Snow much fun or Totally Tubular

In the last week, we have had multiple rounds of snow.    Sunday we woke up to more snow- church was again cancelled and we hung out until mid-day.  After shoveling our driveway, I took the kids over to the hill for some sledding/snow boarding.

Rocket had a good time snow boarding for the 90 minutes the kids were out.  I sat in the car most of the time since I was sick most of Friday and Saturday. Being sick made for a restful Saturday- I slept on the couch and the kids watched TV (they mad nests on the floor in their sleeping bags).  It was a good day with them

 

Monday was a school holiday here, and I took the day off.  We had plans with Julie and Nicholas to go to the ski resort area to tub (a tradition with us).  So  this is breakfast before heading out into the 2F degree weather (-2 with the wind): breakfast burritos, cuties and water.  Filling and warm.  It was needed for the morning.

heading up the tubing hill.  Notice the face masks, heavy clothing- it was needed for the ride down the hill definitely.  the snow felt like pin pricks of ice hitting our faces.   Even Rocket bundled up.

Sis at the top (second run)- she went with me on the first run since she had never been sledding or tubing before.  That was eye opening, that she had never been sledding before.

Julie ready to go down the hill

Sis getting ready to head down.

turtle boy/turtle man.

He was having a great time.

 

for the first time ever since we have gone tubing, we took a break and got some hot chocolate to help us all warm up.   I was pleasantly shocked that the hot chocolate was so inexpensive.  Definitely will keep this in mind for next time if the weather is this cold.

Sis is happy.  Although she was getting sick as the morning went on.  She ended up with a slight fever on the way home and I sent her to bed with some medication to nap right after we got home.

 

me and Julie- 2 single moms living the good life.

the whole gang- ready for the ride down the hill

 

having our hot chocolate.

the boys- not so little anymore.

Sis coming down the hill

Nicholas coming down the hill

Rocket at the top portion of the hill

rocket coming down the hill

Julie coming down the hill

the gang

all of us as we were leaving the tubing area. it was now 17F and felt so much warmer.

another shot of all of us

Saturday night there was the blood moon/wolf moon eclipse.  We did not see it, but a friend got this picture.

 

Today it is warmer- it is going up to 45F here (so 40 degrees warmer than yesterday morning).  But snow is forecast for tomorrow morning, so it is just a quick warm up.

 

In other news, Rocket was accepted to the high school he wanted to go to.  Now I have to figure out how to pay for it.  It is going to be another $500 per month above his current grade school tuition.  I think I have it figured out, but it would be so nice if the school would give him some financial aid.

 

I think that is it for today.  More to come later this week.

 

Love and hugs,

Deb

January catch up- lots of fun and excitement

The pictures might be out of order, but this is what happens when you have to make a post covering 3/4 of a month.  I really need to get back on a schedule for posting. So here is our month of January.

 

 

We had a lovely weekend around the 17th, where the temperature got to 50 degrees F. Since we had been inside for 2 weeks due to the cold (belong freezing  temperatures), I  made the boys go to the park.  We took a friend and Pablo too.  BB took his volleyball and practiced hitting against the building, Mam and I walked Pablo and Bug and his friend played basketball.  We stayed at the park for an hour and had a great time.  It was very windy, but it was great be outdoors soaking up sunshine and breathing fresh air.

Monday, 19 Jan was a school holiday and I took a vacation day from work. We headed out with J and N for our annual tradition of snow tubing.  The day was perfect, cold in the morning and then warming up to the mid 40s (F) by lunch time.  We headed out early so the snow would be fast (the snow slows down the warmer it gets).  We had the place almost to ourselves for first 1.5 hours, but the last 1.5 hours, it was packed.  I am glad we went early, so we could get more tubing runs in before the crowds came.  At the beginning, we averaged a run every 10 minutes, by the end, the average run was 30 minutes due to the number of people. 

 

 

N, coming down the hill- I stood at the bottom and took pictures of everyone.

Bug, getting ready to head down the hill

One happy Bug.  He looks so grown up.

J and N.  N was not happy at this point, getting tired.  This is about 45 minutes before we were done.

J- just chilling on the snow.

BB getting ready to head down the hill.  He loved it.  He gets to go back with the other exchange students later in February.  He will get to ski, snowboard and tube on that day.

The boys, just as we got to the snow tubing location.

The snow tubes, ready for us to have some fun- this is still early in the day.

Our snow tubing crew- J, me, N, Bug and BB.  What a great day.

The happy mommas

Silly, happy boys- waiting to be pulled to the edge of the hill

One styling teen. 

Heading up the hill for our first run of the day

And Bug is off and sliding

Bug at the bottom of the hill- just enjoying the ride

the snow is pretty much all man made at this point- behind Bug you can see the brown ground of the surrounding area. 

Typical Japanese pose- with the "V" signs

Bug played some basketball games- so far his team has lost every game.  He only has 2 more games left this season.  I am ready for the season to be done.  Bug will not be playing a full season of sports in Spring as BB is in volleyball.  Bug will be able to enjoy bowling again after school on Fridays- hopefully they have it again this year.

Look at that jump- this was practice, but I am so happy to see him jumping well.

Yesterday, before our basketball game, we went to see the Cincinnati Pops.  We took one of Bug's friends and had a great time listening to the music.

Momma and BB

The concerts are kid friendly, so the programs have activities for the kids to do before the concert.

Last night, after the concert and the basketball game, we celebrated my birthday. We normally celebrate on Sundays, but there was supposed to be a winter storm coming thru over night- it ended up being nothing, but it is nice to have a day to sleep in and just relax at home.

Birthday Momma

A friend sent me some hedgehogs (chocolate covered hazelnut cream candies, shaped like hedgehogs) from Canada.  they are only available on the west coast of Canada and I love them.  I had to eat one and hide the rest so they last for a while.

My birthday cake.  Hard to believe that next year I will be 1/2  a century old.  I am already planning my party- I am going to do something fun. 

The boys got me a book I wanted, a movie and the latest CD by U2.  Great presents.

This week was also Catholic Schools week.  Last Sunday, 25Jan, Bug's school had open house.  We toured the 5th grade rooms to see what is coming next year, we also looked at the 7-8th grade rooms as Bug will be in middle school before I know it (how did that happen).  We visited with the Spanish teacher to see if she wanted anything from Guatemala, because we are going to Guatemala this year.  She asked for newspapers or Magazines.  So maybe we can ask Mireya and Popi Carlos to save newspapers this year for us and we can ship them back from Guatemala while we are there?????

Finally- I will end with the chandelier at Music Hall.  The boys kept discussion it falling before the concert.  No matter how much I told them it would not fall down, they kept thinking of ways it could be cool if it did fall.  BOYS!

 

 

We have a busy February coming and I will try hard to post more frequently.  I think I need to give up Facebook as that is where I post the most since it is easier to do using my phone (where I take most of pictures now).  But I love this blog, I just need to get back in the habit of posting here.

 

 

Love and hugs,

Deb