His Sights Are On The Olympics

I'm not sure if it's the connection to Russia because Roman is from there or if Braeden is just old enough now to really appreciate the Olympics this year, but he is very into everything that has to do with this year's Winter Olympics. He wants to watch any sport that is on and is still marveling at all of the countries included and how it all works.

On Friday while we were at an incredibly fun sledding party for his first grade class, he spent over an hour on his snowboard. He went from top to bottom most times and was so proud of his ability to balance and stop. When we were watching the Opening Ceremonies later that night he announced that he wants to compete as a snowboarder in the Olympics. I love his passion, but I'm pretty sure it's probably not in the cards for his future. Everybody needs dreams! And really, I guess never say never!

And yes, I know he's not wearing a helmet but it's a small hill and a toy snowboard :)

It Was Finally WARM Enough To Go Sledding

We have had lots of snowstorms this year but even when we get enough snow for sledding it's been SO cold that nobody wants to be outside to do anything, never mind whipping down a hill to land in a heap of snow at the bottom. We're used to cold here. This is New England. We get winter. But this year the temperatures have consistently been 10 degrees and below and that doesn't even account for wind chill. The poor kids are all going stir crazy because they stay inside more often than they go out for recess because it's just too cold or icy to be outside.

Today is a balmy almost 30 degrees out so with all of the wonderful snow falling, we finally went sledding! The kids were very excited and I was too because what fun is winter if you can't play in the white stuff? I didn't take many pictures because I was sledding with them, but we had a great time and even Maggie lasted for over an hour! Evan not so much but I made him stay anyway because he's almost five and sometimes you just have to do things you don't want to.  We have several hills very close to our house to choose from but today we went to our friend Scott's parents house. They have a big hill in their front yard and the kids love to see if they can jump the driveway!

Maggie has NO fear! She was going down all by herself today and loving it! Especially when we switched to the driveway which is a pretty good hill and much faster than trying to make a path in the lawn. 

Evan wasn't all that interested because he doesn't love having to walk back up the hill (especially since we carry Maggie up) so he ate some snow and complained a good part of the time. 

Braeden and Brayden tried all of the different sleds and then realized just how fast they could go on the driveway. Watch out! An adult always stands at the bottom to stop the sleds from getting too close to the road which is good because these two were flying!

A couple of families in first grade are hosting a sledding party after school on Friday and the kids are very excited to go! Finally we get to enjoy some of the snow without getting frostbite! 

Geared Up and Ready to Go

Last night we took the boys to get their helmets and goggles for their first ski lesson this weekend. Because it's close to the end of the season we are opting to rent skis to make sure they like it and so that don't end up having to replace them next year if they need something different. They were very funny picking out their helmets. Evan knew that he wanted orange but didn't want to take more than a minute to try them on. Fortunately he was good with the first one he tried.

A satisfied customer!

Braeden wanted blue but the one he tried on was huge! It looked like a snowmobile helmet and I was afraid that he'd fall over because he wouldn't be able to balance with it on. He actually ended up with the same one as Evan in a size larger. 

It's hard to tell that he is super excited about skiing.

Not to be left out, Maggie had to try on a helmet as well, though she won't be starting until next year. My guess is that eventually she will be the one who enjoys skiing the most. 

She looks like more like she's going rock climbing..

I can't wait to see what will actually happen at the lesson. I think Braeden will run with it. I never thought I'd say that about Braeden regarding anything, but he is really excited about trying. Evan, well only time will tell. He may try and he very well may not. We'll see!

Winter Fun

The blizzard of 2013 has come and gone and we are all survivors! I would say we are very lucky with where we live because we only got a couple of feet and the roads were passable shortly after the storm subsided on Saturday. I feel very badly for the people in Connecticut where both Roman and I use to work who got anywhere from 35-40 inches. They are still digging out and many roads haven't even been touched by plows yet. I really can't imagine that. They missed a week of school early in the year due to Hurricane Sandy and now they are on day 2 of being out due to Noreaster Nemo. Like I said, I'm really glad we live here now. It's beautiful and besides the freezing rain we are getting today, it's a total winter wonderland.

Clean up took a little longer than usual

The kids have been out sledding and playing and have a fantastic time enjoying the many activities that snow provides. Roman always snow blows to the swing set because our swing set gets no rest. Evan did a full flip (by accident) off of a swing yesterday and landed face down in the snow, but 20 inches of fluffy snow does a  lot of cushioning and he wasn't hurt at all. Thank goodness. It was actually pretty impressive. Imagine a gymnast dismounting from the parallel bars, but belly flopping instead of landing on their feet. 

Today is back to school despite the terrible weather, but I don't blame the districts for being open. With vacation coming next week we really need to get some days in! I'm hopeful that the snow will stay for a while so we can get lots of sledding and playing in before it's gone. We're planning on taking the boys skiing for the first time next week so all of this new snow is perfect timing. I am curious to see how they'll like it, but it's something that Roman's family has done his whole life and he really wants to kids to love it too. Yay for winter fun.