Has become the kick-off to the really busy season. Over the past few weeks, we have been able to get out and do a few things as a family. Primarily because baseball has been having to be pushed off because of the snow and cold weather in the area. They have been practicing in the gym, but there really isn't a whole lot you can do in a gym to simulate outdoor baseball games. Their first game is on Wednesday, and Gwen's first practice is on Tuesday. So it starts.....
But before this week, we have had a few fun activities for the family:
We decided to hit the theaters. Somewhat of a last minute decision. I might have decided to have the kids watch the original Wizard of Oz movie before going to see Oz, the Great and Powerful, but as it was, they knew a little about it and knew that it was a Disney movie, so it was going to be a good show regardless. Now I have not seen Wicked. So I'm not familiar with that story line, but I had thought that the movie said that it was based on the book series. It must have followed some track to be aligned with the Wizard of Oz movie. I don't know if Wicked then was not a part of the original story or not. It was a very good show, and Gwen did well enough with the "intense spots" of the movie. She asked me to cover her eyes. The next week, we rented the Wizard of Oz movie from Amazon and now the kids have the whole story. I would bet we'll be buying the latest Disney movie when it comes out. Maybe Gwen will enjoy it enough to not have to cover her eyes for so much of it next time.
The next adventure was going to a local hotel in order for Russ to get a points bonus for the hotel chain he usually stays at during work trips. For staying one more night in April, he was able to get the equivalent points for staying 3 weeks for business. The place had a pool, hot tub, and sauna as well as a concierge lounge and nice restaurant. We did stay during a school night, so it was a little tricky to try to have a good morning routine and know how long it was going to take us to get to school in the morning instead of our usual 2.5 minutes.
Our most recent adventure involved going to the lake for our summer kick-off opening weekend: the Kentucky Derby. We were missing a few key players due to other activities, but they were all with us in spirit. Usually, we find some lucky hats to wear for the running of the derby, but we decided to swap that idea out for bandannas in a show of solidarity for my aunt Barb. She is on her second treatment plan for cancer and halfway through. It was wonderful to see her cheering on her horses as usual and to get the annual picture of the winners. The youngest kids played very well together and it was nice enough to have them playing outside, just not nice enough for a boat ride yet. Sadly, we won't be able to enjoy a boat ride until baseball season is done, sometime in July. Having not played a baseball game yet, we aren't really sure how well the team is going to do, so it will depend on where they finish as to how long the season ends up being.
I refuse to bring myself or the family down in the depressing state of the weather this year. I have tried my best to simply ignore any temperature below 50 degrees. When it was even colder than that, I was constantly looking ahead in the weather forecast for the time when the temperature was warmer in order to count down until those days. Even Trevor was fed up with it. He is the most optimistic kid I have known and when he wasn't finding the positive in it, you knew that it wasn't a good day.
So there we are. We kicked off the season and it is now in full swing. I hope the weather cooperates! Whatever that means. Really though, I just hope all the kids have a good time and enjoy whatever activity they are doing. Bring.it.on!
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The Big Snowstorm
I guess I need to record something about the giant snowfall and blizzard that we had last Saturday. It amazes me that although I can get through a week or so of having the kids home because of breaks from school, one day where we could not really go anywhere as everyone was confined to the house, and it seemed like everyone got the crazies.
As luck would have it, Russ was scheduled to touch down from his return flight to Minneapolis around 1:45 or so. On Friday, I emailed him a story about the projected weather for Saturday. Thankfully he knew he wouldn't have to wait for that Saturday flight in order to get his work done. So, he decided to call Delta to see if he could go standby on the flight that left California at midnight. They said that it would require a change fee because his flight was still on time. After he had checked with his company to make sure it was ok to change his flight, and then called back, strangely enough his flight for the next day was delayed 15 minutes. By their definitions, the flight status had changed, so he could change flights without a charge. The flight was slightly late taking off, but it arrived only a half hour later than scheduled here in Minneapolis at 6:15 or so. It had snowed a few inches, but he still got a taxi and made it home a little after 7:00. The next flight due in from California missed the airport closing by 15 minutes and was re-routed to South Dakota. Russ's original flight was then cancelled.
Trevor's basketball was cancelled on Friday, and hockey was also cancelled during the day. So we were all stuck in the house for the day. I did my gingersnap cookie baking for the family that day. They are all gone as of today. I stuffed my Christmas cards and wrote our Christmas letter. I tried to get all the last online orders I could that day as well as some homework for school.
In the end, what really amazes me is the plowed, drifted, and huge piles of snow. I remember them when I was younger, but I don't think there has been this much snow this early for a very long time. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that the grass will remain hidden now for the next three months at least. It sure does make for a long winter.
As luck would have it, Russ was scheduled to touch down from his return flight to Minneapolis around 1:45 or so. On Friday, I emailed him a story about the projected weather for Saturday. Thankfully he knew he wouldn't have to wait for that Saturday flight in order to get his work done. So, he decided to call Delta to see if he could go standby on the flight that left California at midnight. They said that it would require a change fee because his flight was still on time. After he had checked with his company to make sure it was ok to change his flight, and then called back, strangely enough his flight for the next day was delayed 15 minutes. By their definitions, the flight status had changed, so he could change flights without a charge. The flight was slightly late taking off, but it arrived only a half hour later than scheduled here in Minneapolis at 6:15 or so. It had snowed a few inches, but he still got a taxi and made it home a little after 7:00. The next flight due in from California missed the airport closing by 15 minutes and was re-routed to South Dakota. Russ's original flight was then cancelled.
Trevor's basketball was cancelled on Friday, and hockey was also cancelled during the day. So we were all stuck in the house for the day. I did my gingersnap cookie baking for the family that day. They are all gone as of today. I stuffed my Christmas cards and wrote our Christmas letter. I tried to get all the last online orders I could that day as well as some homework for school.
In the end, what really amazes me is the plowed, drifted, and huge piles of snow. I remember them when I was younger, but I don't think there has been this much snow this early for a very long time. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that the grass will remain hidden now for the next three months at least. It sure does make for a long winter.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Playing in the snow
Well, a few of the metro schools had a snow day yesterday, but I hear that it is few and far between that our school district closes for snow. Regardless, this is the first big snow of the season, and I figured I had to at least let the kids walk around in it after lunch yesterday. I will admit it my biggest challenge as a parent. I HATE the cold. I think it is because I don't like how cold I feel outside. I don't own snowpants and with as little as I'd use them, I don't find them necessary.
So after about 15 minutes of getting ready, primarily having Trevor try to get himself ready seeing as how he's going to have to do it for his recess time next year, we got ourselves outside. Man was that wind biting. But I know the kids were bundled up and warm. I had to bring Gwen in against her will. She wasn't a big fan of trying to get around in the snow, but loved throwing the "rocks" at my legs. Trevor just wanted to make snow angels, which he did, and have a snowball fight, which the snow was a little tricky to do that with. Next year, we are going to have to wait for a weekend before the kids are going to be able to get outside together, which makes me a little sad. Trevor really enjoyed playing outside, but not by himself, and Gwen needs a little bit more strength in order to get herself around. We are also going to have to get ourselves around and find good sledding hills and such because Trevor would really get a kick out of that. My parents backyard would be perfect except for the distance.
I did decide to get better gloves and mittens for the kids, so hopefully they can keep their snowball making and throwing hands warmer. I also know that soon Trevor will have friends he will want to play with and as such I won't be the one that needs to take him outside....and again I feel a little sad about that. The kids grow up so fast, don't they?
So after about 15 minutes of getting ready, primarily having Trevor try to get himself ready seeing as how he's going to have to do it for his recess time next year, we got ourselves outside. Man was that wind biting. But I know the kids were bundled up and warm. I had to bring Gwen in against her will. She wasn't a big fan of trying to get around in the snow, but loved throwing the "rocks" at my legs. Trevor just wanted to make snow angels, which he did, and have a snowball fight, which the snow was a little tricky to do that with. Next year, we are going to have to wait for a weekend before the kids are going to be able to get outside together, which makes me a little sad. Trevor really enjoyed playing outside, but not by himself, and Gwen needs a little bit more strength in order to get herself around. We are also going to have to get ourselves around and find good sledding hills and such because Trevor would really get a kick out of that. My parents backyard would be perfect except for the distance.
I did decide to get better gloves and mittens for the kids, so hopefully they can keep their snowball making and throwing hands warmer. I also know that soon Trevor will have friends he will want to play with and as such I won't be the one that needs to take him outside....and again I feel a little sad about that. The kids grow up so fast, don't they?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Finally getting into the groove
And then winter shows up. Summer? Never happened. Fall? Oh didn't you see it? Or did you blink? This weather is absolutely horrible for my spirit. I HATE winter. I HATE being cold. A few days in the past week, I have just laid down in the sunlight that came in through the windows. Trying to feel warm and get my additional Vitamin D. Didn't work.
Ok...vent over. Gwen caught the cold I had last week that really drained me. I thought I caught a cold from one of the kids, but neither of them had it as bad as I did. And now Gwen has it. Just in time for her well-visit. Hopefully, she'll be on the up slope from it though. Two things I have been meaning to write down about her.... 1) She is very confident in her thoughts, and if you try to tell her otherwise, she will stand up and say, NO...that's an elephant mama! (When I try to say, "That's Dumbo sweetie...") She says it with such seriousness and force it is hilarious. Hopefully, someday she will learn how to learn from other people. 2) This is the second week in a row at "school" where the teacher has said that if one of the kids is crying after she has settled down, she goes over to the kid and says, "It's ok Dylan. Mom will be right back." And tries to give him a hug, or share a toy, or something similar. I have found that leaving her is much easier if I hand her off to a female adult, or at least older teenager. She has no problem going to a stranger, but me putting her down....she hates it.
School is going well for me....hopefully it will continue to take less and less time to read, study, and write papers. It has taken me a little while to remember how to do everything.
I have noticed a huge improvement in Trevor and his anxiousness. I won't know for sure until teacher conferences in a few weeks, but from what I pick up from Trevor, he seems to be still testing his teacher's limits, but is very aware of what he can expect if he doesn't do what is required. The one thing that is going on right now is his tooth. He had a very fun and exciting day today, and asked to go up for a nap early. But came downstairs when he almost lost his tooth. I saw that it was bleeding (no way did I tell him this) but that it was still holding on by a little bit. So after I reassured him 20 times or so that he will not actually LOSE it, either by swallowing, or in the carpet, or even in the toilet (don't ask me where that came from) I think he's calmed down enough to take his nap.
I cannot believe it is only the middle of October. With this weather and how long it seems since he started school, it feels like we should be in December. Just fast forward to March please! I am already sick of looking at snow falling outside.
Ok...vent over. Gwen caught the cold I had last week that really drained me. I thought I caught a cold from one of the kids, but neither of them had it as bad as I did. And now Gwen has it. Just in time for her well-visit. Hopefully, she'll be on the up slope from it though. Two things I have been meaning to write down about her.... 1) She is very confident in her thoughts, and if you try to tell her otherwise, she will stand up and say, NO...that's an elephant mama! (When I try to say, "That's Dumbo sweetie...") She says it with such seriousness and force it is hilarious. Hopefully, someday she will learn how to learn from other people. 2) This is the second week in a row at "school" where the teacher has said that if one of the kids is crying after she has settled down, she goes over to the kid and says, "It's ok Dylan. Mom will be right back." And tries to give him a hug, or share a toy, or something similar. I have found that leaving her is much easier if I hand her off to a female adult, or at least older teenager. She has no problem going to a stranger, but me putting her down....she hates it.
School is going well for me....hopefully it will continue to take less and less time to read, study, and write papers. It has taken me a little while to remember how to do everything.
I have noticed a huge improvement in Trevor and his anxiousness. I won't know for sure until teacher conferences in a few weeks, but from what I pick up from Trevor, he seems to be still testing his teacher's limits, but is very aware of what he can expect if he doesn't do what is required. The one thing that is going on right now is his tooth. He had a very fun and exciting day today, and asked to go up for a nap early. But came downstairs when he almost lost his tooth. I saw that it was bleeding (no way did I tell him this) but that it was still holding on by a little bit. So after I reassured him 20 times or so that he will not actually LOSE it, either by swallowing, or in the carpet, or even in the toilet (don't ask me where that came from) I think he's calmed down enough to take his nap.
I cannot believe it is only the middle of October. With this weather and how long it seems since he started school, it feels like we should be in December. Just fast forward to March please! I am already sick of looking at snow falling outside.
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