Polar Bear, Polar Bear. What Do You See?

Despite the balmy, 50+ degree weather in January,
we had an Arctic state of mind this week.
Furry, white polar bears and their hibernating, ice loving, seal hunting ways fascinated us!

We read books, made some crafts (one idea came from here), and snuggled up and watched the polar bear segment of Planet Earth. 
We summed up all that we learned in our journal.  (So that the focus can be writing and not handwriting, my girl narrates, and I write the bulk of her thoughts.)

Is it Possible?

Could winter be beautiful? 

Without the green, the lushness.

Just starkness and stillness.

Is it possible that this season be beautiful too?

When the cold air comes,
I don't want to stay inside, always shielded from it.
I want to walk into it.

See it with new eyes.  Theirs and mine.

To pause and drink it in.
To live today, not wishing for tomorrow.

Touch and feel it.

Find its treasures.

Walk the path.  Discover it again.

Slipping and Sliding

4 Teammates, 8 Feet, and 40 Toes Squeezed into Ice Skates=
Family Bucket List Minus One

Our morning of winter fun was quiet the memory. 
Mark grew up on the ice, so getting his girls out sliding around with him was something he had looked forward to.

It was wobbly, giggly, topsy-turvey, holding hands and clinging to the railing kind of fun.

By the end, we admit to being a little loony from all the
slipping and sliding.
We happily took some solo spins on the ice, and made the plans for a future date night on the ice.   

What's a Girl to Do?

What is a girl to do when you are home bound for a whole week?  There are only so many times you can check on Frosty and our bird feeders.  Well, yesterday was day three, so it was time to get a bit creative.  For the most part, we like to give the girls wide open time to play and use their imaginations.  They have the most fun when they are playing "Mary and Joseph" (Yes, STILL!) or "Rapunzel".  Sometimes though, when you only get out of the house to play for an hour a day, you must pull some tricks out of your parent bag. 

Last night, I didn't have it in me to re-bundle the kids for the second time of the day, so we brought the snow inside!  These two little snow lovers squealed with delight over this tub of frosty stuff. 

We are also lucky enough to have this little gem of a picture book checked out from the library.  We have read it 657 times.

Seeing little Peter wake up to snow gets me every time. 

And his snow angels?  Some serious cuteness.

We also got our Montessori on and did a little water transfer while momma cleaned out all the kitchen cabinets.

Finally, we glued up these little cuties.  In case you were wondering, an equal amount of marshmallows were consumed and glued. 

Now, what will we do on day four?

Part of the Silence

On day two after the big snow of 2011, we were still completely iced in.  Roads in our neighborhood were a giant sheet of ice with no signs of relief from a plow or salt truck.  No complaining here though. 
Cabin fever?  Not a chance.  No work, no school, no meetings, no errands=times to savor. 

While we were out enjoying some snowy fun, we decided that the birds and squirrels must be having a hard time finding groceries.  Always up for a little nature study, I jumped at the chance to talk about animals during this cold season.  We have been reading a book about birds, so S was concerned. Not wanting to end it with talk, we decided to help our little
 feathered friends out.
 

Using old hamburger buns, cheap peanut butter and birdseed, we made DIY bird feeders. 

The girls loved spreading the PB and sprinkling on some bird seed.

After punching holes and adding raffia, we crunched our way through the snow to the woods behind our home.  Sophia hand picked places to hang each feeder. 

We admired how pretty each little feeder looked,

and sat back waiting to catch some birds or squirrels munching on all this homemade fast food. 

Although no animals partook while we watched, we had a feeling that they were nearby watching and sniffing.

Before going in, we decided that a little under deck swinging was in order.  (Not a good pic, but the face was priceless.  She was NOT a fan just a few months ago!)

Today we went back out and spent some more time watching for birds.  We sat very still and once again took in the beauty of the shimmering blanket of icy snow on the floor of the woods.  We were thrilled to see a few birds nibbling way. 

"In order to see birds it is necessary to become part of the silence." ~Robert Lynd

Frosty?  No worries.  He is still smiling like the perfect ice ball that he is. 

A Girl and Her Man

At the first sighting of snow yesterday, Sophia had visions of a snowman dancing her head.  Nothing else was important, not walks, not snow angels, not sledding.  She had a vision and a plan. 

One of her favorite cartoons this past Christmas was "Frosty the Snowman", so this guy was dubbed "Frosty" while he was just a big pile of snow. 

It was instant love.  She loved him, and spent most of our morning hugging his cold, chubby body.  She loved him, so Claire did too. 

She hugged, hugged again, and then hugged some more.  We were peppered with questions about how quickly he would melt and how long he would hang out with us. 

When we came inside, she wanted to talk about Frosty and what he might be doing.  Before bed, we had to go take a status check in the dark.

This morning, she was very concerned about her snowy friend.  She was alarmed that his hat had been removed, so she quickly shared hers. 

This girl loves her man. 

Let's hope her man sticks around for a few days. 

The Snowy Day

One winter morning two little girls woke up to find that snow had fallen throughout the night.  A rare and wonderful treat had been given.

The girls pressed their noses to the cold glass, squealed, giggled and asked if Santa had come again. 

They shared the wonder of fallen snow with their babies and stuffed animals. 

After a breakfast of chocolate chip banana muffins and
steel cut oats, they snuggled up with daddy to watch
Sesame Street. 

After layers of warm clothes and boots were donned, they stood at the garage door taking in all the beauty. 

Their feet crunched, crunched, crunched into the icy snow, and their cheeks turned instantly pink. 

It wasn't long before they started rolling giant snowballs and making snow angels. 

Some of the snowballs were smaller than others.

Luckily, everyone felt sorry for the little one with the tiny snow ball, and shared a couple bigger ones. 

 

With her hand picked hodge podge of gloves, hat and momma's scarf, the big sister explored the blanket of snow.  She was in awe of how our world had changed so quickly.

Daddy and daughters sculpted a pudgy snow friend.

They walked the streets of our typically quiet neighborhood, talking with neighbors rarely seen.

When their toes started to tingle and their mittens were soaking wet, they gave in and came inside.  After a long and cold morning playing in the white stuff, they happily warmed up with mugs of steaming hot chocolate. 

When snow hits, cookies must be made.  Today's tasty treat?  Old school Snickerdoodles. 

After a long afternoon snooze and a big bowl of chili, the girls used their favorite plastic animals to make paint "tracks". 

It was a day to stay in cozy pajamas, eat warm cookies and shake our booties at frequent, random "dance parties".  A day to remember.

"The fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?"

~J.B. Priestley