New Hike

You know we love our "magic road," but we have decided to make an effort to explore the various hikes that our little town has to offer.  We found this wonderful trail along a beautiful brook and had a grand time.  It was a bit icy, and given Finn's fearlessness, both Sean and I had several heartattacks along the way, but all in all, it was a wonderful time.  We can't wait to explore it again in the spring and summer when it won't be a problem if Finn gets his feet wet.

Box

Finn got a new carseat, but, of course, the best part of it was the box!  Finn made a little home in there and was thrilled to invite Josette in to explore:

Feeding Lily

Finn has deemed feeding Lily to be his job.  He is very serious about doing it morning and evening all by himself.

Even when the food gets low, Finn fins a way....

No Hands!

Josette has started to stand on her own.  She will pick something up and then stand up.  She can hold herself up for a good half minute.

It has also led to a whole lot of mischeif.  Time to move my mason jars:

Time to move our bill filing system (and, yes, that is a milk crate with our files, so obviously, we could use a better system anyway):

Homemade Silly Putty

Those of you on Pinterest will likely recognize this one and many of our crafts recently.  Thank goodness for that website.  Homemade silly putty was a really great activity for Fdinn while Josette was really sick. 

Just mix equal parts liquid starch and school glue and food coloring:

 Finn has quite a way with mixing colors:

 It is weird stuff and took awhile to get to the consistency we wanted:

 Now it is good and stretchy:

 It is fun because you can store it and Finn was excited to share it with his Sean on the weekend:

 Oh boy:

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, as you know, I enjoy dressing up my kiddos for holidays and taking photos.  Luckily, we were handed down this heart-rific dress that just screamed Valentine's Day!  It can be difficult to take a photo of Josette these days because she will immediately start crawling for the camera.  You can get a good view of that first tooth though:

 Pulling up all the time now:

 And, there are my two Valentines:

 Hugs:

 Shoes can be tasty:

 Shoe change, breaking in the Harley shoes:

 "Little Rebel":

 Had to take a pick of the fluffy bum with lady bugs:

 Accesories by Nana:

Ice Fishing

Whew, we had a rough bout of the stomach bug this past week and it has set me back in just about everything, including blogging!  So, here we are going back to Saturday the 11th.  It was the quintessential New Hampshire family ice fishing fun day and, of course, much fun was had by all.

Finn and Liam helped set the traps:

 Lily, the labrador fish retriever was not to be detered away from any hole:

 A flag, and everyone goes running!  We did catch quite a few interesting fish, but with Josette on my back, I never got out to the traps quickly enough to document it:

 While waiting for the flags, ice skating and sledding were the main attractions.  Carrie has perfected whipping the kiddos around:

 Finn and Liam conspired to hold onto every sled and slide along from the back:

 Josette fell asleep and enjoyed a nap in the radio flyer:

 Hot dogs and snacks around the fire to warm up:

Friday Hike

The kiddos and I enjoyed a magic road hike last Friday.  It was in the 50s here and we had to get out and enjoy it.  I am very pleased because I have finally learned the double hammock back wrap and it is sooooo comfy.  Obviously, it is comfy for Josette because she slept for half the hike:

 Finn was such a trooper and walked the whole way, happily exploring with his walking stick.  Here, he finally had to take some rest time:

 And, yes, Lily came too, but managed to avoid any porcupines this time!

 Finn liked to poke at the ice along the stream

 Josette woke up happy:

 Some open water to splash in:

 Beautiful ice crystals throughout the hike, here is me wishing I was a photographer :)