food. Wonderful.
Great day! We should go skiing more often. Next year we'll get Julia out there too. Then our whole family can ski together. What fun it will be.
