Extravaganza On The Ice With Our Grandchildren

Drew, Jill and Beth 

Woodlawn Sledding Hill

Marisa

Marisa and Halle sledding

7:30 AM

Hayden

Halle

Tyler

Mitchell

Drew and Halle

Up at 6:30, the first one downstairs, though it's now 7:00 and both Drew, Coco, and Evie are up.  We had about an inch of snow last night, just enough to cover most of the green spots on the yard, with another inch or two to come.  It's very cold 15º but nice an comfortable on my couch, with Coco snuggling up next to me.

In the Thorns

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day, as usual, when we have five adults and five grand children in the house.  First, we all decided to go out on the lake around 9:30 and ice skate.  We had five pairs of skates, the others just played on the ice.  Unfortunately, Hayden's skates did not fit so Evie went off to Lakewood, to Olympic Sports and bought her a nice pair for twenty bucks, a deal I would say.  Now all five of us could skate.  The ice was a bit rough but still good for racing around on the ice.  Hayden and her Dad made a large circular race course, so we had fun, trying to stay up and still skate fast.  So far, I have not fallen, knock on wood, though I look like an old man trying to skate, arms flaying, legs unsteady.  It was cold, so we came in for breakfast, eggs and toast for the kids, granola and fruit for the oldsters.

About 11:30, Evie stayed with the boys inside, making krispy kreme donuts on the porch, working on projects with the girls on the dining room table while the four adults went cross country skiing on the lake.  Again, it was not perfect on the lake, almost like skating rather than skiing as there was little snow, mostly ice, but it was still fun to be outside.  We skied down to Wells Bay, everyone doing well, came make through some yards.  We had to cross the make shift bridge at Victoria stream and I amused everyone by almost falling in the water as my pole went through the planks.  It was great to come into the warm house after being outside for so long, have a fresh donut and coffee.  As we got back, the kids came out to skate, so some of us stayed outside with them.  We have placed plastic chairs on the ice and yard, making it easier to put skates on and off.

Enjoying the Gangnam video

Lunch of leftovers, some wraps, and Evie's three soups, then on to the hill at Cummings house, in Woodlawn.  It's perfect for sledding and since the house is abandoned, the kids would go up on the front porch, begin their descent by sliding down the ice covered front steps, and race down the hill, occasionally hitting snow bumps, but having great fun.  I even went down a few times and unfortunately, wiped out on a thorn bush, ripping both my jacket and gloves.  Not fun.  We stayed on the hill for over an hour, even went back later in the afternoon because the kids enjoyed it so much.

Later in the afternoon, we went out on the ice, to skate and enjoy the afternoon, and Drew and I built a fire in our fire pit.  The kids immediately wanted to roast marshmallows, make Smores, so Evie found the hot dog forks in the garage, chocolate and graham crackers.  The kids made their smores as Drew and I had our first Labatt's of the day.  The lake at this hour was amazing, busy with all kinds of activity.  Mostly, people were just out walking on the lake, enjoying the waning sunlight.  We seemed to  be the only one's skating and cross country skiing.  But there were fishermen everywhere, at least fifty I would guess.  And our neighbors, the Johnson's got out their two ice boats, so they were gliding out to Long Point and back, attracting lots of attention from the people walking on the lake.  It seemed almost like a busy afternoon on the lake in July.

Johnson's Ice Boat

We came inside around 6:00 though there were still lots of people out on the ice, just enjoying dusk.  Dinner was easy for Evie, as all we had to do was heat up the pre made cabbage rolls and two pizzas.  The adults devoured the cabbage rolls, our daughter Jill's favorite, and the kids ate up most of the pizza.   Dessert was M & M's, chocolate covered raisins, and chocolate covered carmels, not too healthy but good.  The adults then sat around a good part of the evening, sipping white wine, talking, the boys on their Ipads or watching TV.  The girls were upstairs with Evie and they made a crazy video for us, the  girls dancing Gangnam style, which they brought downstairs and played for us.  It was hilarious and well shot by young Halle, our eight year old burgeoning film maker.  We were all in bed by 10:30 except for Tyler and Mitch who stayed up watching TV.  A full, fun day.