The Pulley Principle: February 2010

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Snow Day

Friday was snow day for the kids. Noah was invited to a friend's house for hot-tubbing, and I took the girls and a few friends sledding. The plan was to go ice skating again, but the rink was snowed in--go figure.

It was a very snowy day. The snow was wet and heavy. I ended up in the car after a while, because it was so wet!
That didn't bother these girls, though.
They were drenched by the time I told them to load up.

We went to Star Bucks for a little liquid refreshment and warming up.

We had lots of snow this week and this is the pile from the neighbor's driveway that gets pushed up into our yard. These two spent several days building a snow fort.

Just a little idea of how deep the snow is. It is up to the mail box.

Pops Concert

Darren's choir performed with the Pops and the kids loved the concert-Annabel, especially. It was a night of movie themes and once again, Annabel has realized her love of Titanic...

Monday, February 22, 2010

Winter Break

We had a staycation this year for Winter Break. Darren worked all week and we stayed home, but I tried to keep the kids busy.

I took the kids skiing at Bristol Mountain for the day. We went with friends and they said it was their best day skiing, ever! Noah used Darren's skis and boots and enjoyed having better equipment.

Annabel's hot pink ski pants were easy to spot from the lodge. One of my neighbors was there and she and I spent the afternoon visiting and watching the kids come down the mountain.

Bea skied earlier in the week, as well, with her friend Cameron. That was a hard day, but by Wednesday (when we went), she was much better and stayed on her feet more than her behind.

Christian and Drew were great skiing companions for Noah and Annabel. Noah is the tall one in the picture. I'm really glad my kids wear helmets. The day before we were there a dad was snowboarding and hit a tree. He didn't survive.

The girls did a card swap with our friends from church. We do this most of the the school breaks.

We went to Manhattan Square Park for ice-skating. The girls didn't want to leave by the time our session ended. They had finally gotten a feel for the skates. It has been several years since they had lessons.

Noah enjoyed Xbox with friends, and some down time without the girls, but that was spent out of my sight.
Overall, it was a pretty painless winter break and everyone had a good week and felt like it had really been a vacation.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Burn

Bea burnt her arm on a space heater and it left a perfect grill pattern on her bicept.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentine's Cakes

The Young Women baked cakes as a fund raiser for camp. We ended up with more than expected. Annabel purchased one for Darren and me and I ordered 3. We shared with our favorite missionaries and had a week of tasty cake for dessert every night.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Church Ball

Noah loves playing church ball.

Most of the units in our Stake don't have enough boys to make a team, so this year the boys are randomly placed into teams.

This has been the best season because of the assorted teams. There is very little fighting and the boys are getting to know each other much better. It is a shame it is not like this everywhere.

Noah is 13 and 6'tall now.
Church gyms have crappy lighting.

Friday, February 12, 2010

What a mess!

No names are used to protect the innocent (or guilty).
I'm pretty sure she is worse than I ever was.

On rare occasions, she will feel the impulse to pick up.

Every month or so, I feel the need to pick up.

And my friends have pitched in before as well.

Is there any wonder her teachers complain that she is disorganized?
Good thing we love her so much.

Jump Rope for Heart

Every year Bea's elementary school participates in the Jump Rope for Heart to raise money for the heart association. For the last 11 years, French Road Elementary School has been the top money maker in the country.
The kids are divided into teams and take turns jumping for 1.5 hrs.
This is Bea and her group.

Lots of jumping kids burning lots of calories and building strong hearts.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Dentist

We spend a lot of time at the dentist office, thanks to Darren's fine dental genes, and his good insurance.
This was always a happy place for the kids, until Annabel had 6 teeth pulled.

She now hates the dentist, but her lot in life will include more time in the chair.

Noah gets to visit every 6 weeks to get his braces rewired and new elastics. He doesn't hold a grudge for his 4 pulled teeth.

That boy will have great teeth in a few more years.

Pinewood Derby

Our girls Faith in God group had a Pinewood Derby activity this week. We came home from our trip and had to quickly get the cars ready for Tuesday night.

Bea designed her car all by herself with no help from anyone. Annabel did as well, but I have no pictures of her work.