Three Dozen

Bryan celebrated his 36th birthday today, with lots of help. He had cake at work and a dinner party with our parents this evening. 

 Charlie even helped him open gifts.

We love you, Bryan! Cheers to 3 dozen years!
XOXO

Presidents' Weekend

We went to the Enzian this weekend for our annual trek. The weather was less than lovely and we spent most of our time indoors. As a consequence, there are no lovely pictures of scenery or even full family shots. Still, there was fun!

The kids went to the pool 6 times. They loved it. Shocking.

This year there was no need for lifejackets. True, we need to leave the doggy paddle behind, but there was some backstroke action that bodes well for this summer.

It was fun to watch them play together. The two of them are mostly older than the other kiddos who were there. They were good playing with the younger ones, and pretty good together. The kid dynamics will certainly be interesting as the years pass!

Sporting her bruise from a metal bat incident earlier this week, Shan is all smiles poolside!

Bryan played with this rambunctious duo in the pool, as did their grandparents, and even their mother. 

It was no wonder that they were worn out by day's end!

After a huge Enzian breakfast, Mitch and Shan say, "Let's go be active!" They mean it, too. We played racquetball, basketball, ping pong, and swam. Plus, they loved to visit the exercise room!

Bryan and the kids went in the outside pool a few times, too. I watched from the safety of the hot tub. Sunday afternoon Mitch was delighted to have "Russ' friend" join him in a bit of polar bearing! Ryan gave him a high five for the bravery and they bonded in the tub. It's fun to have these friends!

Mr. Johnson once again enthralled the littles with his alpine horn serenades. Shannon was pleased to get to ride in the elevator with him and have a little chat. We also enjoyed a couple strolls through town and our usual dinners with the group.

Grama read them a new story about barbarians, much to their delight.

  These two slept like the dead after all their activity!

Another successful Enzian weekend in the books - and now we can look forward to next year!

Our holiday weekend wrapped up with a game of football in the yard! 4 boys, 2 dogs, and 1 man of my heart enjoying the warming temperatures. One month until spring...

Number 14

Another storm, more wind, followed by freezing rain and we are sitting on 14 cancelled days of school.

Last night was really windy and the drifts grew massively. 

We are newly appreciative of our fence as it doubles as a snow fence. The drifts cover it, make good play places, and they aren't up against the house.

The snow has an ice crust and a lovely reflective capability.

This winter is a beast. Here's hoping that spring is just as powerful in its natural beauty!

Little Tigers

Mitch and Shan both participated in some rec department mini camps over the past few weeks.

Mitch did a basketball camp, which culminated in a "game" during halftime of a boys' varsity game.

 Here he is, in his big-haired glory!

 He's in the center of that bunch of boys, and he has the ball!

 Arms up on defense, with Ryan at his side.

He's still got his 'man' even on the move.

He seemed to have a good time and had some exposure to very basic basketball skills. At this point, no recruiters will be knocking down our door...but he's happy!

 Shannon enjoyed a cheer camp this week which culminated in a performance at a girls' varsity halftime.

 She was very focused and knew the routine completely.

 Here she lands her 5-point-jump!

 This was her own interpretive dance at the end of the show.

 She and Jessica watched the older girls perform.

Christa was definitely a reason Shan wanted to participate! Cheers!