(Happy) NEW! (Year)

Linden loves (LOVES) shovelling the driveway.  Good thing we didn't pony up for snow ploughing!

It is now officially the dawn of a new year.  I will not write about resolutions or aspirations, because I did not take time to sort all that out, truth be told.  But with that having been said, I think (hope) 2016 will mark some exciting changes, for me at least... so I feel rather optimistic.  Plus, as the photos will reveal, Ottawa has officially transitioned into winter this past week, and it all feels lovely.  Sorry, snow haters - this little family has been revelling!

It feels a little surreal to be jumping back into reality this morning -- the kids were unceremoniously shuffled off to school, Clark is back at work, and I have a little over 300 pages of thesis to read through before sending a full draft off to my supervisor (!).  But this past full week of vacation was tremendously fun, and I have absolutely no complaints.  It was marked (at least photographically) by three main events.

1. Surprise visit from Grandpa and Grandma!
Clark's dad and stepmom stopped by for a full day on their way from St. Catherine's (ON), back to the farm in NB.  It was a bit of a last-minute decision, and was an incredibly nice surprise.  Not only did we get to see them, but they decided to treat themselves to a lovely hotel room, which meant a whole lot of pool and hot-tubbing.  Oh, and they also brought the first legitimate snow storm of the season with them, so all-in-all, a grand time was had by all!

Warming up with grandma after a thorough romp in the snow

I went on a solo (and very epic) snowshoe adventure from our house to the hotel, mid-storm. Amazing.

This is what I missed out on in the process, but I'm not complaining!

2. New Year's chez Judith and Simon

We were invited to the sleepover of the year - New Year's Eve with our dear friends Judith and Simon, at their gorgeous house nestled in the hills of Gatineau.  There was a whole lot of fun socializing, constant delicious food, and some extreme outdoor play. It was, in short, the perfect way to ring in the new year.

Two tired boys in matching black long johns

No visit is complete without a bit of a string duet

Linden was obsessed with cracking and eating nuts.  This is his nut-cracking face.

The whole gang!

I couldn't NOT include this picture.  Just look at our expressions!

3. SNOWSHOEING!

We are a family who loves our nature walks, and it was oh-so-satisfying to travel our tried-and-true trails on... snowshoes!  The kids each got a pair for Christmas, and Clark and have had ours tucked away for a good few years now, so it was even more exciting than you would think to go on a a full afternoon's outing this past weekend.  I predict we'll have these babies out a whole lot this winter!

thug life

not-so-thug life

This is how beautiful it was the whole entire time

hot chocolate break under the bridge!

Group shot!

exhausted

And now we get down to business.  I hope the new year has started out as wonderfully for you all as it has for us!  Maybe next week I'll have had time to ponder the new year in a bit more detail.  I'll fill you in if I come up with anything particularly pithy or revealing.