Snow, Bunnies, and a Feast

We finished off January with a little snow. The kids were so excited waking up to a winter wonderland. In reality, it was only a few inches but they made the most of it for as long as they could (which was just a few days because it was not actually that cold). Luckily, we'd purchased our very first sled the week before. There was magical sledding time during breaks from school as well as after - both with friends and just with each other. It's probably not the last snow we'll get this winter but it was a good first snow.

The rabbits have had an unintended domino effect (as is the case with many things). It took about a week for Bella, the dog, to realize that they existed but once she did she became hyper-focused on them. She was not to be trusted outside by herself! Her bad behavior has escalated over the few weeks that Abby has had the bunnies. Finally, Greg and Debbie needed to step in and help. Over the weekend they build a (hopefully) Bella-proof rabbit area. We think it turned out pretty well. Hopefully, it will help calm things down a bit and keep the rabbits safe.

In an effort to shake things up a bit Debbie suggested that we study a different country/culture each month. It was Alex's idea to spin the globe to pick a random place and for January we landed on Hawaii. We have spent a little time each week learning a bit about the history and culture. We decided to conclude our studies with a feast. We stuffed ourselves with coconut rice, mochi fried chicken, and panipopo (a sweet roll baked in coconut milk). We did save a little space for chocolate haupia pie though. We have never made any of these recipes at home before and they all turned out well.  The chocolate haupia pie has always been a favorite when we visit Hawaii and it actually turned out not too bad at home.

We had enough fun with this little project that we committed to continue. Abby spun the globe on Sunday night and landed on Canada. We are looking forward to learning some new and different things about our neighbors to the North!