The pond is finally frozen! Naturally, it wasn’t long before Jim was out there testing the strength of the ice.

Once he gave the ‘go’ signal, the boys threw on skates, grabbed sticks, and began gliding on the precious, slippery solid.

They reminded me of wind-up toys. They were literally non-stop movement once they hit the ice. Jeremy was the exception at first, as he was just getting his ice-legs.

And the more I thought about the wind-up toy analogy, the more fitting it seemed. They have been wound up lately, with little outlet.

The three younger boys stood still for a momentary snapshot.

You’d never guess that the temperature was in the single digits last night. They stayed out there for hours until they were called in for bedtime.

Because of the frigid temperature, Ruthie stayed in with me and watched from the window. Here’s what she thought about that:

Those are real tears.

It’s finally hockey season in the Johanik backyard.