Not so lamb-y

March, I mean. We've started March with a lot of activity going on. But the weather is like a lamb. Today the sun is shining and 42 degrees outside! I just had to be out in it, so I left all my chores, grabbed my skis and hit the Bird Sanctuary. It was beautiful! I saw morning doves, titmouses and chickadees. The snow was so easy to slush my way through, although that didn't stop me from falling a few times. I'm not the most graceful skier, but I just love it when I make the time to go. So now I'm back home and I'm continuing to procrastinate my chores by blogging here. My day is going to pick up like gangbusters later, though. I have a meeting at 4:15 which means dropping the kids off at Gaba's before that. Then I have to leave the meeting early to go get Thomas and bring him to a swim lesson at 5pm (more on the disaster of swim lessons later). Hopefully we'll be back at Gaba's by 5:45pm so we can slam down some kind of dinner and then go to an art reception that Thomas is a part of at 6:15pm. If I am still functioning, there's another meeting I was invited to at 7pm. Whew! So some down time right now is okay I think.

So swim lessons for Thomas have taken a nose dive. He can swim now, but I'd like to see him a little more confident and able to swim the length of the pool before quitting. Now that he is at Level 3, he has a different teacher and we also switched to a different time. I think that combination is making him nervous and not so cooperative. So we got permission to try another time that might not be as crowded. We are crossing our fingers that he'll get in the water and be confident to swim. I think sports just aren't in the cards for Thomas, at least not yet. But with swimming, it's a safety issue so I just want him strong enough so he can do it and then we can wave goodbye to swim lessons. On the upswing, we did just sign him up for art lessons. Maybe he can put some of his energy and talent in that.

We are in full gear getting ready for the Pinewood Derby. We are in charge of it this year, so there is a lot to organize and not a lot of volunteers willing to step up. But the boys have their cars half-way done and planning seems to be going okay so far. Nolan has a Harry Potter theme for his car and Thomas is doing SpongeBob. The cars get weighed this weekend and then the race is next weekend. As much as we love Cub Scouts, we are getting a little weary now that it is close to the end.

Parent teacher conferences are next week. Nolan has a Choral Festival to attend soon, and baseball tryouts are in 3 weeks!

Pictures from our Getaway

Chris with Point au Roche State Park in the background. This was the view from our room. How can Paterson think he can close this beautiful park?









Me on a bridge on the Shelving Rock Falls trail in the Lake George Wild Forest area in Fort Ann.









It was a warm day and the water was running through the ice.









Lake George with ice fisherman out there.

No kids for a weekend-It's a Miracle!

After 3 years of waiting, Chris and I are actually getting out of the house for 24 hours without the kids. We're staying at www.pointaurochelodge.com where we've stayed the last 2 times we've been able to get away. It's a beautiful bed and breakfast off of Point Au Roche State park in Plattsburgh. I know Plattsburgh isn't a huge vacation destination for most, but it's where we met, not far to get to and close to hiking trails. We're hoping to check out the state park while we're there, since it's on the chopping block to close if the governor has his idiotic way. Our plan is to ski at Saratoga battlefield (since there's no snow in Plattsburgh), check in, go to dinner at Irises Cafe and then leave in the morning. This is all thanks to my sister Kim who is sacrificing her weekend to take care of my two little monkeys. Their plan is to see the new Percy Jackson movie, eat pizza and play Wii. Hopefully we will all have a great weekend if it all goes to plan (fingers crossed).

So we have kept very busy this week with minimal sibling rivalry! We built a book at the Open Door, went sledding many times (including a home-made hill in our back yard), accompanied friends at a cool new water park we found in Colonie and got through lots of achievements for Cub Scouts. I really enjoyed being with the kids. They just love to play together. Yesterday, Thomas wanted to skateboard on the driveway and Nolan didn't. Nolan sat on the floor, complaining how bored he was and how much he wished Thomas would come back in so they could play again, which happened a few minutes later. Happiness ensued once more.

So next week we get into the routine again as we say goodbye to February...already! We have a pack meeting and basketball practice. On Thursday, Jeopardy is going to have a scouting category, so we're going to watch that. Chris is going to videotape the local high school musical, Bye Bye Birdie. We were supposed to go snowshoeing with Cub Scouts next weekend, but we didn't get enough sign-ups. So I think the plan is to start working on our Pinewood Derby cars. And of course it's Lent so we're working on doing acts of kindness everyday. Lent means Spring, so we're on our way!

I'm a techy fool!

I just recently have discovered the joys of texting. So much fun! I feel so connected. I'm writing on my blog, the phone just rang, I get a text while on my land-line phone, and I'm on Facebook at the same time-wow! My husband's geekiness is wearing off on me big-time.
So it's the first day of vacation and I'm already feeling the laziness of not having to be anywhere. The kids are tuned out watching TV, and not fighting yet. (Wait, I might have spoken too soon.) We had a fun trip to Moira this weekend, ending with a visit to the ice castle in Saranac Lake. I have some ideas on how to keep the kids busy this week, including a new water park I just found out about, sledding, museums, and hikes. So I will try to be better with posts and pics. Gotta get started!

And a few more...

Sledding at Glendale Nursing Home on MLK Jr Day.









Thomas having fun at the NYS Museum Camp IN.

Some pictures

Nolan having fun with the Davenports on the carousel at the Museum Camp In.








Thomas at Nolan's violin concert. He fell asleep as soon as we sat down! He woke up before Nolan performed. Chris will post video soon.








Nolan all dressed up before the concert.










What I look like when I go out running on these freezing mornings. By best friend is a hot shower!








Thomas getting his Bobcat badge!

Will he see his shadow?

I'm starting to look forward to warm temperatures, so I'm hoping he doesn't! But, we don't get to choose the weather, so life goes on. And on it does! Since the Frost Faire last weekend, we've had a lot on our plates. We had a pack meeting where Thomas earned his Bobcat Badge...his first Cub Scout badge. He had to learn the Cub Scout motto, handshake, salute...all those little tricks that make a Cub Scout. The ceremony includes getting your face painted, so I'll be sure to post pics of that soon. The night after that, Nolan had his first violin/chorus concert. That was awesome! I never though Nolan would be musical, but he definately is. And it was weird for Chris to go to his high school auditorium and see his son up there singing instead of himself. We have video of it, so that will be up soon too.

And this past weekend, the boys had a blast at the New York State Museum Camp In. We joined another Cub Scout pack and slept in the museum Saturday night (actually, I left at 9pm and Chris slept with them. Lucky me!). There were all kinds of activities and free time for the kids to explore on their own. There was very little sleep going on, so we are still recovering. It was Thomas' first Cub Scout sleepover. A big success.

Other cool news is we did our taxes and our refund is paying for a trip to Florida! We are going at a very busy time-spring break. But it will be great for the kids. We are staying at the Nickelodeon Hotel and hope to see the new Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios. The boys also want to go to MGM Studios at Disney and see the Indiana Jones show. We will be there for Thomas' birthday, so he will be spending it with SpongeBob. They are very excited. I can't believe we're really going! We went 5 years ago and it was not a good experience...Thomas was sick and Nolan was afraid of most of the rides. I think they were too young. So this time we are hoping to erase all of the bad memories and make some good ones!

Thomas seems to be doing well in art. He made a clay fish that is going to be on display as part of an Elementary Art Show for the district all this month! I hope to go see it this week. At the end of the show, he is invited to a reception for all the artists. He also is working on a poster explaining why basketball is good for our muscles. The poster will be on display at the school science fair this Friday.

Also this weekend is the final tournament for Nolan's basketball games. We are going to a River Rats game on Saturday night (Albany hockey team). And it's Super Bowl Sunday! I have a feeling February is going to go even faster than January...