Heart of the Matter Meme-Winter Blues

This is the meme for this week:

So was it just me or did anyone else feel like hunting down a groundhog on Monday? This is my second year of experiencing ‘real winter’ and I have to say that between the snow shoveling, the kids with cabin fever, and the freezing cold feet (mine) I am having trouble figuring out why so many out there love this season. I come from areas that get overjoyed over one or two freezes because the mosquito population suffers. When there is drizzle–there is no work or school. In February it is sunny, and you might be wearing shorts..
That being said, how do you get through it? How do you beat those winter blues? What fun indoor activities do you do with your children? How do you see the sunshine through the cloudy skies?

Since we live in Alaska, our winters are tremendously long. January tends to be the hardest/coldest month, but after that February and March pick up with activities. We have snow from mid-October to sometime in April, so keeping busy helps especially as winter drags on. Here are some activities that we are going to do in February and March to pass the time and add some spark to our lives.

We made ice marbles last week...see this.

For Valentine's Day we will read a bunch of Valentine's stories, learn about Milton Hershey, and make these Chocolate Pretzel Buttons.

In March, we always celebrate St. Patrick's Day by having a little visitor come to our house the eve of March 16th. He leaves his footprints and a pot of gold...and sometimes some Lucky Charms.

In the middle of March, we also go to the Ice Park to see the ice sculptures and have the kids play in the kids' ice park.