Joanie's Birthday and First Day of Spring

Two major events happened this week: Joanie had a birthday and spring began.

Wes bought a cake and Heather blobbed on something that is supposed to say Happy Birthday Joanie, but the tube of  writing gel proved to be difficult to work with. It's the thought that counts.

 Joanie opens a couple of gifts and cards.

 Meanwhile, this is what the first day of spring looks like in Vermont.

 And here are just a few random shots of daily life: at piano lessons on a Wednesday afternoon, with 3 lessons in a row, we're in it for the long haul. It's a good time to catch up on some reading, get homework done...

Practice spelling words and rocket math...

...or do some artwork. 

Hope you're having a good weekend.

Happy St.Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

A leprechaun gave Patches a hat. 

Winter Fun: Part 2

Last weekend I took Wayne and Cole to Burke Mountain for their first ski lesson. It was a beautiful day and the last day of our vacation.

 Learning the basics.

For the first lesson, they like them to learn without poles.

After learning the basics, they line up for the j-bar.

 An interesting point: Cole did not fall at all while skiing, but he did manage to fall off the j-bar twice.

 They went up and down the j-bar about a million times.  If we had rented helmets, they could have gone on the lift, but when I signed up for rentals, I did not realize that helmets were not included in our package price, and actually cost quite a bit extra. I figured they'd be ok on the j bar slope without.

So in this picture below, you can see they guy in blue, behind the orange fence. He was their instructor. It was a group lesson, but luckily it just worked out that W and C were the only ones in that group! Wayne is just behind him and Cole is lower, looking like he's trying to stop.

They both did a great job. I was amazed at how quickly they learned. I thought of Estelle and Lena as I marvelled at some really young kids zipping around comfortably on their skis and snowboards.

 Back home, more xc skiing.

Then on Wednesday, a big snowstorm hit our area, causing us to have 2 days off from school.

Spike and I went for a snowshoe and met up with Joanie.

 Thursday morning, our 2nd snow day home from school, playing in the snowbanks.

 Heather and Cole buried Wayne in the snow.

 Spike was worried about Wayne being buried.

So, we've been making the best out of these last weeks of winter, but we are fresh out of syrup and looking forward to sugar season.

Winter Fun

It's been such a bitter cold and icy winter that we haven't had as much outside fun as we usually do. We've been on vacation this past week, and luckily, we had a few days with some more comfortable temperatures. Danny, Mary, and Jacob were in town with their snow machines and shared some rides with us. 

Heather, Cole, Wayne, Mary, Jacob

 There goes Cole.

 The helmets are like a space suit.

 Wayne gets a lesson from Jacob. Wayne says the controls are very similar to the four wheeler.

 Heather gets a turn.

 There's me! It was fun!

 I think this is Danny and Cole, below.

Cole has become an expert on stars, planets, and the universe. His new hero is Stephen Hawking. He got this telescope for Christmas. He hasn't been able to use it much because in the winter, a clear night means sub zero temperatures. It's too difficult to find planets and figure out how to use the controls when your hands are icicles. Finally, last night, it was clear skies with temps in the 30's.

 We looked at craters on the moon and actually found Jupiter. It was very interesting and exciting.

 This morning Heather and I went out for an early morning ski. 

 It was great exercise and we were sweaty and thirsty after more than an hour of skiing.

After lunch, we went out again and Wayne and Cole joined us.

 If only vacation would last one more week.