This & That

The snow finally stopped and it warmed up. In fact, we had thunderstorms the other night. Then it got chilly again. The only thing predictable about our winter weather is that it's unpredictable. I'm ok with that. It makes life interesting. Sometimes we get to experience all the seasons in one day!

We are working on our first full week of school since mid-December. We are eagerly looking forward to school softball & track starting soon. We are also counting down the days to spring break! Tyler has started driving himself to school, which leaves me with about 40 minutes to myself between work and the kids getting home. I've been picking Clara up and heading out for a walk on the trail. It's really nice right now because no one else is there when I am. I can let her walk off leash and explore, although she always stays close. When we start out, she's way ahead of me, but by the time we get back to the car, she's only a few steps ahead. Guess we are both a little out of shape. :) She is such a good dog. The increasing amount of white on her face makes me sad. Anyway, it's nice to have a few minutes to myself before the bustle of kids coming home, reviewing homework, shuttling kids to and fro, making dinner, etc.

Today it was snowing "Styrofoam" (graupel). I thought the dead seed fluffies looked pretty with the balls on them.

Danielle just finished up a hitting league with the high school softball players. She and 3 other 8th graders were invited to play with them. She was put in a group with the varsity players, which she enjoyed. At the last game, they faced one of the toughest pitchers the HS will face this year (according to the assistant coach). Danielle did as well or better than some of the varsity players, so she was pretty happy. That's the head varsity coach watching her in the background. He did that almost every time she was up. This weekend she's playing in some friendlies (scrimmages) with a team that asked her to sub. She practiced with them a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it. It's actually one of the teams we played in a championship game this fall. Danielle made a couple excellent plays against them, and they have been interested in her ever since. She is also playing in an out of state weekend tournament with them in a couple weeks. Inside softball is a little different, especially for a slapper, but I'm looking forward to watching her play.

We stopped to see my brother after Danielle's hitting lesson the other night. He made sure he was standing nice and tall so Danielle wouldn't look taller. It won't be long before she can look him in the eye, though. The dr told Tyler he's probably about done growing. Unfortunately he got more of my height genes than Ron's. Average for a male is 5'10". He's not quite that yet, but the pediatrician thought he could squeak that out before he was done. It was nice to visit with him for a little while. He has done a lot of work making things his own at his new house, and it was nice to see all that.

Lots of Snow

It's been snowing. A lot. I feel like we were short changed on the snow the past two years, but I am satisfied this year!



Tracks on our patio

Tracks on our patio. Squirrel and chicken. ;) Ok, maybe not chicken.

 

Drift by the house before yesterday's snowfall.

 

I love a good snow fall. Especially when we're all in the warm house where we belong. When it started snowing the other evening, the snow sparkled as it hit the ground. The wind whipped it around into swirls and created all kinds of interesting formations and drifts. The next morning, our neighborhood came alive with people shoveling and clearing the snow from their cars. Some of the neighborhood kids worked together to build a snow fort in the pile the snow plow made at the end of the street. The guy down the street with the snowblower cleared 3 more drives when he was done with his. Moving from one to the other with just a smile and a wave. Our neighbor &  her son shoveled the drive and sidewalk of the neighbors across the street while they were gone. A couple moms with toddlers took turns pulling their little ones around the yard on a toddler sled. They were so bundled up, I'm not sure how they could bend to sit. We came back in from shoveling, made hot chocolate, and settled in for the day. I guess maybe it's not just the snow fall I love.

Snow Birds

Snow buntings

Lapland longspur

 

Horned lark

 

 

 

White throated sparrow

Downy woodpecker

 

Chilly mallards

 

Frozen Bubbles

Christmas Break

It has been a lovely Christmas break. Ron has been off the entire time the kids and I have been home, but he has to go back to work tomorrow. We go back on Thursday. I always look forward to this time. It's always full of family time and special moments. It's like the busy-ness of every day life suddenly stops for a few short days and we get to focus on what's most important - just being together. And most everyone I know is doing the exact same thing.  It's lovely.

So, what have we been up to? Well, there's been a lot of sleeping in. That contributes to staying up late. It's a vicious cycle, really, but for 2 weeks...who cares?! It's been too cold to go outside, so we've been watching movies, playing games, reading, etc. I guess I can't really account for every second of the past two weeks - probably because I lost track of the days at some point. That's a pretty lovely feeling, too.

As usual, we spent Christmas Eve with my mom, Jack, & brother. We enjoyed the Christmas Eve service at church together, followed by dinner out and then time together at home. Uncle Ron and Danielle wore their light-up Christmas sweaters and looked pretty awesome.

We had a nice, quiet Christmas day. It always goes too quickly, though. You spend weeks planning, purchasing, and wrapping, and then it's all over in a matter of hours. It does last a little longer now that the kids are older, but that's just the way Christmas is.

Watching The Polar Express on Christmas Eve.



This was in Tyler's stocking. He said it tasted like hair. Maybe not, but he did say it was not good. It was meant more for a laugh, anyway.

Danielle said hers was good. Apparently unicorn farts have a cherry flavor.

We enjoyed lunch with my dad and Patty but missed getting to see the rest of the family. Danielle spent time with friends. Tyler tried to win records for spending the most days in pajamas, but I gave him a good run for his money. It was a great way to usher out 2017. 

I know a lot of people had a rough 2017. Politics, health concerns, job uncertainty, losing loved ones - there were a lot of big issues that many people we know struggled with. We were fortunate enough to end 2017 in much the same way that we started it - happy, healthy, warm, well fed, together, and loved. I have high hopes for 2018.

This & That

Despite the fact that it's winter, we've had some rather warm days. Warm for here. Ron has gone out fishing a few times. I went with him a couple times and wandered around looking for things to take pictures of while he fished. Sadly, I didn't get to take any pictures of fish, although he did catch a few last week when he went out by himself. At least, he said he caught a few. I liked the way the sun sparkled on the water.

On one of our outings we were also looking for a snowy owl that was sighted in the area, but we didn't have any luck finding him either. The scenery was still pretty and it was nice to get outside. It's not nearly as sunny and warm(ish) today.

The new Star Wars movie came out last week. I bought opening night tickets for Ron and Tyler the day they went on sale in October. The boys had a fun evening together. The four of us went to see it last weekend. It was really good. I need to see it again because I'm sure I missed some details.

Ron and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this week. 25 years is a long time. Being married for 25 years sometimes feels like a long time. :) Earlier this week Ron was talking to a lady who is in her late twenties, and she asked him if he had any relationship advice for her. He told her that all the advice he had to give would probably be considered offensive in this day and age (but he gave it anyway!). Don't live together first. Find a real man who isn't afraid to commit. Decide before you're married that you will honor your vows no matter how much work it takes, how you feel on any given day, or what your partner decides to do. Things like that. Not very popular ideas any more. But beyond that 20-something stranger, I hope we're teaching our kids that God's idea of marriage works. Anyhow...Ron surprised me with tickets for an after hour tour of our zoo's Christmas lights. I was hesitant to go because the kids had places they needed to be, but Ron insisted. He was right. I made other arrangements for the kids, and Ron and I enjoyed dinner out and the zoo lights. It was a very nice evening and a very thoughtful gift.

And there's this...Tyler took his driver's test this week and passed on the first try. It took me 2, so he did better than I did...which only makes me feel slightly better about him being out there on the roads alone.

Say What??

Our regular supplier of fortune cookies at school has been out of stock for several weeks, so we received a case from another company. We just ordered fortune cookies - nothing indicated the name brand of the cookies - and this is what we got. Try saying the brand name out loud, keeping in mind I work at a jr. high. Yep. Good times. ;)

Christmas Cookies



This might be why Danielle usually opts out of icing the cookies. Regardless, I was glad to have her help. :)

 

Winter Dance

Danielle's school had their winter dance yesterday evening. She had a nice time and looked so pretty.



She Follows the Sun

Menu Help

Danielle's been coming to school early with me this week while Ron's in Germany. She is good company and I enjoy having her around. She likes to help out, too. Today she offered to write the menu on the board for me. She was much more creative about it than I am.

Today's Pic

 

Mother Nature doesn't realize it's supposed to be cold.

I Love Watching Her Play

Danielle's team participated in an all day softball camp last Sunday and again yesterday. The camp last Sunday was at a college 2 hours away. They started at 8am and went until 7pm, playing 6 one hour games in addition to participating in discussions about skill specific topics and recruiting. 6 games in one day was a lot, even if they weren't full games. The camp yesterday was 2.5 hours away. They played 3 80 minute games in addition to the talks. It was a long day, too, but Danielle enjoyed both camps.

I really love watching Danielle play. She still struggles with hitting as well as she'd like, but that's all part of learning to be a slapper. A slapper's job is to place the ball, and sometimes that's easier said than done. But, when she does get it right where she intended and then beats the throw to first, that is fun to watch.

I love watching her field. She is always thinking ahead and knows where the plays are before the ball is hit. She was talking about a play she made in the field yesterday and listed about 6 things that went through her mind in determining exactly how to play the ball. She made it sound so easy, but she had to think through all of that in only a second or two and then put herself in the right place to make the play. Her fielding is usually flawless, and she makes plays that many of her teammates cannot. Yesterday, from centerfield, she threw a girl out at 1st and another out at 3rd. That was fun to watch.

 

 

I love watching her run the bases, too. Not only is she fast, she's smart. She has 13 stolen bases for this fall season. The next closest person on the team has 4. Twice yesterday she slid right past the tag at 2nd and grabbed the base as she flew by. That was fun to watch.

But, as much as I love all those things, what makes me the most proud is watching her cheer on and encourage her teammates. 3 different parents told me at three different times yesterday how much they appreciated Danielle's positivity, her smile, and the encouragement she offers her teammates. I didn't go to the camp last Sunday, but they told me how even during game 6 when everyone was exhausted she was up cheering, high fiving and complimenting every girl as they came in the dugout after their at bat, yelling encouragement from the field to her pitcher, and cheering for the girls when they made a play. As I watched her yesterday, I saw her do those same things. Her voice was the only voice you could hear cheering from the field, encouraging on her pitcher by game 3. Her smiling face and outstretched hand was the first thing her teammates saw when they returned to the dugout. And at the end of the very long day, as we were walking out the door of the facility to head to our car and the 2.5 hour drive in the rain, she had to go back so she could thank the college students who were still there working the camp.  That was fun to watch.

I really love watching Danielle play.