We celebrated the beginning of 2016 with the Hadfield side of the family by eating yummy soups and playing in the snow.
Devan, Braden E, Michelle, Andrew, and Jennifer
Grandma has a pretty cool tablecloth :)
Henlie got a lot of play time in because Uncle John didn't want to come in and then go back out to pull sleds, so Aunt Lynell took her around and around and around and around some more until more people arrived. I'm kind of surprised Henlie didn't get tired of it, or frozen :)
Chloe, Henlie, and Lynell
Mocha likes to chase sleds.
Henlie still wasn't done when other people showed up and wanted turns :)
Fortunately, Laurie is a good sport and let her ride with her and Tanner :)
Since we'd just played the day after Christmas and Lynell was willing to watch and play with Henlie, I didn't end up playing outside. Instead, we hung out inside and ate yummy food, chatted, and played some Phase 10 :)
lol I love Braden E's face in this one. I snapped it before he could process what was happening ;)
Michelle, Braden E, Braden R, Jennifer, and Me
As always, we had a grand time playing with family. Family is the best :)
They hooked three of them on one four-wheeler.
Henlie honing her Jenga skills in a solo game.
Okay, maybe Matt sort of played with her.
It snowed for Christmas, so Henlie told Charlie to bring her snow clothes so we could go play. Unfortunately, we didn't get over to Grandma's with enough time to play before dinner and presents. Fortunately, they were spending the night, so we went over to play on the 26th. It was also convenient for it to snow again since Henlie had just gotten new snow pants.
Getting ready to go out to play!
All bundled and ready to go!
That purple sled was coveted and Henlie did not want to give it up :/
Going down the lane with Daddy.
McKade taking Charlie down the drive.
Mocha running back up the lane.
The girls played and made snow angels. We hooked a sled up to Grandpa's four-wheeler and drove around sledding. Matt made me take McKade around, and we went for quite awhile until my thumb was frozen :) Grandma got out a couple of other sleds and the kids sledded down Grandma's drive. Mocha had a great time running all over the place. Andrew, well Andrew ended up taking a nap. haha
Daddy photobomb.
Starting to get sleepy. Wearing his Peruvian garb - chullo, snow suit from his baby shower, and some little booties we got before we left :)
She thought throwing "snow balls" was funny. The snow was too dry to pack, though, so mostly she just sprayed some snow showers at you :)
Camile, Danica, and Charlie getting ready to go around with the four-wheeler.
Dad preparing to throw Henlie down the lane :)
Why yes, he fell asleep outside :)
Holey beanie is not so good for four-wheeling in the freezing cold.
Andrew got to go inside and snuggle up with Aunt Jenn for the rest of his nap :)
Then it was time to warm up and get some lunch before the Covalt Party that night :)
Pretty much since we moved home, Henlie has wanted to build a snowman. Every time it would snow, she would ask if there was enough snow to build a snowman. Finally, we got a storm that left enough snow to actually play in, so we had a snow day on December 15th :)
First we have to bundle everybody up and test Henlie's old toboggan to see if Andrew can handle it since he doesn't actually sit on his own yet :)
We started with some light Andrew sledding, then we tried to make a snowman, but the snow was too powdery. We managed a tiny ... mound? haha It was good enough for Henlie, though. Then we wandered around our buidling and the next playing make-believe things. We went to Bear Island and visited the bears. We also had to stay away from the germs (read: bushes; Yeah, I don't know either. Kids. :))
Andrew checking out the snow.
Henlie showing off our "snowman."
This little story amuses me. I let Henlie pull Andrew for a minute. (She did really well!)
Andrew's all content, but then she turns and drops the rope to cheese for the camera, and he starts wailing.
I would have taught Henlie about snow angels, but she didn't have any snow pants. Fortunately, she had a lot of fun wandering around playing pretend in the snow. Henlie also tried to make snowballs. Fortunately, being so powdery, the snow just fluffed in my general direction when she tried to throw it ;)
Snow Selfies
Finally wearing his little booties we got him in Peru!
Henlie trying to make a snowball from the snow on the bush.
Andrew standing next to our snowman.
After some "skating" and icicle observing, I managed to get Henlie back upstairs where we warmed up with some hot cocoa. I don't really love the snow, and bundling everyone up is kind of a pain, but I love it when my kids are so happy. (Okay, kid. Andrew didn't love it or hate it, but he did get over being in the sled, so I had to pull him out and pull the sled behind me still :)) Next, Momma needs some snow pants!
Henlie "skating" on the sidewalk.
Icicle Bush 1
Icicle Bush 2
Icicle Bush 3
The 10th was a magical day thanks to my kids. I could have done with a little bit more time before our first snow, but that's okay. Henlie was so excited. Whenever it snows, she asks if there's enough snow to build a snowman. (There hasn't been yet.) I quickly got over my romanticized notion of snow and fondly thought back on the weather in Lima right now haha. It was also Andrew's first snow. Even though snow may be less than pleasant, it's always fun to experience baby's first.
Snow!
Andrew's first snow!
Baby Boy in his second chullo.
"Mom, can you take a picture? Mocha, say 'cheese!'"
