I Don't Think This is Spring

IF I was blogging daily you would already know we've been enjoying warm temps of upper 30's. Many began to say spring was here. I was a tad bit sad yesterday. Spring is really break-up, and it's muddy, wet, drippy....The side of our road was packed brown snow, Yuuki has left yellow snow everywhere....it made me sad to say goodbye to fresh, clean snow.  Yesterday, we'd shoveled the drive and various paths down to the gravel/grass.  This morning I woke to THIS.

We'd had about 2 inches over night. It's continued to snow and a fairly clip pace all day. It's piling up again.

I was alarmed when I saw the spots on the above photo. I cleaned the lens and took another photo.

I enlisted Michael's help.....he got the same...

Until he pointed down - oh - SNOW. Duh! 

We even had to use the 4 wheel drive to get up the mountain on our way home from therapy and groceries.

I'm pretty sure this is not spring/break up yet....maybe I'll have an easier time figuring the seasons out next year. I do think it's safe to say we've weathered our first winter in the Valley just fine.

Dusting for Prints is MESSY

Stacia and I are working through various Forensic Science this year - possibly our last year to play with science before we have to move to more traditional courses of study. She's in 7th grade this year. Among other things, we have used the book Crime Scene Investigations.  We've had fun comparing writing samples, typewriter prints, making casts of shoe prints, and more. 

We are currently working through a Crime Scene Science Kit from Home Science Tools. This week we are learning how to lift a print from glass microscope slides, faucets and door knobs. 

(OK - before I go ANY further - the main thing I am learning is that dusting for prints is MESSY. Imagine thick, sooty, charcoal powder all over YOUR kitchen. Ah, the things we do for our children's education.)

Yes,Stacia, he DOES look like a likely suspect! 

Stacia began by finger-printing all the people running around here and creating a master list of "suspects and their prints."

After learning to lift prints, she began to try to get them from around the house and match them to the master suspect list. She's had moderate success - but plans to keep on trying.  (Did I say this is MESSY? I need to buy another case of Clorox wipes.)

Why did I envision printing powder as white????

It's hard to believe we are on our last week of our 3rd quarter of this school year. No, we are NOT taking spring break this week. We started weeks late due to our move-in schedule. We took much time off in December due to Mom's illness and death....by the end of spring break we should be on schedule to finish with the "real schools." And, maybe, next year to celebrate my 30th year as a homeschool teacher, we'll have a NORMAL SCHOOL YEAR!!!!!!

March's Birthday Dinner

A broken snow shovel is a sure sign Spring is around the corner? We hope. 

We have quite a bit of snow piled up. The weather is predicted to get warmer this week. Michael wanted the snow moved, so it didn't melt and run into the foundation/basement windows etc. After church, he, Nolan and Alex got started.

Izaak, Josiah, Jamin and Jared joined them in the endeavor. I think. I only see Izaak and Cy here. LOL 

RiskOpoly was next up.

We skipped the games and enjoyed a visit with Josiah. 

Cory's first session with the pig hat

Cory is our March Birthday celebrant!!!! We postponed the dinner by one week as he had to work last Sunday night.  He requested pancakes and bacon the first time. We went ahead with the dinner choice. It was a trial run.... we discovered 3 lbs of bacon was not enough.  This week, I made Dutch Babies  (took 30 eggs) and 5 lbs of bacon. Izaak came up to cook the bacon. I think we hit the numbers right. 

Cory is working nearly full time (over time some weeks, 30 hours other weeks), going to school full time  - he's busy! We're proud of him and the way he manages his time to succeed at work, school AND being a dad and husband. Even on this night, he was racing the clock to get a paper submitted by 8 p.m. AK time - midnight EST. 

Whoa! Food on fire! What's up with THIS? 

Though it was Cory's birthday, I think Bella got the best gift. Here she sees a new pink wonder. 

Uncle Cy brought her a pink tricycle! He hopes to move into the favorite uncle spot. 

Glimpses of the First Week of March

I am NEVER going to "catch up" if I try to capture each day I've missed. I've decided to let the stories slide for now, some of them may be worked into other posts, and just share some random glimpses of the 1st week in March. 

I've heard we're gaining 5 minutes of light a day. I can actually SEE the mountain at 0600. 

At this point in March we were still having lots of new snow. 

I hosted the inaugural event for Gather Women's Ministry; looking forward to seeing where God takes us this year. 

Benny @ 3 1/2 months 

Winters are great for games....Josiah and Jared join us for this Sunday afternoon. 

Poor Yuuki

Double Monopoly

Farkle

Nothing like a nice cuppa tea on a snowy Winter day... 

Stacia talked me into making Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix. 

Two weeks ago (1 - 10 March), it felt like we were deep in winter.....and now, just two weeks later, we have more light, the roads are melting and it's SPRING....still no buds or tulips, but I'm watching.

Orange Chicken & Yuuki

Even in the midst of a snow fall, Yuuki must SMELL EVERY.THING. 

The kids love Panda Express' Orange Chicken.  Eating out is expensive out here. Our budget is much less than previously. I have been trying to find something they'd like as well as Panda Express Orange Chicken. The first two tries were bombs (one just the PE sauce sold in stores - NOT THE SAME), the other a recipe from the internet.

THIS recipe from Dinner Then Dessert is a hit! I've made it as written. I don't like all the hassle of frying, so this last time I simply baked the chicken and cubed it up - rather than all the coating and frying. The kids said they like it best fried, but this was great too..... I'm putting this here so I don't have to click through Google for 30 min each time I want to make Orange Chicken.

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN:

• 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 2 tbsp oil divided, plus more for frying
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup flour

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons rice wine
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 10 tablespoons sugar
• 10 tablespoons white vinegar
• zest of 1 orange

TO FINISH:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger root minced
• 2 teaspoons garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp hot red chili pepper crushed

Instructions

1. To make the sauce combine the 1 tablespoon cornstarch, rice wine, water, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar and orange zest.
2. To coat the chicken add the egg, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon oil into a bowl and whisk together in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, add 1/2 cup corn starch and flour and mix well.
4. In a large frying pan or a wok, heat oil in a wok 375 degrees.
5. Dip chicken pieces in the egg mixture, then dredge in the flour mixture.
6. Fry the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden and crisp.
7. Transfer to a cooling rack and repeat with remaining chicken.
8. When you are done with the chicken, drain most of the oil from the pan (leave about a tablespoon).
9. Add the ginger, garlic and crushed red peppers, cooking for about 10 seconds.
10. Add the orange sauce and bring to boil
11. Turn off the heat, and add cooked chicken and stir until well mixed.

High School Recess

More snow and fog this morning. The mountain has disappeared. The snow load is accumulating on the tire swing.  

High School Recess? But, of course, everyone needs a study break now and again.  ::snort:: 

We've discovered the best bet is to fill the wheelbarrow with snow and move it! Maria, thanks again for the housewarming gift. It's proven to be the all-weather gift. LOL 

Evenings are for reading (Narnia at this point), Netflix (Father Brown) or games. Here they play a creation of the house - RisCatan. 

"Oh, CUUUUUUTE!" Another Sunday - Another Family Dinner

Sunday nights have come to mean family dinner. It's been fun to have the boys come out, the girls and their families come up and simply "be."  The first Sunday night of every month is planned to be our celebration of birthdays for the month.  February was full of birthdays.  I try to make the birthday person's favorite meal and dessert...with four birthdays in Feb it ended up being a dinner two chose, and 3 desserts on the night of the dinner. Then we had Jamin's dinner the following week. The big Family Celebration Dinner was on the actual date of Alex's birthday, 11 Feb. He opened gifts on 22 Feb and tonight, 25 Feb we had Alex's birthday dinner choice. He wanted a BBQ - I was thinking it might be warmer at the end of the month. LOL  

Bella wonders what the men are doing outside! 

 She's a native in the land of technology! 

"Oh, CUUUUUTE!" This is one of Bella's favorite phrases. She says it about her photos, Gideon, puppies, and most of all Benny!!!!!

Gideon loves Uncle Nolan

I am in awe of the fact that these kids will be raised near cousins. I wasn't. Our kids weren't. What a blessing for this generation. I love that Sunday night Family Dinners are becoming common place....such a blessing to be in the same spot.....I love that Krista has a heart to stay connected and sends cards and gift cards for every birthday celebration. Basically, I love family.