Family camping weekend

This long weekend we went to the YMCA family camp. When we signed up months ago, we thought it would be a good opportunity to get out and play in the snow and meet some new families. Last week, there was no snow and there were 2 other families signed up. We weren't too thrilled about going, as it was a big hassle and we were tired. And we had stuff we wanted to do here, etc. But we were committed, so we went.

We had a really good time. And we got some snow for the sledding. Kat slept (far) less than .75 of her usual sleep time (so did we) on the bunks that are too short for adults. I whacked my head repeatedly on the Kat's lower bunk and the ceiling above me.

We had a little snow when we got there, enough for sledding on Saturday. And then got a few more inches on Saturday. We didn't sled on Sunday, as one of us was being belligerent and mouthing off, so we watched everyone else go. But she got better and we sledded again today. And she tried snowboarding, see the video below.

All of the kids were girls (except the 7 month old). Kat, the 5 year old constantly sugared up ADHD kid (who had a good week at kindergarten this week and just MAY advance next year and took Irish dancing and was asked not to return (my new measurement of whether our kid is a spoiled single child---so far we have not been asked to vacate a class/premises, etc). Then there were 2 great girls, one 7 & the other 9 and they were super nice kids (we were hitting their parents up for parenting tips). And there was a just turned 3 year old. Kat had fun eating from the suitcase of sugary snacks and pop that the ADHD parent brought along (she also brought a dvd player and made liberal use of her mom's phone and kindle unless they were put out of her reach) and playing with that girl and often the 7 year old, then she would wind down a bit and play with the 3 year old (who she knew from our Y). As the parent of the super-nice kids said, Kat has some behaviors to unlearn. But we did have a lot of fun. I think that Dan spent all day yesterday reading.

They do family camps over Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. They have all sorts of fun stuff, horseback riding, swimming, canoeing, ropes course, climbing wall, etc. I am pretty sure we will return. Kat was sad to leave camp today, but we were all looking forward to our own beds!! And I'm off to mine shortly! Poor Dan is teaching tonite. I asked her when we were leaving what her favorite part of the weekend was. I swear she said 'my favorite part was misbehaving.' Then she said no, but I never got the rest of her answer and probably wouldn't remember it after the first statement. I can only hope that she really didn't mean that, else her road to adulthood will be very painful for all of us.

The videos:
Her best friend Sadie.
Writing her name in the snow.
The end of Tom & Dianne's wedding last weekend (Dan's bro)
Kat's first time on a snowboard....crap, she does pretty well, I hope she doesn't become one!!!

Pic from the dentist

You can't tell, but she's posing on a big stuffed bison. She had an excellent check up and enjoyed her visit.

Breaking a board

Kat is breaking boards at TKD. Last night it was by kicking and today it was with an elbow snap. She looked a little proud of her first attempt.

Kat and her weapon

Kat's tae Kwon do had parents' night tonite. And it was free for us, except the weapon I bought her on amazon. The theme was nerf wars. There were at least 60 kids there, they divided them into teams (ages), painted their faces, tied on colored headbands and they were off! I think they had a ridiculous amount of fun.

We had to practice at home, make sure that she knew how to use it. She loved it.

The beauty of being an American!!!

Skiing. and wrestling

The video is Kat going down hill for the first time ever. You can get a sense of her bewilderment. She looks behind her....no one there helping nor telling her what to do. Then she changes direction slightly, which I think is impressive and instinctive. And then she heads for the people at the bottom of the rope tow with her arms out. You have to watch thru the end.... And then again and again.

I'm sure it doesn't reflect well on me well in any regard whatsoever, but I watch this video over and over on the loop and laugh till I cry. The two instructors wiping out the other kid on the rope tow (and kind of Kat, after the rescue), just kills me!! And her poor baffled run down the hill, back to where she started. Why wouldn't one return to where they started?

The second video is from Tae Kwon Do today, They do SUCH fun stuff. She is always a sweaty mess after class! The camera is shaking a little, as I was cracking up the whole time. She is the hungry badger and the instructor is the crocodile guarding his egg. I realize he wasn't giving it his all, but was still really impressed that she could roll him over, twice, no less (these guys are all muscle). The ending of this video kills me too. She trips when she's almost there, BUT lands on the ball and rolls away from him. She may have a future as a receiver.

Winter has arrived

This is today's snowstorm. And the snow dogs were loving it.
We went to Cheyenne's hockey game. She was the goalie in the white jersey. She had never played goal before and I suspect may never play it again. She was a real trooper.
The little ham. Being still for just a brief moment. Drinking my pop.
This is our 82 year old neighbor and his new hip, snowblowing our driveway.

You might see a little ham in and out of these videos......

Kat's new kitties?

There was text with this when I emailed it..... Anyway, when Kat got home from school yesterday she saw this box and asked "is this my new kitty?". I guess you can't blame her. She's still a rookie in some regards and while every adult would recognize that this is a 40lb box of kitty litter from a warehouse store, she just saw kitties on the box and assumed (hoped) that it was a kitty. Because they come in boxes? And she's been told that we will get kittens after Hermy dies. So the day after that, when she saw Hermy, she said 'Hermy, you didn't die yet." Oops.

Kat's newly decorated bedroom

This was Kat's room this summer after we added her bunk beds. I told her we could paint her room and make it hers (it was a little kids' room when we moved in- yellow with a cutesy border). What color did she want? Blue. Green. Purple. And Pink. Really? Not all one color? No. This wall pink. That wall purple...etc. She knew exactly what she wanted. I was silly to question her.

However, I picked out the paint alone, except the green. Since she was a rookie to the whole process, I figured I could get away with the paint just showing up and getting itself on the wall. And I did. This time. I am sure that I won't be so lucky next time.


And I did most of the painting while she was at school. But I saved the purple wall for her to help me paint. And she did. The same spot, over and over and over. It's more of a textured surface. And at point, Dan had to come in to see, cause he heard me say "get your feet off of the paint on the wall!" Things I never thought I would say.
She now has a really cool art desk with all sorts of art supplies, a fun rug for playing with her cars, and lots of cubbies and storage all over the place.
She also picked out the curtain colors. But the blue one was a navy blue, so we wound up with 2 purple (lilac) curtains.

Kat's first skiing lesson

Skiing anyone? Despite the lack of snow, not to mention wintry weather, Kat had her first ski lesson yesterday. She had fun and it went well. These are pics of the area.... the ridiculously muddy parking lot, the non-running chair lift with no snow underneath, etc.
Here she is. They use hula hoops to get the kids used to being up on skis. The pull them around with them. And they also use them to capture escapees who start heading downhill. When Kat was getting dragged around, the instructor said her skis had been well waxed, maybe even with racing wax! Awesome!






Kat did great, and most importantly had fun. Of course we were talking to our friend Dave and Whistler came up. We are trying to figure out of we can put together a trip. It's still under discussion and we are still waiting for more info before we decide when and where. If at all.

So far, this is Kat's favorite way to get down the hill!

Catching up. Xmas and stuff

Well, this is the fire that took place Wed night at our friend Bruce's building. Where Dan's new partner HAD her office. No one was hurt in the fire, and no one will be working in the building for the next couple of months (though damage was pretty isolated to one section). So, Dan has some new projects, as you can see in the picture below.
Yes, he has 4 computers on his desk. He and Nan bought new machines and he is installing software, encrypting them and getting the machines ready for work on Tuesday. They went out Saturday and found some office space for the next 6 months. And then started shopping, spending some insurance money.

On xmas morning. We gave Kat her own camera (she is always taking mine and taking pics of everyone and everything). And she also got the turtle night light that she requested from every santa that she saw (below).

Below is one of her creations when she is up before me in the morning. Those are 2 pieces of bread COVERED with jam. And I'm not sure that there isn't fluff under the jam. There is on one of the pieces. She couldn't open the PB jar, so couldn't complete her masterpiece. Too bad!!!

On another morning, she had set the dining room table for a breakfast party with her dolls and many pretend friends (actually they are all real friends, however, none of them were actually here that AM). The cuteness was overwhelming.

NYC

We went to NYC this weekend. Kat stayed with her cousins and had a great time. We also had a great time. I hadn't been in NYC since 2002, before we left town. I took Kat's xmas present with us- her new camera. Instead of buying her a kid's camera, for just a few bucks more, I bought her a tiny, pink Vivitar camera. 12.1 megapixels! And it weighs about 6 oz, so it was perfect to have in my pocket. Plus I should get to know it a little bit. I'm pretty happy with her new toy, as I suspect she will be as well. I do have to figure out how to remove the date line. That's just annoying.





Apparently 2 weeks before xmas, Santas are coming out of the woodwork.....and by afternoon they were all drunk. Kat would have loved to see and hug each and every one of them!
We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, which was amazing. I like these pics. Excepting the date line.....

Statue of liberty

From the Staten Island ferry

NYC

From the Brooklyn bridge

Ice Skating and rock vs windshield

Driving home from DT this AM, going about 50, merging into heavy traffic on the 33 and WHAM apparently a monster rock gets launched into my windshield. It was SO LOUD. I lost hearing in my left ear for a few minutes. I never flinched or swerved, but I think I stopped breathing for a minute. I don't know if I've ever been so grateful for the strength of a windshield before. But I am now. That almost-hole is directly in front of me. And it's 2" in diameter! I have no idea what hit me or how fast it was going, but I cannot wait to get my new windshield tomorrow AM. I think the strength of the windshield MAY have been compromised.



Now to the ice skating adventure....


We found an ice skating class and signed Kat up. Tonight was her first class and she did awesome! And she loved it! She was so proud of being able to walk in her little hockey skates on the rubber mats. Then when she got out on the ice, she kept it up and did great. She fell several times, but was always laughing and by the end was able to get back up all by herself without help or the use of the boards.

Apparently, I have to get some skates also, as all the parents get to go out on the ice and skate with their kids after class, which is pretty cool. She will be showing me up in no time. Note the kid is wearing hockey skates-- could have gone either way. I also have a pair of ice skates, but they were too big and the ice skates fit her perfectly. As far as we can tell, anyway!

Kat's new gig as a dog walker

Leaves

Tunneling through the leaves