What does one do in 80 inches of snow?

Good question! This picture is a little misleading as to just how much snow we've gotten because that huge snow mound is the dump site from clearing the parking lot (and it's right outside our window...we never liked looking at the parking lot anyway). But up to the picnic table is the real deal. This snow has been CrAzY! And we've gotten so many snow days they've reduced spring break and extended the school year.

But, in no particular order, this is how we've entertained ourselves through January. First of all, we played in the snow, and played in the snow, and played in the snow some more.

Independent of the snow days, I realized that with Eli starting school when we go to Germany, this is my last semester home with her! So I planned out a little low-key curriculum of learning about one of 8 countries for three weeks, mostly through different art elements. The first country was China and this is a watercolor she did after we read a poem by Li Po, I think. Actually not Li Po, he only wrote about drinking. Wang Fu? I don't really remember. Anyway, she dubbed it (as you can see) "The Summer Picture" (spelling standardized).
We made a string of chinese lanterns for Chinese New Year, 12 lanterns each with the different signs of the Chinese zodiac on it. Can you decipher my drawing?

I really liked this watercolor of Eli's. She called it "The Big Splash".

I thought this was really good, too. I especially liked the hand of God effect in the sky.

Year of the .....

There's the whole string of them. China is so cool! Their myths and legends are so completely foreign that it's really fun to read them, and we loved learning the song Ni Wa Wa. We've been trying to learn about Russia now (we're doing the BRIC countries first), but with Julia home so often and being unable to reach the library, it's been a little tough. But the sun is shining today, and there may be hope for an end to this awful winter soon!

We've also spent lots of time reading our book! Have you all ordered your copy? Do you love it? Do you hope any one of the amazing contributors relocates near you when they're done here?

More snow fun.

Who doesn't love a nice popsicle when there's a blizzard raging outside?

Lots of days Katharine and Eli are really great friends.

Everyday Katharine is super cute.

So I visit-teach a recent convert who loves to entertain small children, so she sets up all our appointments at Chuck E. Cheese or the Burger King playplace and pays for lunch and tokens and what-not. Usually we meet while Julia's in school so she only hears the account afterward of all the fun they had. Well, Melin felt bad about Julia never getting to come so when we set up our January appointment in December she specifically requested a day when Julia wouldn't be in school. Three Kings Day it was--thanks to the large Latino community in New Haven, apparently--and the girls looked forward to this Three Kings Day like no other. (by the way, have you all heard of Three Kings Day? Did you know that the 12 days of Christmas don't start 12 days before Christmas but start on Christmas and continue until Three Kings Day on January 6th when the wise men supposedly found the baby Jesus? Yeah! News to me!)

Anyway, unfortunately for Julia, Melin spent way more than anticipated over Christmas, so amid all the reports of pizza and salad and capacious pockets of tokens, the girls ended up with no pizza and one cup of tokens to share among them.

But they had fun anyway.

Yes, even this gingerbread house was to wile away a snow day, because we were too busy to do them before Christmas so we did them after.

And of course lots of reading, dancing, and snuggling with Daddy.

Finally, winding up year 5 here in New Haven, I thought I had exhausted all the very-low-cost to free engagement possibilities, until I remembered we have hardly even touched the possibilities of Yale Athletics! So for our FHE activity last Monday we watched a fencing match! So cool! One of Justin's students last semester is captain of the gymnastics team, so we're going to watch them this Saturday, and a girl from my German class is on the Squash team, so we're going to hit up one of those matches...we can make it 5 more months! We can make it 5 more months!

In other news, we have settled upon a move to Berlin, not Heidelberg. Es ist billiger und interessanter. Wir denken.