Soccer, gymnastics, and games…

"Without a family, man, alone in the world, trembles with the cold."
-Andre Maurois

The snows have melted but it was still a cold week at the beginning.  We entertained ourselves by playing games, and then Isla came up with her own game that ended with everyone getting makeup put on.

James had the first soccer game of the season with his new team, and I’m happy to report they won 6-4.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able take good pictures due to glass dividers and distancing rules, but trust me when I say that James played well and had fun doing it.  James has improved a lot from his last game and continues to ask for extra practices and lessons.

Ashlyn also had another gymnastics meet this weekend.  With her sister cheering her on, Ashlyn placed in 3 events as well as all around.  It’s great to see all the hard work paying off, and it’s also nice to see the kids supporting each other.

A week of snow…

"This must be the Coronavirus’ way of saying ‘I’m sorry’."
-Ashlyn

The snow kept coming and the world turned into a winter wonderland for the kids.  It wasn’t wasn’t the right kind of snow for snowman, but it was fine for throwing snow on each other.  And for throwing snow on Sadie, who ran around the yard in excitement every time snow was thrown on her head. 

James didn’t want the snow to keep him from practicing soccer, so he tried to work on his skills in the snow.  It didn’t work as well as he was hoping, but he gave it his best effort and had fun doing it.  After coming back inside, he opted to run on the treadmill to at least get some stamina building in.  It ended when he cranked up the speed to the point where he as sprinting to keep up.  We had to stop him at that point.

The kids took several trips outside, one of which included a bucket ride on the streets in front of our house.  It was a lot of fun for the kids, mainly because they didn’t have to do any of the pulling.

The snow will end next week, but we’re glad the kids got to experience some this year.  We were lucky, a lot of people in Texas lost power, water, or both.  So while it was fun for the kids, we also recognize how fortunate we were through this winter storm.

Valentines Day and the beginning of snow…

"A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship."
-Markus Zusak

A rare event occurred in Texas this week:  snow.  Lots and lots of snow.  The kids wasted no time getting outside as soon as it started sticking.  James wouldn’t even wait to put on warm clothes.  Ashlyn started setting up things to freeze overnight and both the girls tried out some gymnastics on the trampoline.  Eventually it got too cold and they came back inside.

Sunday was also Valentine’s day, but with all the excitement over the snow it was hard to keep the kids contained and willing to take a picture.  Even the promise of chocolate did little to help.

After warming up a bit the kids went right back outside.  This time James put on warmer clothes.  He tried to make a snowman by rolling a ball of snow around but unfortunately it was too powdery.  Ashlyn managed to build a small one, complete with a baby carrot but that was the best we could do.  Mainly the kids just ran around throwing snow on each other.  Which is really the main thing to do in snow for kids, right?

Valentines and stuffed animals…

"Oh, here's an idea: Let's make pictures of our internal organs and give them to other people we love on Valentine's Day. That's not weird at all."
-Jimmy Fallon

Valentines Day was approaching and the school was celebrating in the classrooms this week.  This meant it was time for the annual valentine card marathon where the kids went through and wrote down the names of their classmates onto valentines cards.  The names starting towards the beginning of the alphabet were were more legible than the ones towards the end as the kids got impatient to finish.  But it was done, and the leftover candy disappeared shortly after the exercise was finished.

There’s not much of a story around these next pictures.  Isla wanted to build a display of her stuffed animals and we thought it was cute.  So there you go.

 

Since the other two kids were camera shy this week, we’ll keep with the Isla theme.  Here’s Isla dressed up as a Grandma for the 100 days of school event, as well as her showing off her gymnastics medals.  She’s very proud, and she should be for all the work she’s been putting in!