Winters in Russia are Cold! In part of January and February we had about a 3 or 4 weeks when the weather was -22F. The nice thing about it is that the sun shone brightly during those days.
For New Year's Holiday, they usually put snow in the center square and make some snow sculptures and places for children to climb and go sledding. Below is our family near the snowman sculpture they had there this year. Yes, it was cold which is why all you can see are our faces. (not -22, but still cold).
Have you ever had a cookout in the middle of winter in the snow? Russians like to have cookouts any time of the year. Below is a picture taken from our kitchen window of Valera and his parents grilling some sausages.
At the bottom of this steep hill if you look closely you will see Alexander. Yes, he bravely went sledding on this hill by the river. 
Zarina and Nicolas went on a smaller hill close by. 
These men were ice fishing. We didn't see them catch anything, but there were several people ice fishing that day.
It has started warming up again, although it is still below freezing and we've had some more snow this past week. Alexander wanted to help Valera shovel the snow from the driveway. When he came back inside, I asked him why he was shoveling snow off the driveway. He said because there was a lot of snow there.
Zarina and Alex went sledding at a park with our previous neighbor and her children. Nicolas and Maude were at home because they were sick. There was a swing made of wood there.
Behind Alex you can see the long slide they had fun on.
Here is a picture from the top of the slide. It curved around part way down.
When it starts getting warmer and the snow starts melting, it makes it difficult to drive and easy to get stuck. Valera got stuck near our house 2 times. The first time was at night and he had to get a tractor to pull him out. Below is a picture of the other time more recently.
Here he is trying to dig away some of the snow. He had to jack up the van and put a board under the tire to get out.
We trust you are staying warm wherever you are. We are looking forward to spring although it will be another month or two before all our snow is gone.
Zarina and Alex went sledding at a park with our previous neighbor and her children. Nicolas and Maude were at home because they were sick. There was a swing made of wood there.
Behind Alex you can see the long slide they had fun on.
Here is a picture from the top of the slide. It curved around part way down.
When it starts getting warmer and the snow starts melting, it makes it difficult to drive and easy to get stuck. Valera got stuck near our house 2 times. The first time was at night and he had to get a tractor to pull him out. Below is a picture of the other time more recently.
Here he is trying to dig away some of the snow. He had to jack up the van and put a board under the tire to get out. 
We trust you are staying warm wherever you are. We are looking forward to spring although it will be another month or two before all our snow is gone. 