Another storm from the south drops amazing amounts of snow in the whole Harrisburg area! The best thing for us is that these southern storms drop less on us than all of those worrying about our driveway this year. Heehee! Although still a large amount, we ended with only 15 inches yesterday. Uncle Tup again bailed us out with his tractor, but I’m willing to bet we could get out of our driveway before many of you further south.

Anyway, the kids of course were amazed at the snowy bliss awaiting their footprints, sleds, and tunnels. Even the puppies couldn’t wait to run around in it, or more like bound around since it was to their bellies. Destiny took Jagger out on his harness and leash to explore the frozen white stuff. We were surprised that he eventually warmed up to the idea and seemed to like hopping around exploring it. Well all was going well, until I accidentally let the dogs go out back forgetting she was out front with the rabbit. Thankfully she heard Leia coming, and snatched Jagger up before Leia could get to him. Big oops for me, but a big pat on the back for Destiny!

I really don’t mind these big storms on weekends when we don’t have to worry about driving to anything. They are just the most exciting types of storms for the kids. Scott even took Destiny for dark, snowy walk last night. Everything just seems so peaceful when it snows. I’m not looking forward to the snow predicted for midweek. I’m hoping it holds off until Thursday when Scott is off of work! Here are some pictures of our fun snowy day.

Well, as Destiny’s study of Pennsylvania came to a close in social studies, we were lucky enough to have our local home schoolers in the Halifax organize a tour of the state capitol. She was so pleased with herself because she could answer many questions, having just covered the information in school. Amazingly, this is the first time we’ve ever taken the actual tour. Usually we just walk around and hang out at the fountain. It was very informative. Even Derek and Dakota enjoyed it. After the tour, we explored some stairways back up to the fourth floor and down again. Here’s a few pictures from the field trip.

Every year I seem to realize it’s farm show week as I’m driving down the road past one of those traffic signs. This year was no different. The great thing about this late discovery each year is that I’m never tempted to go on opening weekend. Instead the kids and I usually wind up going on the day they have the cart races. We went early on Tuesday and completed their Farm Detective program which was like a scavenger hunt for knowledge throughout the facility. Then the kids got to enter a contest with Turkey Hill to win a year’s supply of ice cream. We really enjoyed going to the different booths and of course, seeing and petting different animals. Then we had to leave for Dakota’s drum lesson, but were excited to return later with Scott along. This is the first time he’s been able to join us for the cart races. We splurged on some treats from the food court and raced to the arena for some good seats. I think I even saw Scott smiling as we screamed and cheered for the different teams. The kids love this event because they get to yell for all of the teams as loud as they want without getting into trouble. It was a nice field trip and has become something we look forward to each year! The kids hope that someday they will have something to enter in one of the competitions at the show. We’ll see! Enjoy the pictures!

Derek and Dakota were learning about the planets in science, so I couldn’t resist introducing them to an old art form–paper mache! They had so much fun with the messy goo as they constructed planets to go along with their presentations. Each had to select a planet, read a book about it, make a poster, and give an oral report to the family. They loved it, and I love when learning is a blast!

Destiny finished her Unit 2 Reading project for her novel, Redwall. She created this wonderful map of the place where the story takes place, and then recorded explanations for each area on the map explaining what happened where. This she then presented to the family. She really took her time and created a nice map! She also had to prepare a one minute speech for history after learning a little about the workings of politics. She had to pretend she was running for Class President, but her speech had to convince two audiences to vote for her, the adults and other children. This was to help her understand how politicians try to persuade their audience to vote for them. She did manage to fit some points in there for both groups in that short time! Great job Destiny!

We decided it was time to get the kids started with some instrumental lessons as we have been telling them we would after the move. Dakota is taking drum lessons and Destiny is taking flute lessons. Derek and Scott have decided to learn the guitar together. Since Dakota wants to be a builder it has been easy for Scott to find projects to do with him. The guitar lessons will give him something special with Derek, too. They are using a DVD program to learn though instead of going to a live instructor, so we may allow Derek to take vocal lesson to. He has a great ear for melodies!

After the kids had started lessons, one morning Derek gets up with this crazy hair sticking up all over. I couldn’t believe it! He looked just like an 80s rocker which went perfect with his guitar, so I had to share. Take a look for yourself!

We took Pap with us on a PA Cyber field trip to see the Pennsylvania Youth Ballet’s performance of the Nutcracker. I wasn’t sure what the boys would think of it with this being their first ballet, but they seem to really be mesmerized by it. The performance was great! After the show, Pap treated us all to lunch, topping off the trip!

Mammam accompanied us on a field trip to the Dickens of a Christmas presentation at the Mount Hope Estates (by the Ren Faire). This was a neat interactive experience, and we were so glad that Mammam could share it with us! We learned about parlor games from the times, learned the origins of some holidays traditions, sung Christmas Carols, met Charles Dickens, and watched a version of the Christmas Carol. The gentlemen playing Dickens tried to incorporate Dakota into the show, but every time he came over to talk to him as Scrooge’s nephew, Dakota just covered his head with his coat. With a group of teens there from another school, he was getting a lot of “Awwwws!” from everyone. He definitely didn’t want to be the center of attention, but was just darn cute anyway! After the show, we took Mammam to lunch at friendly’s where I persuaded her to save some of that humongous salad for later to have room for a peanut butter cup sundae. She was glad she did! Yum! We had such a nice field trip! Here’s Mammam and the kids in the “church” to learn some songs and traditions.

With the move Mammam wasn’t going to be able to have her Christmas party this year which was really a big disappointment for her. Scott and I decided to surprise her with a party at our house. We set up her tree with all of the family pictures. Destiny set up her village decorations, and we turned the new living room into a little banquet hall. The only problem was that we were hit with a big snow storm the day before. Still much of the family and friends still managed to make it. Uncle Tup plowed the driveway and parking areas, and those that couldn’t make it up simply parked below and walked up. Everyone brought food to contribute, and some even brought sleds. Everything turned out so nicely, and most importantly, Mammam was thrilled. She seemed to be having such a great time seeing everyone, and that makes the whole thing a success. Santa Claus even visited, and Mammam sat on his lap, too. After some of the families left a few with kids hung out and went sledding. It was an awesome day!

On Christmas Eve, we visited Pap and Grandma Rineer as has become tradition. The kids excitedly tore through gifts and enjoyed some dinner and treats. I think Destiny was most excited about her K’nex building sets, and the boys were by far most excited about Wii Mario Kart of their very own. We exchanged gifts with everyone and enjoyed the visit! Tori even had little gifts and treats for the dogs which they were very happy to receive. Leia didn’t want to share the toys,and claimed them all for herself. They devoured the brownies!

For Christmas this year the kids were probably most excited about getting gifts for their pets! They decided to get pet gifts instead of for each other, but I made that choice theirs. That’s right, the humans were bumped off of their Christmas lists for the animals! From a kid’s perspective I can understand that. We got the kids some more Wii stuff, building things, and giant bean bags and followed our normal tradition of opening gifts throughout the day. It was such a nice relaxing time after all of the running around before the holiday. We still had snow on the ground, so the kids also enjoyed sledding throughout the holiday break. We had ducks for dinner, breaking in the new roaster that Tori got us, along with some of Derek’s cooking course recipes. The Rosemary Potatoes were delicious and the duck turned out great, too!

We took it easy for most of the week and appreciated having Scott home with us. Poor him though! He was fighting bronchitis the whole week! For New Years Eve, we decided to all stay up until midnight. When everyone was looking tired around 10 PM, I told them to all get dressed for some late night sledding and a snowball fight. I love breaking away from our normal daily routines for special things like this from time-to-time. We had so much fun! Then we played Apples to Apples as a family until the countdown at midnight, and then finished the game after that. We made our traditional toast literally with toast, and headed to bed around 1 AM. It was such a nice evening centered around great family time which is a theme I’d love to carry on through the new year!

Here are some pictures from our Winter Holiday activities.

As promised, once the construction finished the kids were allowed to get their own pets. Dakota was the first to save enough money, so Smokey the hamster joined our family the week after Thanksgiving just after the kids moved into their own rooms. Since then Dakota has done a great job taking care of her. He needs a little help getting the cage cleaned, but he makes sure she gets plenty of exercise, food, and water. He even gives her some special treats from time-to-time. Most importantly he has been handling her frequently enough that she has acclimated to people, rarely biting. She especially likes to hang out in his sleeve like a little snuggly hammock. Take a look at Smokey!

After some research Destiny ultimately wound up deciding to adopt a rabbit from the Humane Society. She got lucky that they were having some sort of special promotion to get the pet, all necessary shots, and neutering for a mere $10. Normally it would have cost her about $60. She was able to afford a really nice big cage with a pullout litter tray and other extras due to the savings. She did chores and saved up to pay for all of that herself. Jagger, the rabbit, now is very comfortable hopping around her room most of the day. He’s not a fan of being picked up, but tolerates it. We had to rearrange her room so she could get him out from under her bed from both sides since that was his favorite place to hide. He gets braver and braver everyday. He’s definitely comfortable with her and will even jump up onto her bed for some attention or a treat. Here’s her rabbit, Jagger!

Sandy and her husband, Chris, visited us mid-December to bring the kittens to join our family. Their cat had 2 kittens back in October if you remember from my earlier post. Derek had been wanting a cat. We figured one would be for him to care for and the other we parents would be responsible for. We wanted them to have each other for company, and since they were litter mates we figured that was the best option. Despite Sandy’s old name for the orange cat, Derek settled on Jack, short for jack-o-lantern since he was born near Halloween. After going back and forth on names for the black kitten we wound up agreeing with Sandy’s and Chris’ name Butch. When the two get really wild we wind up calling them The Butcher and Jack the Ripper. Just like the other kids, Derek saved up to afford the things his cats would need. However, many of his costs were split since only one of the cats were his. Here’s Jack and Butch!

You may wonder what the pets all thought of each other. Well, the cats immediately befriended the rabbit who is fortunately bigger than them and the same color as their mother. They love to snuggle with him and eat his food. Jagger doesn’t seem to mind sharing so long as they give him some attention. They’ve even been known to curl up together for a nap. The hamster doesn’t seem to mind the others when she’s running around in her ball. She even will chase down the kittens and run into them. They don’t know what to do about her yet. Just in case they do decide to give into their predator instincts though we make extra sure the lid is on tightly. Luke gets along well with the kittens after letting him know that being rough with the kittens results in getting shot with a water bottle. He has even been seen sleeping with them on the dog bed when inside with them alone. Leia, on the other hand, is way too rough. She seems to think the other animals are great toys, and she doesn’t understand why she can’t play with them more and maybe even have a little snack. Although the rabbit came up to Luke once surprisingly, we still don’t trust him around the rabbit. Normally he tries to chase it down, but on that one occasion just didn’t know what to do when it was right their sniffing his nose. Having 6 pets all under a year old and in the same food chain definitely makes the house more exciting! More pet pictures!

The week after Thanksgiving Cliff finished the new floors for the old part of the house which concluded the construction! Whoohooooooo! Not that I don’t appreciate all the wonderful work he did, but I must admit I’m looking forward to not having to wake up to hammers.

Anyway, the new place looks so different from the old. We still hope to finish some things off in the basement, and to expand the kitchen. We’ve been back and forth on putting in a whole house generator or just getting a portable to use as needed. We’re hoping that Obama’s tax credit will at a minimum expand the kitchen and upgrade it for us. The rest we’ll figure out later! The yard will also need a face lift after all of the driving we had to do on it. We’ll finish up some things on the front porch, too. Those things can all wait until warmer weather in the spring though! The place looks awesome and will be much more functional and spacious for our family. For those that haven’t seen the transformation, here are some pictures!

Now that my Thanksgiving visitors left, I was able to move the kids into their own bedrooms. That was the one thing we really wanted to be able to give them in our new house–their own personal space. Coming from a family with 4-5 kids around growing up, it’s really something I can appreciate. Derek got the smallest room, but with the cool adjustable bed with a massager built into it. Dakota, being the smallest and usually the neatest, was given the biggest of the original bedrooms. That of course left Destiny with the medium sized room. The most amusing part of the move was watching Derek and Dakota behaving like a divorcing couple trying to decide who would get which toys. I decided to step in and move the toys to downstairs kitchen/schoolroom area where they could continue to be shared. Also at reading time, the boys keep showing up in one or the other’s bedroom together. When they cheered for their own rooms, I don’t think they thought about the sleeping alone part. I’m happier that I don’t have to keep telling them to stop talking though after they go to bed! heehee!

We moved our school room out of the little room in the back, Mammam’s old bedroom for those that know that reference, and into the bigger space, the old living room. The woodstove is in the addition giving more space in the old section of the basement. The kids now each have their own work table and a computer desk giving them more space for projects. The kitchen has all of their art supplies, board games, and a play area for old shared toys. It’s nice to be able to keep messy projects including clean up out of the normal kitchen and living area upstairs. It’s in a space that we won’t cringe if paint spills on the floor. The other room will become a guest bedroom, and has already served that purpose once. We painted the the walls and floor of the living area before moving the school room, and recycled some carpet for the guest bedroom from the upstairs living room that now has the laminate flooring. So things are getting where we want them. The fitness space will likely be our next project to get our health needs in order with a regular routine of exercise. We’re so excited to have all of this space now!

My sister, Kim, and my niece, Amanda visited us for the Thanksgiving holiday from Arizona. Although the house wasn’t quite finished yet, Cliff was able to get the new living room and master bedroom ready for move in. With that done, Kim and Amanda could have the bedroom we had been using. It was nice to have space for them and to get to show them the new place. Amanda is getting so old! She was nice enough to endure playing with all her younger cousins though. They spent some time with my dad, and even got in a trip to Long Island to see our Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. We also went to Hershey’s Chocolate World because that’s just expected of any visit, of course. I was happy that we got to see Amanda skate some, too!

For Thanksgiving, Kim and I both made some of our own favorites for dinner and sort of merged our traditional dishes. Since she was bringing so many new dishes, I didn’t bother to go crazy with a bunch of new ones of my own. Derek contributed glazed carrots from his PA Cyber cooking class, Destiny and Amanda made a pudding pie, and Dakota made cranberry relish. Everyone got to contribute something which always makes the meal that much more enjoyable. Kim and I also had our own Mario Kart Wii marathon with their game they brought along. I love nice relaxing holidays at home with the family!

The Sunday after Thanksgiving we had our dinner with Pap and Grandma Rineer. They’re always nice enough to schedule it on an alternate day so it’s easier for everyone to be there. Destiny was excited to have another turkey dinner as he cleaned her 3rd turkey leg for the week. I don’t know where that girl puts it all! It must be going straight toward growing taller! Anyway, it was another nice meal and evening. Here’s some pics from our Turkey Day and our visitors.

Well, Sandy’s cat had kittens back at the end of October. These are to be our pets once they are big enough to leave their mom. They’ll move in with us in December at 10 weeks old! Aren’t they just adorable! Here are some pictures of the new kittens and a couple updates of the dogs at 5 months old.