New Year's Eve

We headed down to Clover and Evan's for New Year's. Dad went down to visit his Aunt Emma in West Virginia while he was off work, so he took Orianna down with him to pick up Cheyenne and Tori from the Pittsburgh airport where they were flying in from Wyoming. Lily tagged along as far as Clover's, where she stayed for the week. When Dad came home Wednesday, he left Orianna at Clover's too, so she pretty much watched my girls while I tried out parenting for two. It is always bizarre how much one or two kids missing effects the dynamic. Gilbert and Elsie had a lovely time with hardly a single fight. But they missed the girls enormously!

While I was getting some food ready to take down to Clover and Evan's, Gilbert and Elsie were busy riding tandem on a hobby horse.

The kids spent a lot of the day decorating for the party. Clover let them pull the 2015 calendars apart, so they hung the pictures up in a festive way. 

Some large cardboard was put to good use.

Immediately before the party cleanness

Paper chains were made into a smiley face too. Clover is pretty much a saint, letting them do all of this! They were some pretty proud kids. 

We had two games of rook and some progressive rummy going on. 

Ginger, Clover, and I played PR and yakked. 

Cheyenne took my camera for some picture taking, so the credit for these next few goes to her. 

Smiley Hoyt!

Lincoln of the beautiful eyes

Orianna playing... well I don't know. Old Maid?

Rook. And tea. 

Elsie and a book.

The other game of rook.

And then downstairs for the pinata! You can tell Owen is saying something completely outrageous to work the kids up and Justin is teasing them about being so loud when they delightedly protested Owen's nonsense, 

Hoyt lovingly tapped the pinata. Several years ago Ashley started a pinata tradition for New Years. She has made some beautiful pinatas in the past, but this one was from the store. 

Orianna got into the spirit of the thing. And British spirit too with some new socks from Aunt Hopie!

Elliott was so enthusiastic that the pinata came untied. 

It wasn't quite as elegant after it was retied. Elsie apologetically nudged it with the bat.

Lily was out for candy.

And finally, after several hits each, Orianna dealt the fatal blow. Delight!

Scott modeled one of the girls flower clips from the pinata. 

Until he realized he was having his picture taken. 

Hoyt loved the broken pinata.

And took it for a ride with him. 

Abilene and Ashley

Talking. Some riotous games of four on the couch followed this, but I didn't get any pictures of that. 

The next morning, Scott was up betimes to make sausage and biscuits. And chocolate gravy. 

Morning after lethargy. 

Breakfast is a man's business.

Sarah read books and was well adored

A game of spoons. Somehow I didn't get pictures of the kids faces after Ashley painted them. 

Hoyt had a lovely time with new and different toys. 

Elliott had a bad cold, so he was a little quieter than everyone else. 

Some Dutch Blitz

And a head clearing walk. 

A running Gilbert and snowy woods.

Lily walking with the older "girls."

It was a bit windier than we thought, so Sarah was nicely taking her hood off to loan to Rilla who was rather cold. Gilbert practiced levitating. 

Cool swampy hillocks

Tori and her cool boots.

Heading home

Warm and cozy reading

A game of Dominion

Evan just got their central vac installed, so the kids adore vacuuming. Gilbert had to get in on the action, so Evan gave him a swiffer-ish thing.  

Aunt Clover being adored.

Saturday was a snowy, lazy day. Clover and I went to the mall for a "quick" return. Clover was quick. But an hour later, she was decidedly regretting coming with me. 

Then home again to cozy kids and marvelous husbands who had the kids all fed lunch. 

A few rounds of Dominion

A squinchy Elsie

Domino girls

Train boys

And one last game of Ticket to Ride! 

Snowy, shadowy trees in Potsdam, almost home!

A Sunday at Connie's

We had a marvelous New Year's at Clover and Evan's. But I will put pictures of that up tomorrow. Today, I am going to put up pictures of our snowy Sunday. It was one of those Sundays that seem so perfectly right. From a wonderful meeting, to happiness at being together, to beautiful snow, to Sunday afternoon naps, and then finally, the quietness of kids sleeping, getting rested up for heading back to school tomorrow after a week and a half of glorious freedom. 

Happiness. 

There was a steady snow all day it seemed like. Nothing crazy, but steady, with a few inches of accumulation. Connie had asked us all to stay after for lunch, which we were more than willing to do. Connie is a bit famous for her cooking.  

Owen talking to Allie, while Elsie pats his arm. 

You can see Owen's bald spot, where the tree hit him in the head. Have I mentioned that? A few weeks ago, Owen was in the woods, hauling some logs out, when suddenly he woke up with a bloody head. At some point in being knocked out, he was conscious enough to know he had to do something with the tractor and put it in neutral, which was fortunate, since the tractor had started climbing a tree, The tire marks on the tree are shoulder high and if he hadn't put it in neutral, the tractor would have flipped. He called 911 and Dad, who met him just as Owen staggered out of the woods covered in blood. The rescue truck still hadn't got enough people to drive out to the farm, so Dad drove him to the ambulance, still at the fire station. It was all very nerve wracking and busy with Ashley sorting out what to do with kids (I kept them) and Cody driving Ashley into Malone, and the general chaos that emergencies cause. Owen had to have a lot of staples, but it is healing quite well. His hair is even starting to grow back. After dropping Owen off at the ambulance, Dad went back into the woods to see what happened. About forty yards behind the tractor, a tree had fallen across the path. which must have hit Owen's head. It is still hard to believe he was as lucky as he was--to not fall off under a tire, not have the tractor flip, not have his neck broken....

Elsie hanging out close to the snack dish while lunch is being prepared.

Dad and Hoyt checking on the progress in the kitchen.

Scott and Allie.

Justin carving the roast.

Gilbert and Hoyt being friends together.

Sarah and Tori setting the table

Kitchen work!

Chris and Gilbert have a chat

Standing around while things were finalized in the kitchen.

Sitting around, Ashley and Lily playing Old Maid

Abilene and Sarah

It was a yummy lunch, in true Connie style, with mashed potatoes (my kid's favorite food in all the world), meat, rolls, and several wonderful vegetable sides. The kind of lunch that makes you wish you had more stomach space. 

And while we were eating, I couldn't help going outside to see the snow falling on the evergreens and the river. 

It was gorgeous. These pictures don't do it justice. And to be standing in the snow, watching it swirl down against a backdrop of evergreens... well. It was marvelous. 

A good bit of the slow part of the river is frozen in thin ice. 

Then back inside with a foggy lens and snowy hair to a smiling Abilene.

Talking and eating. Connie of course had been hopping up and being busy, so she isn't quite as done as every one else. She is fabulous. 

Dad keeping the kids safe while people pull out. 

An Amish buggy on the way home. They have umbrellas with a clear square of plastic, so they can put them down to protect them from the wind and still see where they are going. 

Crooked, snowy fields. This is the kind of picture you get when you ask your husband to "take a picture of those fields" while you drive. 

Connie had seen these looms reduced at Wal-mart, so got them for the girls. She had had one of these potholders Owen had made for her once in the days of long ago, out at lunch today. 

The girls adore them and have already made a potholder each. 

Justin and Gilbert worked on lacing a leather star, which came out quite nicely. I will have to take a picture of it.

Elsie was unconcerned about all this crafting, and settled in with her Donald Duck comic and some kleenex.

While I settled in for a nap. Oh joy!