Max and Esme

A foot of snow on Monday evening has given us two days of winter fun in Rodman so far. The kids enjoyed swinging in the snow - Max holds the record in long jumping from the moving swing, but his mother sticks her landings better. Peter and Max blazed the trail yesterday and we all had fun sledding this morning.  Now we're enjoying some hot chocolate and lunch while the mittens dry. 

Max wrote his letter to Santa on Christmas Eve.  Included in his modest list of present requests were some philosophical questions for Jolly Saint Nick and a drawing of a dolphin.  He was very pleased to see the answers left among the cookie crumbs the following morning, and the dolphin sporting a Santa hat.  Dear Santa Claus, I would like: Legos - lots of them - a big sticker activity book, a book about ocean animals and a dinosaur activity book.  Questions: How old are you? Dear Max, I stopped counting birthdays many years ago. I'm no longer sure how old I am. What are you getting me? See for yourself. Where did you live as a child? With my paresnts, in many different places. Have I been good this year? According to my lists, yes.  Am I right? How do children know you exist? They don't. It's the same for me. How do I know you exist? I just believe in you, that's all.

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids enjoying our off-season trip to the zoo a couple of weeks ago.

I'm thankful that Mom and Dad could visit us for Thanksgiving this year.  We went for a hike at the local Marshlands Conservancy where we spotted signs of deer, picked up oysters and green crabs on the shore, and scared up a flock of wild turkeys in the woods. Mom and Dad celebrate 44 years of marriage today.  We love you.

Peter and I attended an open house at Esme's preschool last week.  The teachers talked us through a usual day in the life of our 4-5 year olds, and discussed the skills the kids were learning and the topics they were covering in class.  Most recently they've been learning about Space (I have to remember that Pluto isn't a planet any longer!) and their artwork and music have been focused on that topic. The kids treated us to a series of songs about outer space - including both the traditional  - By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and the specially re-worded - The Planets follow around the Sun, Hurrah, Hurrah.  Here's a couple of photos of our rocket ship princess.