"Weekend at Grandpa's" and other adventures

 My dad has an annual "Boys' Weekend" at his house every fall.  This year Karl learned to shoot a bow and arrow.  He had a blast taking saunas and swimming in the pond with his cousins, playing in Grandpa's creek, and eating all sorts of fun stuff he doesn't get much at home - pop, candy, etc.  

The weekend after Thanksgiving, Dad hosted a "Girls' weekend" where the girls decorated Grandpa's tree on Friday night and then slept on the floor near the tree.  We had planned to bake and decorate Christmas cookies on Saturday but that wasn't as high a priority as skating!  It turned out to be a good skating weekend (a rare event for UP ponds) and we had to take advantage of it.  

All of us enjoyed skating on Grandpa's main pond and then we got to be the first ever to skate on his South Pond.  Grandpa took hot dogs and hot cocoa out to the pond where the girls skated and had a cook out.  On the walk to South Pond, the tamed chickadees found us.  I had a bag of bird seed in my pocket so the girls got to feed them.  Lena was so thrilled the first time one landed on her and grabbed a seed!  After that first time, she got nervous and kept jerking her hand back when they got close.  When she stretched out her bare hand to put her mitten back on, a chickadee flew up to see if she had any seeds.  She laughed so hard about that.

Lena wore skates but needed help - either by pushing the rubbermaid tote around or by someone skating behind her and holding her up.  

The kids did string art over Christmas break. This is Nora's flower.  She needed a little help setting the nails and learning how to wind the string but otherwise did it mostly by herself.  

Our oversized cat is literate, apparently.   I think the kids had something to do with this setup. 

Karl's Christmas Lego set.  This kid loves to create - Legos, puzzles, drawings.  

Nora's present from Grandma and Grandpa came in this bonus box!  She played in it and then slept all night curled up in it.  

Clare and I went skiing on some local trails that had hills a little too steep for the other kids.  Karl probably could have done it but the conditions were a little too icy this time.  

The kids loved their spring tea party so much that they recreated it over Christmas break.  Clare especially likes deviled eggs so we had those, jello jigglers, mini sandwiches, cookies, and special drinks with sprite, orange juice, and grenadine syrup.  The kids felt pretty special, especially when we pulled out the tablecloth. 

In early December, Karl had a baby tooth pulled.  It was the one he chipped at age 10 months.  It had died years ago and when the dentist pulled it out, the root was still quite large.  This kid is probably going to need braces; his new teeth are coming in every-which-way.   He was a champ during his tooth-pulling though.  The hygienist was very proud of him.  

 

Gauze to keep it from bleeding.

The week after Thanksgiving, Nora's whole class was home on quarantine.  When she helped with chores, it reminded me of last year when the girls had such a blast riding the sled out to feed the sheep.  This time they got a hayride in the wheelbarrow.  

Clare hauls the kayaks back from the pond with the four wheeler.  She's a cautious driver, which is perfect for farm work.  

Night ice on the pond led to some fun throwing ice chunks and making sticks glide across the ice.

Molly's front paw is resting on the ice - she wasn't excited about fetching sticks by walking on the thin ice. 

On December 7 we got out skating on our pond - it was amazing!  There were some nice, smooth sections as well as some bumpy sections.  

Lena decided that it was more fun to just wear boots.  She ran all over the pond, up onto the banks, and back again.

When the snow came, we kept it shoveled until the rain came the day before Christmas eve.  That rain followed by wet heavy snow turned the ice to slush.

Clare helps shovel.  We had a main rink and a bunch of interconnecting trails for playing games.