no school - cold day #2

school was cancelled for the second day in a row because of 

extreme temperatures!

we woke up today with an icy

 -16 degrees F.

and believe me, it feels like it too.

certain precautions we take when we dip to these temps:

1. keep a little bit of water running on all the taps in the house

2. make sure the well pump is insulated and the light is on in the well house to keep from freezing

3. put a portable oil heater in the detached garage so the cans of paint don't freeze

4. tuck gabi into bed with a hot water bottle

5. don't take roxy for a walk because her warm paws stick to the ice and snow - ouch...

6. snuggle up by the fire with a good book 

or someone who's read one!

these cold mornings call for a hearty breakfast.......

and this morning we've got a bunch of teenage boys just waking up from sleeping over......

they are so fun to feed....

so, what do kids do when they are given 2 surprise days off of school??

go sledding

have sleepovers

 band practice

go bowling

visit friends

bake

eat

play in the snow

make snow angels and.....

make your own ice skating rink...

gabi saved her money and bought a pair of ice skates.

she has been waiting for the temperatures to get below freezing 

so she can make our pond into an ice skating rink.

well, it is definitely below freezing!!!

so today was the day!

to make an ice rink you must:

first, shovel all the snow off the frozen pond

ryla helped shovel too.....

second, pour buckets of hot water on to the ice, this makes the ice smooth as it instantly freezes.

third, gather an audience

and finally, skate to your heart's content.  (or until your fingers are freezing)

gabi skated for a good 2 hours today!!!

 here is the icy, snow white world we are living in........