Though this winter has been pretty reasonable in terms of snow, we have had some pretty cold days, so we have been laying low, inside, where it is warm.
What are some fun things to do while hibernating?
Invite a friend over for a lightsaber battle!
Science experiments!
Make some sparkly slime!
And venture outside just long enough to make a tiny snowman.
We kept things pretty low-key after Christmas and enjoyed some quiet times at home. On one warm-ish afternoon we headed over to Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary and explored the trails.
Jack made a gnome home,
fed some chickadees out of his hand,
and cracked some ice on the pond.
On New Year's Eve, we made an early reservation at Fugakyu and then attended the block party at Marketstreet Lynnfield where they had a DJ and did a "countdown" at 7:00pm, which is just our speed.
Jack's first time at a Japanese restaurant. He loved it.
At the countdown, just having witnessed the "largest confetti burst in the area."
(You can still see some floating around above us.)
Now we are almost settled back into the work and school routine and thinking about plans for 2019.
Christmas is done and all of the decorations are put away. Jack had almost two weeks off from school and had a lot of family time and watched a lot of movies.
The annual placing the star on the tree.
We went to an event at the library hosted by the Saugus Garden Club.
Jack learned all about poinsettias and got to make his own flower arrangement.
We got a cat over Thanksgiving weekend, so I though it important to finally document it before the Christmas craziness starts.
We adopted her through a small rescue/foster program. We were told she was rescued from a pet hoarding situation, so she had some boo boos that are almost healed and she has a wonky eye, but otherwise is really friendly and likes to play and has magnificent whiskers. As Jack summed it up, "It is nice to have a cat that likes us."
We collectively decided on Cleo for a name and she seems to actually respond to it, though after the discovery of the scar on her eye, Jack pleaded to rename her Kylo Ren. I guess only a few of you will get that reference, but we nixed it anyway.
On Veteran's Day I had to attend a work training, so Derrick took the day off and he and Jack had a big city adventure. Jack really enjoyed learning all about the Mayflower in school, so to continue on the historic ship theme, Derrick and Jack went to see the USS Constitution and museum. It seemed fun was had by both parties and now the door has opened to visit other historic sites.
Soccer ended last Sunday. Jack was so excited, he scored three goals.
Jack made it clear he does not like playing soccer and we should not try to trick him (!) into playing in the future. He was open to thinking about another activity he might want to try, but we'll wait until after the holidays to venture into something else.
We were pretty lax with the photos and didn't get one of the finished products,
and now they are moldy and wrinkled, but they were delightful on Halloween.
Jack was a Siamese cat.
Candy dump
Candy sort.
It was nice weather on Halloween again this year and Jack had more stamina than past years so we went beyond the typical trick or treat route. Jack was excited to acquire 97 items in his treat bag.
