Sledding...the new running

 Since it's too cold and icy to run outside every day, we taken to a new form of exercise this week - sledding.  We've been to the hill several days in a row and everyone, other than Peter has loved it.  Peter has grown ever more unhappy anytime we mention sledding or snow.  On day 1 he cried after an hour, on day 2 he cried after 30 minutes, on day 3 he cried as we put on his snowsuit at the top of the hill, on day 4 he cried as we said, "come get in the car, Peter, we're going sledding."  He can always be placated, though, with some fun downhill speed and trips to the van to warm-up.  Bella, Benjamin, and I take turns staying in the car with him and feeding him snacks and that way we can usually get through a sledding session alright.

Bella decided to make herself useful since all she wanted to do was lay in the snow.  She made a pretty awesome ramp.

The lake was frozen over, but there were large "Danger.  Thin Ice" signs.  The kids decided to test their luck.  The lake is one of those irrigation/flood prevention lakes that aren't any deeper than Benjamin is tall, so I figured it's no big deal.  In the end, they chickened out and never even made it half-way across.  They had fun pretending to be polar bears and listening for cracks.  No cracking was ever detected.

We all take turns going down the hill with Peter.  He always cries when you first put him on the sled, but he has fun on the way down.  At one point, Peter was in the van with Bella and Benjamin, Christian, and I hooked our sleds in a train and went down multiple times like that.  That was a highlight.  Minus Christian's, "We're all going to die!" on repeat from behind me.  We never had any trouble, but he yelled that every time we went down.  Sadly, because I was on the sled, I didn't get any pictures.

Eating the snow was also enjoyed by the boys, although Peter wasn't ever willing to try it.  He did try to imitate them, though, by sticking his tongue out, but in the end he just laughed at their snow covered faces.

                                                

At home I've tried to come with unique ways to play to break up the unending monotony of our lives.  One day I got out some wooden spoons and we played soccer in the kitchen with the spoons.  That was fun and different.  Peter seemed to really enjoy it.  I tried to help him understand the concept of a "goal" but he didn't care one wit about that.  So I gave up and we just whacked with reckless abandon.  

Who needs a playpen when you have a giant Costco diaper box?  I filled it with toys and put Peter in it and he loved it.  He played happily while the others and I played card games.  It worked out great.  Although, his favorite thing became "toss everything out of the box."  The activity ended soon thereafter.

Kelly's latest thing is wok cooking.  He bought several woks and piped natural gas out to the backyard, where he set up a stove on a stand.  Now, every lunch time and every Saturday evening, he's out there firing up that wickedly strong flame and tossing meats and veggies.  He has various oils and sauces in squirt bottles and it's a show as good as any trip to Benihana's.  Peter and I like to sit by the sliding glass door and watch him cook.  It's perfect.  We stay warm and then we eat yummy food, all while the kitchen stays clean.  Although, Peter won't eat a bit of it - he's still as picky as ever.  He just sticks with his bananas and almond butter.