Winter Adventures

We took the kids skiing for the first time over MLK weekend, and it was such a fun adventure!  We were apprehensive about this ski trip to Appalachian Ski Mountain, as the forecast looked frigid.   Sure enough, it was 3 degrees (with a wind chill of minus 16) when we arrived at the slopes, but with the addition of some last minute extra gear (hand warmers, face masks, etc), we were fine!  L&L were in Ski School all day, and the instructor refrained from rolling his eyes when I asked, "Is it ever too cold for the kids?".  He reminded me that we had indeed chosen to participate in a winter sport, and assured me that the children would be fine.  Ski School ended up being a fantastic program, and gave the kids a great foundation of knowledge and ski skills.  Here's Peanut, all bundled up and ready for her day:

Big Boss and his snowboard:

Mama and her little skiers:

Notice that I have absolutely no skin exposed to the cold... (and thank you, Daddy, for my pink face mask!)

By the end of the day, L&L were going down the beginners' hill with confidence, and we can't wait to take them back again soon!  

 In other sports news, we just concluded basketball season, and Mark coached both kids this year.  Luke and Aiden once again had the same uniform number, and we were positively giddy (moms may have squealed) when we discovered this coincidence!

If you can't be on your best friend's team, it's fun to have the same jersey number!

We love basketball, and our winter Saturdays are spent on the court cheering on our two favorite players.  Leah's finger came out of the splint in mid-January, so she was back to playing for the rest of the season.  This was her first season on an all-girls team, and the Polar Bears were fierce!  Her shirt sums it all up:

Great season, Polar Bears!

#8 for our eight year-old!

Coach Daddy with his basketball girl!

Bean and Poppy came for a visit last weekend and we kept them busy with 3 basketball games for the kids.  Luke is also preparing to receive his First Communion this spring, so Poppy planned a special lesson on the Last Supper, which included a Seder meal.  I love how intently L&L are listening to their grandfather in this picture, and am thankful for these special moments and experiences:

I wrote a blog post about Luke's Spelling Bee experience last year, but it somehow got lost in the pre-published blogging world and I never posted it.  It's worth an explanation, though, so here goes:

Last fall (2017 = 4th grade), Luke decided that he wanted to be in the School Spelling Bee.  3rd-5th graders are eligible to compete in the annual school-wide Bee, but only one student is sent to represent each class (and the first step is to win the classroom Bee).  In 3rd grade, Luke was the runner-up for his classroom Bee, which meant that he was able to attend the school Bee, but that he didn't compete.  However, being a spectator made a definite impression on him, and he told me, "Mommy, there are snacks.  You get to have cookies and Hawaiian Punch at the Spelling Bee!"

The official classroom practice lists came home in October.  There were several hundred words, and Luke practiced them faithfully, every single day.  Pronounce, spell, repeat... over and over again.  When I told Luke how proud I was of him for working so hard, he repeated, "I really want that Hawaiian Punch!".  I realized that this was indeed, his sole motivator, and found it quite amusing.  On the day of the classroom bee, Luke was as prepared as he could have been, but I was still a little nervous for him.  I didn't hear any news all day, and Luke came off the bus that afternoon shouting, "I did it!  I won!".  Phew!  He was one step closer to that Hawaiian Punch.   

Another word list came home.  It was a couple of pages long, and there were words that I couldn't even begin to pronounce... Words that I had to look up and explain to my innocent 9 year-old, like "connubial" (We glossed over that definition)...  Words that included apostrophes and backward apostrophes, like pièce de résistance, and all kinds of words with french roots, silent letters, etc.  I'm still not quite sure how to say "coquelicot"...  

One of our practice word lists. 

4th grade school-wide spelling bee. 

Mom Confession: It's nerve wracking to sit in the audience and watch these kids compete.

Luke did an AMAZING job at the bee last year, and finished as the runner up (in the top 3) at the school level.  The PTO president was so tickled when I told her the Hawaiian punch story that she sent him home with this giant jug of it as his special reward:    

4th grade Spelling Bee "Trophy"

Once again, this year Luke won his classroom Spelling Bee, and competed in the School Wide Bee last month.  This time was a bit easier for us, as we knew what to expect and there were fewer unknowns/jitters.  Luke diligently memorized and practiced the new list of Scripps National Spelling Bee words every day for several months, and often talked about how excited he was that there would Hawaiian Punch again: 

2018-2019 Oak Ridge School-Wide Bee Finalists 

When the new PTO president found out that Luke would be competing as a 5th grader in the School Wide Bee, she sent me an e-mail asking what flavor Luke would prefer to have (this is reason #827 why I love our tight-knit, special community).  Apparently, Luke's a legend, and next year when he is off at middle school, Oak Ridge Elementary has joked that they will still have Hawaiian punch at the School Bee in his honor:

5th grade Spelling Bee cutie, with his hard-earned prize!

We're so proud of you, buddy, for the time and dedication that you devoted to learning all those Spelling Bee words. You learned that if you put your mind to something, that the rewards can be sweet (and tropical flavored)!

Another fun winter adventure was traveling to Charlotte to see The Lightning Thief.  Luke still adores the Percy Jackson book series, and this musical based on Rick Riordan's best selling title was perfect for our little man!  We had a wonderful time, and are loving this new era of musical theater for our family:

Maya and Uncle Matt were in town recently for her travel volleyball tournament.  We loved watching her play, and L&L were in awe of their superstar cousin.   After the game, Leah went out on the court with Maya, and these two could not have been cuter hitting the ball around:

Each year, the kids go on a field trip to the Greensboro Science Center... in every single grade.  This was my 10th time chaperoning one of my children on a GSC field trip, and I was a little weary about the idea of the same old thing again.  However, I had THE sweetest group of girls last week, and this may have been one of the easiest and most fun times ever at the science center.  Just goes to show that there can always be a great new adventure in even the most familiar activities:  

It's been a great January/February full of winter adventures, and only a few weeks until the start of spring!  

Eight is Great!

Leah turned 8 on January 4, and this precious Peanut had a great birthday!  She chose to have her three best girl friends over for a "non party" after school, which was a perfect solution for our sweet girl who doesn't love being the center of attention at large celebrations.  I took donuts into school to celebrate, and we had signed up to have Kiwi for the weekend, so all was right with the universe:

Class guinea pig + BFFs = perfect birthday!

And then the power went out.  Again.  The past six months have been unbelievable in terms of weather events, and we've lost power and water more times than I ever remember.  This time, the townwide power outage seemed to be caused by heavy rain, so I picked up these 4 cuties early from school (which was also without electricity and dismissing students whenever parents could arrive to pick them up).  They happily played games and did crafts in the dark, and were positively giddy about this adventure :

Mommy had the fun idea of encouraging the girls to make fingerprint animal art with Leah's stamp pad/ink set, which was brilliant... until we realized that had no water to wash off their hands afterward.  Ha!  

We had planned an ice cream sundae celebration, and as the minutes ticked away, I could picture the ice cream melting in the freezer.  Luckily, power was restored later in the afternoon, and, much to the girls' disappointment, we weren't forced to eat ALL the ice cream before it melted!

We had Leah's family party that evening, and our special birthday girl opened her presents.  Leah asked for "Trader Joes' Chicken" and homemade mac & cheese for dinner, and we celebrated this precious eight year-old:

Leah Grace, we are your biggest fans.  You are kind and thoughtful, intuitive, and incredibly smart.  You are a great friend, a loyal teammate, an adoring sister, and a beloved daughter.  You continue to display wisdom well beyond your years, and are a blessing to all who know you.  Although Daddy and I still think of you as our baby girl, you are evolving into a strong and beautiful young lady right before our eyes.  We have watched in amazement and wonder as you've grown into the person you are today, and we're watching with great anticipation to see what you become.  Happy 8th birthday to the sunshine in our lives.  You are pure sweetness and joy, and we love you so very much!          

 

Cousins' Christmas

After our PA Christmas, we a brief stop at home in NC for a day to unload the car and visit the pediatrician for Leah's broken finger.  The verdict is that she will wear her splint for 3 weeks and that no follow up x-rays or treatment are needed.  She's delighted about not having to practice piano, but sad that she'll miss her basketball game next weekend.  Leah has been quite stoic and brave about her broken finger and is eating up all of the extra attention that she has been receiving.

  On the Friday after Christmas, we repacked and drove to Williamsburg for Cousins' Christmas weekend.  That afternoon, we attended a lovely memorial service for Mark's grandmother, who went to heaven the week before at the age of 96.  Great Grammy had a long, full life, and leaves a wonderful legacy of family, love, and traditions that live on in her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.  We are so thankful for the many happy times that we shared with her and have so many precious memories.  The kids said that they knew that she was celebrating Christmas in heaven with Winnie and Great Granddad, and that thought made their hearts happy.    

November 2017.

On Friday afternoon, the six Winterhoff cousins exchanged and received presents, and this is always such a joyful, fun time:

We had our annual dinner at Sportsmans' Grill, and the next morning, it was time for Bean & Poppy gifts:

Snuggles with sweet cousin, Hailey.

Saturday afternoon brought the annual Offutt Christmas party (Offutt is Great Grammy's last name).  Each year, Great Grammy's children and their families gather for a Christmas celebration, and years ago, gifts were exchanged in the basement of their house.  Since their move to Williamsburg, Kathy and Bob have graciously hosted this event in their neighborhood clubhouse, which is a great place for the large number of young children in attendance.  The kids play on the playground, run around outside, and there is plenty of room for games and crafts.  Every year, the children look forward to this time together with second cousins and it's another example of one of Great Grammy's wonderful family traditions that is being passed on to future generations:

On Sunday, we had a birthday party for Baby Jesus and Leah, which even included ice cream sundaes!  It was a great start to Peanut's birthday week, and eased Mommy in to the thought that my baby is turning 8:

What a perfect Cousins' Christmas 2018!