Snow Day

We finally had a snow day WITH snow! Hooray! We ended up getting 6"-9" of snow between 8pm & 6am. The temperature hovered around freezing, so the flakes were big, wet, and beautiful coming down. The other great thing about today's snow is that it won't last long because it's supposed to be almost 60* this Sunday. As much as I enjoy snow, I am ready for sunshine and warmer days.

I went out between 12:30am & 1:00am and took a few pictures (looong shutter speed). Because the snow was so wet and heavy, it clung to the trees and looked so pretty.

I took the kids sledding for a little while today. It wasn't as fun today as it was the last couple times we went. There was less snow at the sledding hill than at our house, there were a lot of people, and the heavy, wet snow made for slow sledding. We only stayed an hour, but the kids still enjoyed themselves. Danielle stayed outside to play for a couple more hours when we got home.

Danielle climbed the snowpile at the end of the drive and built a miniature snowman on the mailbox post. No idea why, but it was cute. The local tv weatherman asked for viewers' pictures of snowmen to put on air tonight, and he showed Danielle's. It was a pretty good day.

Also, congratulations to Ron! He came in 3rd place in the International Association of Penturners intermediate beautiful pen contest.

Dognip?

A couple weeks ago Mamaw gave Clara a belated birthday present - a Petstages lion squeaky toy. Clara is obsessed with this thing! It has to be her favorite toy of all time, but I have no idea why! It doesn't have any stuffing. Instead, it consists of 2 large squeakers held together by the lion fabric "skin". Is there such a thing as dognip?! She is a fool with this toy. I have to admit, there are times when we aren't thinking kind thoughts about Mamaw - like when Clara is sqeaking it relentlessly at 6:30am or stands in front of us & whines until we throw it while we're watching tv. Sometimes it is fun to watch her, though, because she looks so happy with it. Here are some pictures I've taken of her with my phone over the past week. Please excuse the messy house & baskets of laundry (folded but not put away - it just never makes it!).

I was sick last week & missed 2 days of work. Clara still wanted to play. She was watching my hand, hoping I would find the strength to throw it for her.

PLEEEEASE throw my toy!

Now will you throw it?

Our Day Off

The kids didn't have school today and the sun was shining, so we opted for an outside activity - the zoo. The other schools around were not out, so it was just us and the mommies with their toddlers there today. While I am thankful I don't have a toddler any more, I miss those carefree pre-school days when we could do this type of thing anytime we pleased. Time goes too fast. But, I digress...we had a very nice day together. The kids giggled when the elephants made loud farting noises, got the penguins to jump in the water & chase a reflection around in circles, and stayed on the carousel for multiple turns. Today made me eager for summer break. Only 3 more months...

They were enjoying the sunshine and could hardly keep their eyes open.

This one reminded me of Clara because she loves sticks, too. This polar bear was quite the fool with her stick.

Cedar waxwing

We spotted a meadow vole tunneling under the mulch.

Who Cooks For You, Who Cooks For You All?

That is what a barred owl's call sounds like. I have heard that sound the last 3 times I've been at the park, but I haven't had any luck finding them. Today I went to a new park and picked a trail. After walking for a couple minutes, I stopped at a spot that had woods to the left and a field to the right. After checking out the field, I turned to look in the woods, and this beautiful owl was sitting right there watching me. Once he realized I was watching him, too, he turned around and flew off. He parked himself in a tree somewhere out of my sight and gave his "Who cooks for you" call. I have been having some problems with my telephoto lens and have been getting very inconsistent photos. I was disappointed to see that all my pictures were soft. Here is the best one I got.

This time of year, barred owls blend in nicely with the mottled gray tree trunks or clumps of dead leaves still hanging on the trees. I knew he was still there somewhere, but I just couldn't find find him. As I was looking for the owl, I saw this little chipmunk flattened out on a tree. I know he was hoping I hadn't spotted him. He finally scurried down the tree into his hole and peeked out at me until I moved on.

I walked on for awhile and found another place to stop and look around. As I turned around, there sat the barred owl again, watching me! I got a few more pictures and followed him as far as I could before he flew away from the trail and into another part of the woods. I was disappointed with all my pictures today - no framers - but I'm thankful I got to see the "cook of the forest".

Ron's Entry

Good News, Bad News

First the bad news. Well, it's not bad, just disappointing. Although Danielle did a stellar job practicing and auditioning for the school play, she did not get a speaking part. I think the really disappointing part was receiving a letter indicating she got a part in the play, receiving a script, and then opening the letter to see that she had a non-speaking part. I suppose that's better than getting the "you did NOT make it" letter, but not by much. (Danielle said the capitalized NOT added insult to injury for those who didn't make it.) She really was amazing when she practiced, so I am really surprised she didn't get a part. The teacher who is directing the play told me that 77 kids auditioned for 24 parts! That's a lot of competition. She said she stretched the parts to 39 so she could include kids like Danielle who really deserved to be there. That was a little consolation to Danielle, who is really, really disappointed. Ron thought maybe it would help to whack some softballs, so he took her to the batting cages after dinner. Hopefully she will come back feeling a little more settled. It sucks that things didn't turn out the way we hoped or thought they should, but I couldn't be prouder of her for all the effort she put into doing her very best.

Now for some good news. Ron entered a beautiful pen contest on one of his pen turners forums. A panel of judges picked the top ten pens from all the entries and then posted those 10 for the community to vote on. His pen was picked for the top 10! Voting will last until 3/5. Although there is a small prize, I think the bigger honor is to have your peers think your work stands out. It has to be very validating. I know I am always impressed with the beautiful artwork Ron creates from a chunk of acrylic or block of wood. I'm glad he can get a little recognition for it! I will try to add a couple pictures of his pen later tonight.

A Great Ending!

Well, I have to say it was a pretty great weekend, and I really can't take any credit for that. It was wonderful to have our first snow day in almost 2 years on Friday! Who doesn't love a bonus day off?! It was fun to watch Danielle's team play & win their tournament game yesterday, and it was fun to attend the free throw contest with her yesterday afternoon. Danielle went to a birthday slumber party last night, so it was just the three of us. We went out for dinner and then stayed up watching a movie we wouldn't let Tyler watch if Danielle was home. That was fun. Then Danielle's basketball team played an amazing game today and beat the undefeated regular season champs. That was a lot of fun! This was the only team that beat us (twice), so it was that much sweeter to beat them during the tournment. Although we held the lead pretty much the entire game, it was a very close game. Both sides played hard. Danielle did great! She made several rebounds and did an especially good job playing defense. The other team has a girl that is a super star. She really is amazing to watch considering she's just a 4th grader. Danielle was the only one who could set a pick on her. Although the other girl was bigger, Danielle held her own and slowed her down a few times, allowing our team to score. It's really neat to see the plays the girls have been working on all season come together at just the right times. It was a great ending to a great season.

I'm looking forward to a great week, too. Tomorrow is date night. Ron and Danielle are going to a college women's basketball game. Tyler and I are going to...Taco Bell! (Jealous?!) Danielle has auditions for the school play on Tuesday. (Please pray for her to do her best.) Both kids were invited to an ice skating birthday party this coming weekend. Ron will be leaving for Russia, so it will be nice to have something to look forward to. Spring break is on the horizon, and we are almost down to 3 months of school left.

Free Throw Contest

Danielle's basketball team won their game today, so they play for the championship tomorrow. I hope Danielle has a good time and enjoys her last game.

Danielle did a good job at the free throw contest today, but she didn't win. It looked like she had fun, though, and she got another medal for her trophy shelf!

The 2 girls on either side of Danielle are the same girls who also won the handwriting contest with her last month.

A Little More Practice

This is our last weekend for basketball. Danielle's team plays their first tournament game tomorrow morning. If they win, they'll play for the championship on Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow afternoon is a free throw contest. Each team gets to send a 3rd grade and a 4th grade winner to represent their team. Danielle was the third grade winner on her team. She is excited about getting to participate in the contest. Later today, despite the gray skies and chilly temperatures, she went out to practice her free throws. I love that no matter what she decides to do, she does it with all her heart. Once she commits, she's all in. That can be tough when she wants something she can't have or when we disagree about something, but overall, it's quite an admirable characteristic. I'm not in any hurry for her to grow up, but I am eager to see how this trait comes into play as she decides on a career and becomes an adult. She is such a neat kid. I know she will be an amazing adult.

Cookie Concert

Tonight was Tyler's 2nd band concert. They call it the cookie concert because every student brings a dozen cookies to share. After the concert, everyone eats cookies! Tonight's concert included grades 5, 6, & 7. It was interesting to hear the differences between the grades. It was even more interesting to see the physical differences between the grades! Something happens between 6th and 7th grades that makes them not look like little kids any more!! Yikes!!

Tyler did a great job! There were only 3 trumpets there tonight. There were several times when I could hear Tyler, and he sounded great every time! I was so proud of him! Thank you again to Aunt Nikki for giving Tyler a couple private lessons. I know those lessons helped his playing and his confidence level. There is one more concert this school year, and I can honestly say I'm looking forward to it.

Tyler wanted me to take this video for Aunt Nikki. He was practicing before the concert and he wanted her to hear it since she couldn't make it to the concert tonight.

Here are a couple pictures. Yes, he's wearing the same shirt, so I guess these pictures look pretty much like the Christmas concert pictures. Oh well. I'll try to find a different shirt for the last concert. :)