A Year Late...

Prepping for winter:  

The beautiful mother:

Mom made everyone pose for photos, you know, to make sure we wouldn't ever forget this day. Peep dad doing real work in the background.

Mariana's adorable smile:

The eldest and the youngest (a 16-year gap):

Benjamin concentrating on his remembrance day poster. Every year he starts it months before the due date and works intensely on it while the rest of his siblings start on it a week before. Unlike him, we are not nearly as meticulous.

Mom decided to paint the fireplace white a few months after we moved in. She enlisted Joseph's help as he decided he did not want to go to school that day. Notice the well-built barricade surrounding them. Unfortunately, because it was only made of chains, and because of Matthew's acute intelligence, it may have been rebuilt several times. 

Living on the farm has been such a blessing for all the kids. When peering out the window you will either see cows, nothing, cows, nothing, turkeys or perhaps a couple of kids (depending on whether the cows are around or not). Mariana and Isaac are in the photo below taking in all the warmish weather they can until winter.

The first snow. I believe it went away soon after...it likes to do that just to tease us of the long winter ahead :( 

Grandpa Nick's second cousin, Jeremy, came up for a visit in early January. Many years ago she invited grandma Julie (a friend of hers) and grandpa Nick to her cottage. Neither grandparent knew that there would be someone else at the cottage other than Jeremy. Grandma and grandpa stayed up almost all night talking to one another. And I suppose the rest is history! Thank you, Jeremy!!

A picture of the adorable Matthew who is probably eating something he shouldn't. He decided to sweep the outside that day with our red broom. I'm not sure how well that went.

The early mornings are beautiful on the farm.

Joseph must have taken hold of the camera.

And here he is trying to look all cool.

Here is Halloween from a year ago. Mariana and Isaac went as a cowboy and a cowgirl (Mariana ensures that we know she is the latter). Sarah went as Jellybeans.

Baby Chicks!

Almost a year ago we got chickens! Dad and Isaac for an entire spring and summer took care of them (the rest of us gave up after a few days...who knew chickens were so much work?).

Matthew standing in awe:

Dad taking his new chicken duties very seriously (and probably also trying to maintain his calm amongst the screams of little children).

Matthew post-nap:

Note: it is was sweltering in the chick's room because they had to live in very warm temperatures for the first few weeks.

Mariana looking adorable (and also trying not to be sad that dad was holding the chick instead of her):

Sarah's chick looks so unreal...she may have been stretching it too much (perhaps why some chickens had funny walks later in life).