Back to school

 
The jays have been getting good at the latest challenge: pecking peanuts through a hole in a jug.
 
We had gotten used to waiting for daylight before getting up, but kindergarten started up again. 
 
  
The kids were happy to try out a projector, which shows movies on the wall.
 
During his first week back at school, Gryphon’s head was filled with knowledge and lice eggs.  But now our house is extra clean.

End of the year

 
After the grandparents and Aunt Lolo left, we resorted to balancing eggs for entertainment.
 
We noticed some familiar faces appearing in the jigsaw puzzle.
  
On the 29th we attached a camera to a bunch of balloons – watch the video.
 
Friends Casey and Tricia came over from Seattle on the 30th.  The next day we walked around in the rain, checking out a WWII bunker, and skipping rocks.
 

 

Christmas 2013

The kids discovered that Santa had somehow managed to squeeze through the wood stove during the night.
  
And he had left a lot of presents, despite the strict quotas we had agreed upon.
 
We took a break during “quiet time” to reshoot some old photos, as you saw in the last post.  But there were more presents to be opened so we worked into the evening.
 
 
 

Then and now

On Christmas Eve and Christmas we entertained ourselves by recreating some old photos.

Snow

  
We awoke on the 20th to find good snowman material all over the ground.  The 2-hour school delay gave us time to go to the school and fill the field with snowballs.
 
 
Laura and my parents arrived on the 22nd for the midwife Christmas party.  Cheri had baked up some cranberry bread for the occasion.

 
 
After dinner Gryphon and Jesse checked some puddle water for microorganisms, but it seems they don’t like the cold weather as much.

The next day everyone just got on their computers and left Nanna in charge of the children.
 
  
My college roommate Erick showed up to say hi but had to leave for some important business in Victoria so he missed some tasty Thai food.

 
On Christmas Eve we replaced a microwave and reenacted some old photos (more on this later).  When Momma suggested that Santa might be too fat to squeeze down the chimney, Gryphon decided to do an experiment.  He put small objects on all the door handles, and on the woodstove handle.  He also put out some cookies and a carrot.
 
 
In the morning Gryphon found the piece of bark on the woodstove handle had been dislodged, and the cookies and carrot had been eaten.