Little ballerina

It has long been a well-kept secret what goes on behind the ballet school doors. Finally we were let in for a peek, and what a treat it was!

The black shoes mark our troop member and she showed lovely ballerina form. I was also impressed by the backwards clock on the wall which looks normal when seen in a mirror!  Another clever dancer trick...

Super sledding

We didn't have all that much time after church and visiting Nana and before a birthday party BUT....the boy and I snuck out for a little bit of sledding at our local college which hosts a mighty fine HILL. Even papa was grinning all the way down.

Weeeeee-heeeeee!!!!

:D

Snowy week

We've been enjoying the polar vortex just because it's the closest we'll get to the actual pole - and the powdery snow it left in its wake.  Here we're enjoying being outside because we get to wear our coats.  It's just as cold inside but we don't wear our coats because it would be weird.

 We built a little ski ramp

 and enjoyed the powder for as long as we could bear it!

The kids had a couple days off from school. Good times!

Pinewood Derby

Wow! This was our first Pinewood Derby and how cool it was!  The boy went pretty low tech with his orange special - we needed to add weight so we went with batteries for effect.  Many of the other entries were seriously customized, but we were glad just to get it in on time - minutes before registration ended we were still drilling cutouts for the batteries!

See if you can find the orange one and the porcupine which won an award.




Even setting up the track the night before was a ton of fun. The boy was the only cub there and he got to test the track over and over with 4 old cars. He even used the remote-control starter which opened the gates. We were out until 10:30 that night. This was the outcome.

A USB camera broadcast each race and software automatically tracks the outcomes. Although it's disappointing not to win, with pizza and pizazz it's a total blast.

Bonus: some more cars; check out the roller coaster.

Visit with cuz

The cousins are in town - always a good time!

Piano lessons

It's not always the most popular day, but sometimes the kids really enjoy the piano lessons. I guess it feels different to be the one in the spotlight inside the closed room, but it's a pretty neat setup with all the practice spaces and teachers.

 

And outside, there's not much else to do but enjoy the sounds, and maybe a quick wink.

Winter break

Just hanging around the house in bath robes...winter stuff!  It might seem boring...

..but it can be exciting!!

What about getting stuck in old IKEA chairs?

Imagine...IKEA in the 60's...

Don't bother me! I'm dreaming of meatballs and jam!