Winter Warrior Challenge

Today is the 29th of January...so by the end of the day, Randy and I will have run at least 3 miles for 29 days straight. We've had some frigid temperatures and some icy mornings, but the biggest challenge has been this week by far. On Tuesday, we both managed to get in 3 miles of running/walking/snowshoeing during the blizzard. 

 I put on my snowshoes on Tuesday and set out to stay on the sidewalks. We are lucky to have a sidewalk plow in our area, but there was still a good 6-12 inches along the sidewalks. I trekked through some fields and woodland trails too. It was beautiful...and really tough!

 The challenge on Wednesday was pretty great too. I stayed on the side streets early Wednesday morning and as you can see, the conditions weren't great. My iPod even froze because it was so cold!

Thankfully I've got these snazzy sneakers outfitted with yaktraks!

Blizzard 2015

When we went to bed on Monday January 26th the snow had started to fall and the forecasts about winds, snowfall totals, and overall conditions were pretty impressive. We've lived through enough snowstorms to heed the warnings, but also to expect for the media to over-dramatize the forecast. When we awoke on Tuesday, we were, in fact, experiencing a blizzard and ended up with right around 2 feet of snow. Some towns just north and west of us got closer to three feet of snow, so I'd say, for us, this storm was as advertised. Unlike most snow days, we spent the majority of our day outside. We had a lot of shoveling to get done and Randy and I both had to figure out how to get in our three miles of running/walking/snowshoeing (more on that in another post). In addition to the shoveling, we spent a lot of time playing in the snow and just experiencing winter at it's finest! 

 We loved this little squirrel with it's snowy tail!

 Caleb and I tried to do a little sledding in the snow banks along the street, but had the most fun sledding down our street before the plows came through.

 Of course no snow day is complete without hot chocolate...

...a big puzzle (which we finished yesterday)...

 ...and a game of Monopoly!

 The kids were home from school again on Wednesday, so we got to enjoy even more snow fun. The boys had a great time scaling this snow mountain that was as tall as the street sign on our corner!

 Randy couldn't believe that we had never had snow cream, so I googled the recipe while he was at work and made some to share with the kids in the neighborhood. I took one large bowl of snow and mixed it with a can of sweetened condensed milk and a little vanilla. It was a huge hit!

 I took the kids for a quick sledding outing late yesterday afternoon. The sun was setting and it was so beautiful! We had a great time...until Levi got a little too cold for comfort.

 And finally, here is our giant snowflake!

Snow Part I

We've been waiting for just about the whole month of January for some snow to play in and we finally got our wish! On Saturday January 24th, we got our first real snow of the season. We got about 6 inches, which was perfect for snowmen and sledding. 

 Before the storm, the kids had a great time making paper snowflakes to hang in the windows.

 We made another huge paper snowflake to hang on the front porch. The kids like for it to be colorful, so we spent some time coloring a very large piece of paper. You can see the finished product in the Blizzard blog post.

 The snow didn't stop our running activities and everyone was still able to get in our Sunday runs. Randy and I have been participating in the Marathon Sports Winter Warrior Challenge, so we've definitely learned to embrace the weather whatever it may be.

The best part of the snow over the weekend was sledding! We went to Mt. Hood as a family and found some smaller hills that were perfect for everyone to enjoy. 

 This is Adelina the day before the blizzard....more snow to come!

Various January Moments

I've been trying to be better about taking more pictures of everyday occurrences. Not sure that I'm succeeding, but I do have a bunch of unrelated pictures on my camera from the month of January. 

Here is a determined and dedicated Levi getting in some running on a cold Sunday

 Adelina continues to amaze us with her reading. Not only can she read just about anything, she absolutely loves it and she is very often curled up with a good book.

 Levi enjoying Mr. Potato head....

...and Adelina's reading skills. 

 The kids thought Oscar was so funny curled up next to this stuffed cat.

 Poor Samosa being carted around by Adelina!

 Oscar has been enjoying the fish tank as much as anyone. He loves to sit and watch the fish swim around and the feeling seems to be mutual. When he hops up by the aquarium, the fish usually come check him out too....not sure if they think Oscar might be a source of food.

Boston Symphony Night

On Saturday January 17th, I had the pleasure of going to the symphony with Caleb. He works so incredibly hard practicing piano and it was the perfect reward for all of his efforts. 

 Before the concert, we went to Aquataine in the South End of Boston for dinner. It was Caleb's first experience with fine dining and he was thrilled to eat at a restaurant without a kid's menu! For appetizer he ate the warm beet salad, for entree he had steak frites with a watercress salad, and for dessert he enjoyed some creme brûlée! He loved all of the food and had a great time interacting with the staff. Our waiter was impressed with both Caleb's palette and his behavior!

 We then headed over to Symphony Hall for the concert. After I took this picture of Caleb, he said "Mom, maybe one day I'll be up there playing that piano". I wouldn't be surprised!

 We really enjoyed the evening's program. We heard a lovely Mozart piano concerto, but the highlight for both of us was Bruckner's 7th Symphony...very powerful music! Can't wait to do it again!