Snowpacalypse!

Not really. Just a slightly bigger than normal snowstorm. Kids had two days off school. They are bummed to go back this morning.

Freshly Shoveled

The crisp lines of freshly shoveled/snowblowered snow are very satisfying.

The Life of Luxury

When we camp in our VW van we are often surrounded by RV's. We never get to see the inside of them. This weekend the RV Show was held at the Boston convention center and we thought it would be fun for the girls to get to tour a bunch of them.

They're pretty nice! Even the lower prices ones (cheapest I saw was $12,000) are decent inside. A lot nicer than when I was a kid. Get up toward $20,000-30,000 (for trailers) and they start getting pretty nice.

One of the 5th wheel units we saw has pop-outs on both sides of the "tongue" and inside that made for a very large living room with three sofas and a huge TV!

This photo is inside one of the mid-priced travel trailers.

We also saw a couple that had garages in the back to carry your snowmobiles or motorcycles but are also living space once you arrive.

It was educational. RV's are not our lifestyle but we all had fun looking.

On Frozen Pond

Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest where it never gets cold enough to freeze bodies of water enough to make them safe to skate on, I've never skated on a pond. Neither have the girls, except for playing around on a chunky pond a couple winters ago.

We live one block from a small wooded park with a small vernal pool, and several blocks from a much larger park with a larger vernal pool. This year we had a couple of big rainstorms very late in the fall that enlarged the ponds not long before they froze. We haven't had any big snows yet to cover the ponds and make them chunky. Conditions are perfect for pond skating.

On Sunday we packed snacks and a thermos of cocoa and headed for the larger pond. I took Rhodie for a long walk in the woods (in the same park) while the girls skated a little waiting for a group of older boys to finish playing hockey. The boys soon left to watch the Patriots' game and the girls had the pond to themselves. An hour later, their schoolmates started showing up and soon there was a great crowd of kids and their parents skating.

Audrey has been taking figure skating lessons once a week year round for more than four years now, and Charlotte for two years. It was really fun to watch them use those skills. They had such a good time that we stayed at the pond for almost four hours. Monday it rained (a natural Zamboni!) and Tuesday they had commitments after school but today they got to skate on the pond after school for an hour. As long as the ice is good I think they'll be regulars.

I brought the GoPro camera with us on Sunday along with our extendible monopod (aka "selfie stick"). The girls were cooperative and I captured a ton of great footage of them. It's been fun choosing the best shots and making this video.

Nothing makes this dad happier than his progeny enjoying themselves outside on a pretty winter day. In fact, the girls barely used electronics all weekend!

Click on the image to go to the video.

A Nip in the Air

It's a little chilly this morning.

Some school districts have closed, which seems rather silly.

Our school recommended that parents drive all students to school. But it's only a 4 minute walk for us so we'll forego that advice. Besides, as Carol says, it'll enable the girls to tell their kids, "I had to walk to school when it was minus 3 degrees!"

On Thin Ice

The girls are checking out the local pond. *I* wouldn't trust it but Audrey is fearless.

This pond is only 2' deep so no real danger if they break through. It would be a chilly one block walk home.