Springtime!

Spring has sprung in central AR! Being a weather nerd, I always keep up with the local forecast here, in PA, and in SW FL. Today it is actually warmer here than it is in Ft. Myers. According to my phone, it is 72 degrees!

You've Got a Friend in Me

In my opinion, Toy Story is one of the greatest children's movies ever made. Both the original movie and the sequel should be required viewing for all parents - especially the parents of little boys. Buzz Lightyear was the object of Nathan's obsession from age 2 to approx. age 5, and I was a little sad when he stopped playing with his Buzz(es) and Woody on a regular basis.

However, Ashley has now started playing with them pretty often. It's funny to see how differently a little girl plays with the same toys that her big brother once played with. For Nathan, it was usually some intergalactic showdown between the space rangers and the cowboy. But when Ashley plays, Buzz and Woody are either her babies or students in her Sunday School class. This morning they got in trouble because they were not listening when she "read" the Bible to them. Here's a picture from last week of her setting up a game of Hi Ho Cherry-O for the four of us. Too cute!

Speaking of Woody, I don't think that I ever posted this pic from Disney World. The quality is not great, but it was one of my favorite shots from the whole trip. During one of the Magic Kingdom parades, Woody came over to us to give Ashley a kiss on the hand. Again, too cute!

The Medal Count

No, this has nothing to do with the Olympics. I thought that I would include another post about the Pinewood Derby (last one - I promise!) At Nate's pack meeting last week, we found out that he had won TWO medals - Bronze for "Best Design" and Gold for "Most Realistic".

For this month's Cub Scout outing, Jeff and Nathan went with his den to the Little Rock Climbing Center. By all accounts, it was "awesome"! In fact, Nate decided that he wants to have his next birthday party here. Before they even got home, he had the calendar out and had picked a date in October.

Not to be left out of the rock climbing action, Ashley had to show me her skills on the rock wall at Nate's school.

More Snow Days and V-Day

Last week was a blur for me! Between the surprise snow storm, surprise surgery (for Sean), and trip to Oklahoma for Jeff's family reunion, I really need my day off today! To recap, we were supposed to get up to 1/2" of snow on Sunday night, but instead we woke up on Monday to a winter wonderland. It kept snowing all day with some of the biggest flakes I've ever seen in Arkansas falling around noon. Jeff and the kids were home Monday through Wednesday.

Our igloo - Jeff actually finished the top, but we didn't get any pictures because it was getting dark. For the record, making an igloo is hard work! But how often do we get enough snow in central AR to even try?

Mom and Dad came over on Tuesday and helped the kids build a snowman. He melted down to a snow stump yesterday.

On Thursday, we were starting to get back to "normal" (whatever that means!) when Debbie called and said that Sean was going to the hospital with suspected appendicitis. Jeff picked up Abby, and she spent the night here as we waited to hear news on Sean and watched for the second round of snow we were predicted to get this week. Fortunately, the surgery went well, and we did not get any more snow.

I took Abby home on Friday morning, and then Ashley and I went to Nathan's Valentine's Day party at school that afternoon.

Since the weather permitted, we travelled to Atwood, OK, for the Cook family reunion (Jeff's grandmother's family). We left on Friday and came back Saturday. It was about 5 1/2 hours each way, but the kids slept a couple of hours on the way there and then rode back in Aunt Karen's van. (Thanks again, Karen!) Jeff, Phyllis, and I had a peaceful ride back home.

I know this was a long post, but like I said, it was a crazy week. If you're still with me after all this rambling, I would ask that you please remember to pray for Phyllis. She will be having surgery on Thursday at 5:30 am to repair her tricuspid valve. Any open-heart surgery is a major operation, but this one is supposed to be especially complicated because of the location of the valve. Wishing you all a great week!

Derby Day

The rescheduled Pinewood Derby was held on Saturday. The final, unofficial weigh-in on my scales at work was 141.44 grams (Maximum: 141.75 grams = 5 ounces). I was unsure how accurate the Pinewood scales would be, but they were actually very precise. Our official weigh-in was 4.99 ounces. Whew! Just under the limit.

Nathan's car turned out great. He won the first heat with a time of 3.7 seconds. Unfortunately, the 2nd heat included the 2 fastest cars in his age division. Since they scored points based on rank and not time, he did not make the finals.

Nathan did win an award for "Best Design". I guess that is a little bit like getting "Miss Photogenic", but at least it's something. Jeff, Wayne, and I were definitely checking out the specs on the winning cars. Next year, it's on!

Daddy/Daughter Time

Our church had a Daddy/Daughter Pancake Breakfast on Saturday morning. Jeff took these pictures, though he didn't get any that included both daddy and daughter.

Block Party

Everyone on our street was out sledding today. One family even walked over from a neighboring, flat subdivision. They had a "real" sled - wooden with metal blades and steering system. Jeff and Nathan took a turn on it and were hooked. I bet that we will have one of our own before the next ice storm hits.

This guy showed up a few minutes ago and ruined all our fun. Actually, the ice had already started to melt a little, so I doubt we would have had much left. For me, this was the perfect snow/ice combo, and it lasted just long enough to enjoy it without being too much of a nuisance.

Snow Day! (well, sort of)

It's hard to believe that earlier this week, Nathan was wearing flip flops and today they had a "snow day". It was actually just another "ice day". We have just started to get snow late this evening, but we have a lot of accumulated sleet. I went to work early this morning and left at noon. The roads were just starting to get bad as I made my way home.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: our driveway may not be good for much, but it is excellent for sledding! Debbie bought the kids these flimsy plastic sleds last year at the end of the season, and they were perfect! If you can imagine sliding down our hill on a giant version of one of those flexible plastic cutting boards, then you would get the idea. Of course, Jeff and I got in on the action. We did pretty well except for the time that I ended up on my backside paralyzed with laughter in the neighbor's yard. ; )

Safety first! Jeff made sure that we wore helmets.

Ashley decided that sledding was more of a spectator sport!

Prepping for the Pinewood

Nathan's Cub Scout Pack was supposed to participate in the Pinewood Derby tomorrow. It has been postponed for a week due to the ice storm, so that gives this procrastinating bunch another excuse to put off finishing Nate's car.

If you are not familiar with the Pinewood Derby, here's a summary: (1) Each kid gets a block of wood and 4 regulation tires and axles, (2) you fashion it into some type of car following strict regulations regarding length, weight, etc. (I'm sure they will run the gamut from finely crafted machines to painted blocks of wood!), and (3) all the Scouts meet on a Saturday for the big race on a sloped track. I don't know if they compete individually against the clock or multiple cars at a time.

Jeff and Nathan went last weekend to Wayne's shop to work on the car. Apparently, Nathan was very involved in the whole process operating the saw, power tools, and everything!

This is our first race, but I hear from the veterans that weight is the most important factor. Being the biggest geek in the family and having access to the most precise equipment, I took the car to work and weighed it on an analytical balance. It cannot exceed 5 oz. (that's approx. 141.8 grams for you non-geeks). As you can see, ours needed a little more weight.

In other Scouting news, Nate's group (I can't ever remember if it's called a "pack" or a "den") went to the fire station on Sunday. As you might gather from the picture, they are quite a rowdy crew.

Winter Wrap-Up

I know winter's not really over, but it sure seems that way. It's been nearly 70 degrees here this week! Surely there is more winter yet to come, but I had some random pictures that I haven't posted and couldn't come up with anything better to call them.

First, some pictures of the kids at church the Sunday before Christmas:

I also ran across these cute pictures of Ashley and Lydia at Jenna's birthday party. Neither of my kids had been roller skating before.

Lastly, I thought I would put some pictures from last weekend up. Apparently the MLK holiday is now a 4-day weekend for LRSD. No complaints here! We decided to get out of town for a couple of days, so we went to Tulsa on Saturday and Sunday. I've been through Oklahoma several times, but never to Oklahoma for any specific reason.

We went to Tulsa to go to the zoo, but since it was overcast and cold on Sunday morning, we started our day at the Oklahoma Aquarium. Ashley was particularly grumpy at the aquarium. I think it was because she was scared. She wouldn't touch anything in the hands-on displays. The only thing she liked were the turtles. Nate, however, loved everything - especially the sharks!

It was still chilly that afternoon, but we went to the zoo anyway. It wasn't the best zoo I'd ever been to, but it was okay. Plus, they have half-price admission in January and February, so it was only $12 for our whole family.