February is COLD in New England!!! So did not read the small print...

HUGE year for the Patriots and would like to think their Super Bowl win this year was just a welcome home gift… Great game regardless of the deflated ball issue that looms, but our household is full of Boston Strong spirit and celebrating the win… and yet another snow day!!!

Growing up in Upstate New York, I have seen my fair share of snow storms.. but after living in Florida for the past decade and then in China, I feel like a novice in preparing for homebound status that follows these crazy Nor’ easters. Way too many snow days already —

As you can see the kids were pretty miserable out there in the snow…

But when it was time to come in and warm up… we were not lacking in entertainment.

We took a few field trips on our snow days and walked to Waynes for hot chocolate… We put snow angels all over town!

Ayden was first out and last in…

We weren’t too put out with the snow days… with a roaring fire, a nice bottle of wine and an in house spa… I was in heaven!

Once we were able to get out… we were first up and out and shredding first tracks!

I have never seen so much ice build up… and the Ice dams became a huge PIA!

I kept him good company outside and didn’t have to worry much about my chardonnay getting warm...

It took two days but we dug out the grill and the fire pits… we aren’t going to let a little snow keep us from enjoying our backyard!

I even dug out snow benches…

For a winter night of BBQ in the snow…

It seems like the kids have not been to school in weeks… I think they are happy to be returning… until the next storm to come in tomorrow!

Bringing in the New Year of 2015! Hello January!

What moms do while their kids are at school…

I have to admit, we are all excited to finally live in a town where we can see all the seasons change. I have heard that winters can get long.

We weren’t going to let the cold keep us from the beach… we feel like we just hung up our bathing suits and we are holding onto our time at the beach with every last muscle.

The Patriots had a big win last night!! It has been so fun watching them dominate! What a great welcome home gift! Go Pats!

Not going to lie… colder then we thought…

But didn’t stop us from a few games of beach soccer…

We were honored to be invited by a great friend of ours to join her and her husband for a skyline view of the Newburyport harbor while have lunch. It was an incredible experience and bonus to have done it during a snow storm.

Before we knew it, the snow was piled high and didn’t seem to have an end in site. The snow days have started and I am wondering if it is a bit too early to get stir crazy…

We are trying to get creative with our snow days… and this morning, we aced the skin tattoos!

Then of course we had to compliment our tattoos with some homemade T-shirt designs. To go along with the dances we are choreographing.

After a few days of being snowed IN… literally, we finally made good use of this fluffy white stuff and got serious about our skiing and snowboarding.

Mental Status: Moderately happy with a hint of worry. Love the snow, but can see this getting old. Fingers crossed we make it through all these storms projected.

December Holiday Fun... Skiing!

The weather is turning and we are starting to seek our our winter coats. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of snow and have heard that we get enough snow sometimes that they have to close schools!!

Fall sports wrapped up and Winter sports begin… Love seeing Jordan back on the basketball court!

And pretty cool to see her play in a gym where her grandfather played in not so many years ago…

The cooler weather drives us all inside a bit… and we have gotten creative with our inside activities. Ayden opened a nail salon in our house…

And no surprise who the first customer was!

Gram and Coach took us all to see the most amazing play.. Scrooge! Huge thumbs up for the arts in MA!

Before we knew it, Christmas was upon us and once again the kids were very concerned that Santa was going to find them in yet a mother new place. Garrett was very inquisitive with the fireplaces and Santa’s portal of entry. No surprise, Santa still likes his beer on his riding route!

Each year our elf, Harold, writes the kids a note. They definitely have mixed feelings with Harold leaving… they are sad to see him go, but happy for the relief of not being monitored with his presence.

Before Ann and Mike snow bird in Florida, Chris and I enjoyed a night in Portsmouth. I love this quant town on the water and couldn’t resist taking this picture of a church steeple. The night was so crisp and clear… I just had to take a picture of it.

A little dreary weather wasn’t going to stop us from running…

Before we knew it, we got our first snow and hit the slopes for the first time in a very long time. The kids were eager to learn and Jordan is taking on snowboarding this year.

While the kids were off in ski school… Chris and I got to do our own shredding! But spent most of our time, swinging by the bunny hill to see how our crew was doing.

The report: Everyone LOVED it!!! So much we went back up the next couple of weekends!!

And before long… they were all independent on the chairlift and asking us for their next trip up to the slopes.

Finally, something we can do as a family… So happy to have everyone hooked! Now we just have to work on “Trixie” (Ayden) and her hiking stamina.

We were literally the last ones off the mountain.. (that is Garrett in the background below)

A fantastic way to bring in the New Year!!!