Snow Chairs

We’re having our typical Cache Valley spring weather. One day it’s spring and the next day we have a snow. A storm blew in yesterday and dropped a few inches of snow. Even though there’s snow all over the ground, it’s pretty warm outside.

Crystalynne and Marianne went outside to create things out of snow. The snow makes perfect packing material. Because of the warm weather, the snow is beginning to melt. It’s wet, heavy, and sticks together.

I looked out the window to see what they were building. What a good idea! Snow furniture. They had two chairs and ottomans. It looks like Crystalynne created a lounge chair for Marianne.

Snow Caves and Forts

On Saturday afternoon, the boys were getting restless and were sent outside to play and release excess energy. We had just recovered from a big snowstorm, and there were large piles of snow along the edge of the driveway.

Looking at those huge snow piles gave Joshua, Jonathan, and Joseph some ideas. They grabbed shovels and began digging, scooping, and moving snow. It didn’t take long to hollow out mini-caves. With a little more effort, they turned their caves into personal dwellings.

They decided to make tunnels to connect their rooms and homes together. April was walking on top of the snow piles while Marianne was inside checking out the caves. They alerted April to the potential danger. She quickly jumped down and avoided a cave-in. All went well – no damage!

While they were digging, they talked about what they would do if one of the caves collapsed. They decided they would stay on their hands and knees creating an air space. One would run for help while the other would dig like crazy and pull his brother out of the snow. The snow piles really weren’t that high, but they had their safety plan all in place.

Someone was trying to make a bigger room but ended up digging a bit too far into the hill of snow. His home turned into a tunnel, or you might call it a home with a front and back door.

April and Crystalynne made their snow houses in the yard. Crystalynne wanted to turn her fort into an igloo. She took great pride in her home. The walls were strong and well built, but the roof never came to fruition. She worked hard on it and played in it for hours.

With so much snow, it’s hard to imagine someone had the controversial idea to throw a snowball at someone else. Can you believe it? The unknown soldier actually followed through with his battle idea and started a wonderful war. Dad likes to throw snowballs just to get things moving. He rarely hits anyone. He’s either a bad aim or is just not trying. A cave, fort, or igloo can come in handy during a snowball fight.

They were still digging when we went on our walk. When we came back, we checked on everyone’s progress. The children gave us a complete tour of their snow creations. We entered their homes, and admired what they had carved out of snow. It was a pleasant afternoon and a great way to release surplus energy. Good job everyone!

Corn Bread and Chili on a Cold Winter Day

It’s been a cozy, relaxing, peaceful Sunday.

On most mornings we wake up at 5:45 a.m., but this morning everyone slept in until 8:00 a.m. The rule in our home is: once one person gets up and makes sufficient noise, everyone gets up. On weekends the older children beg and sometimes even pay the younger children to stay in bed and be quiet. Even with all the bribes and begging, we rarely have a lazy morning. We enjoyed the extra sleep today.

One day we are having spring weather and the next day its winter. This morning, it took a little while for anyone to recognize that the ground was covered with snow. The children really enjoy shoveling snow. Jared, Joshua, Jonathan, and Marianne grabbed snow shovels and cleaned off the sidewalks before they even ate breakfast. After we plowed the driveway, there was a glaze of ice on the asphalt. Little Marianne was walking along pushing her plastic snow shovel and both feet went out from under her. Luckily she isn’t very tall and has plenty of padding.

Some of the children preferred sitting in the living room by the warm fire. We heat our home with wood and haven’t had to use the furnace all winter. We enjoy the kind of heat that comes from a fireplace. If you’re cold, go sit by the fire. If you’re too hot, go to a different room or downstairs. Every room has its own temperature. The warm blooded and cold blooded are both accommodated.

When the thermostat in the hall reaches 80 degrees, the temperature in the living room is probably 90+ degrees. At this point, many almost start chanting, “No more wood! Turn off the fireplace fan!” Sometimes we have even opened a few windows just to get some relief. Today, the fire just felt cozy.

This afternoon, the younger children went out to play in the snow. They had fun until they were almost frozen. When they came inside, they huddled around the fireplace while they “defrosted”.

We were planning to have chili and cornbread today but didn’t know it was going to snow. It turned out to be the perfect meal. This is another one of Sandra Sorensen’s recipes. We’ve made a few adaptations so we can use ingredients from our food storage. This is how we make it:

Chili

This is enough to fill a 12-quart stockpot. It’s a cheap and easy food storage recipe.

Soak 2 quarts of kidney beans overnight in 1 gallon of water. In the morning, drain, rinse, and put the beans in a 8-quart crock-pot. Cover the beans with fresh water and add 2 tablespoons of salt. If you’re eating chili for lunch set the crock-pot on high (4-5 hours). If you’re eating chili for dinner set the crock-pot on low (8 hours).

Brown 4 pounds of hamburger and drain off excess oil.

Add 1 quart of tomato juice, and 3 quarts of frozen tomato puree (thaw tomatoes overnight)

Add ½ tablespoon of salt, ½ tablespoon of pepper, 3 tablespoons of chili powder

Add 5-10 cloves of garlic (optional), 4 medium onions (You can puree the onions and garlic in the blender with some of the tomato puree. Or you can mince the garlic and chop the onions.)

Add the kidney beans (don’t drain the water)

When the chili is done, taste it. You can add more salt, pepper, and chili powder if needed.

Joseph said he likes everything in chili except the beans. He really likes the cornbread.

Marianne helped Rachel make bread. She loves to be involved. Being very independent, she demands, “Me do it by myself.” We made zucchini bread and cornbread today.

Our favorite cornbread recipe is the one shared by Beanie Lofthouse.

Cornbread

1 cup flour (white or whole wheat) – We use 100% whole wheat.

1 cup yellow cornmeal – We make our cornmeal out of popcorn.

¼ cup sugar – We use brown sugar.

4 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoons salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

¼ cup oil

Mix all of the ingredients and pour into a 9x9 greased pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until it tests done with a toothpick. We usually make a triple batch for our family.

For the last month we’ve held little Emma almost 24/7. She likes being held, and we’ve enjoyed accommodating her wishes. Our family is at the perfect age and stage to honor such a request. We have a lot of willing hands that want to hold a baby sister. We’ve never given this kind of attention to any of the other children when they were babies. We were just too busy. We started thinking that we might be creating an unrealistic expectation. Today was the first day Emma was content without being held. She sat in her seat while we prepared and ate dinner. She even fell asleep.

Slipping and Sliding on the Ice

This winter, the weather has been very unpredictable, especially since we haven’t been watching the weather forecast. On January 18^th-19^th we got a very wet snowstorm. About four inches stuck to the ground until the sun came up. Falling snow turned to rain, and small rivers began to flow around our home. When I plowed the driveway, an avalanche of slush and water accumulated in front of the plow. When the gush of slush hit the bottom of the driveway, our dirt road turned into a rolling river.

A few of our neighbors were partially flooded and some damage occurred (not by our gush of slush though). During the next week, we received a combination of rain, slush, and snow. Cold temperatures froze the standing slush and a sheet of ice covered the fields.

One morning we woke up to find that our whole back yard had been transformed into a giant ice rink. As the day progressed, the warm sunshine caused the entire surface to become slick and glossy. Our backyard has various inclines and contours, some steep slopes and others more flat. It was all glazed in ice. It was exciting when we tried to ice skate and amuse ourselves on this wonderful nature-formed-play-land.

Marianne came out to join the fun. She figured mittens, boots, and a smile would cover everything. The coat and hat just got in the way.

It doesn’t take children long to become very creative and resourceful. They went and retrieved Joseph and Marianne’s little play cars. Some would have races down the icy hills. Sliding and spinning out of control wasn’t always accidental, but sometimes little crashes would occur. Most of the time they were able to ride it out to the bottom.

Others would attempt to slide on their feet to see how far they could go. It was so slick that sometimes it was nearly impossible to stand. Even walking was a challenge. The careful ones avoided falling by sitting down and sliding away. I guess they preferred just sitting on their fanny, gluteus maximus, haunches, hindquarters, rump, or whatever you call it! They definitely didn’t want to bruise it! A wonderful, beautiful day for children to play!

Winter Again

Well, that was a very short spring. It was fun while it lasted, but we love all four seasons. Winter is here again, and the Willis Family is back to shoveling snow and sleigh riding.

Yesterday morning some children got up before daylight. Others chose Saturday morning “beauty rest” and slept in until 7:00 a.m. The “early birds” were too excited to sleep. They turned on the outside lights, admired the fresh new snow, and watched as snow continued to fall. They immediately began making plans to play in the snow.

Some children cleared walkways and pushed snow. Others played in it. Marianne was super excited to go outside with everyone. She got dressed, put on her coat and boots, and had fun running through the new snow. Her highlight was helping me drive the Bobcat to plow snow.

Winter playtime is exciting for all. The children go sledding on the big hill whenever they get a chance. The icy driveway provides a calmer and smoother ride. But the all-time family favorite is sledding behind the four-wheelers.

The younger ones like to ride on the sled alone. It’s more peaceful and slow. The teen-age riders often play what we call “push and shove” or “the king of the sled.” It can become quite intense, challenging, and invigorating. Even adults like this diversion until reality sets in. Their bones don’t handle it as well as the younger folks.

I love to be the driver because I get to view it as it all happens. It’s refreshing for me as I watch the crashes and bashes, the thrills and spills, and the triumphs displayed as the “new king” claims the sled.

Of course sledding on a cold day just isn’t complete without some hot chocolate by a warm fire.

What a delight to be a part of all the fun.