Traditions

We love the traditions of our visits with Scott and Wendy, which of course includes our crab dinner. This trip was no different and everyone enjoyed the dinner. We also have created the tradition of Wendy giving hair cuts. This was Addy's turn and Wendy did a great job. The evening story time tradition continued and some new ones include playing Mancala (Addy beat Grandma!) and some other new games including Skip-bo, Quixx and Scrambed States. We also made yummy overnight caramel rolls- delicious traditions are the best!

The True Winter Heros

Last week we got a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Evert, the real heros of winter! They timed their trip perfectly because they flew out and returned right between two more snow storms in Wisconsin. Of course they thought our cold weather was warm compared to their frigid temps.
The kids didn't have school for President's Day so we kept everyone busy. We went on a mission to find Addy her new desk, there was a visit to the zoo and a trip to downtown to ride the ferris wheel. The kids were also busy decorating their new birdhouses and showing off their pogo stick skills and making baseball snowmen.

Our Little Leaders

I think it is only fitting that after several posts about the lack of school, I should recognize the hard work my children are putting in when they actually are in school. Reports cards came home the other week and the teachers are very clear that you should never expect 4's or be disappointed if your child doesn't receive 4's because they really are reserved for when a child goes above and beyond. In their words: "Exemplary: the student performs at a level that exceeds expectations." So you can imagine how proud we were when every single one of Adelyn's classroom results were a 4 and almost half of Cameron's were a 4. We could not be more proud of how seriously our kids take their learning, but more importantly how much effort they put into it. They both try very hard which has proven to be paying off.
Cameron is almost to the end of year level for phonemic awareness and is already working on his 1st grade sight words since he has mastered all of the kindergarten words. He is also well beyond expecations in counting and math and demonstrates great listening comprehension. I think I am most proud of the fact that he got 4's in some of the "Lifelong Learning Skills" including respect, responsibility, and independent work habits.
Adelyn continues to amaze us with her appetite for learning. Her teacher wrote, "She is dedicated, detail oriented, strong reader and a great role model. She is respectful, kind and helpful at all time. At this time Adelyn reads at level U, which is end of 5th grade, early 6th grade. She reads with accuracy of 98% and comprehension of 4/4. Adelyn has strong independent work skills and is a great leader in our classroom."
We truly could not ask for anything more (well, except for them to argue with each other less) and are incredibly proud of these little leaders.

Snowmageddon Part III

The third (!?!) storm moved in Sunday night and Monday morning. It was another 5-6 inches. It was coming down especially heavy throughout the day on Monday so I stayed home from work. The kids, of course, did not have school Monday or Tuesday. No additional snow fell as of Monday night but because of the lack of equipment, preparation and general common sense, there was no school on Wednesday either. By then the temps warmed up, the precipitation turned to rain, BUT there was still no school on Thursday. Yes, you read that right, a storm that ended on Monday with about 6 inches resulted in 4 days of no school, right after a week which had zero regular school days. And of course, because there is no such thing as a regular school schedule, the kids already had an early release half day on Friday to prepare for their no school days on Monday and Tuesday for President's Day. (Tomorrow will be the 5th Monday in a row that they do not have school). So their first day of the week was only 3 hours and that meant in a 2 week period the kids had exactly zero full days of school! Most likely they will have to make up every snow day they had but since Washington declared a State of Emergency there is a chance they won't have to make up the days. I truly couldn't make this up.
By the middle of the week the kids genuinely wanted to be back in school but had to "settle" for yet another play date with their friends. I don't know how Brian did it, but he managed to say sane and even happy the entire time!

Snowmageddon Part II

The forecast for part II was spot on. Almost exactly as predicted, the snow started falling at noon on Friday and continued into Saturday morning. Total accumulation for this one was about the same as the first, approximately 5-6 inches. The craziest part was how the city reacted to the threat of a second storm. Stores were out of all staples, milk, eggs, bread. It was crazy and I am not exaggerating. It was complete panic.
We shoveled, sledded and skied, almost falling back into a routine like this is a normal thing. We discovered a new sledding hill, which is the street a few blocks over. The street is so steep it gets shut down and then the kids take over with their sleds. I quickly realized staying at the top was better for me because I couldn't tell just how fast the kids were going or just how close they were to crashing into the cars parked on the side. My heart just couldn't handle the fear at the bottom of the hill. It was awesome though, it felt like all of Addy and Cam's classmates were there and everyone was having a great time. When I figure out videos (again) I'll post them!

Snowmageddon Part I

Last week was Snomaggeddon Part I. I have to capture this for the history books, but for all you Midwest readers you have to remember that this city is not built for snow, there is no equipment to clear the roads and the roads are hilly! So comparisons aren't fair, but this was still one for the records.

The snow started falling heavily during the Superbowl and by Monday morning there was about 5 inches, so of course no school on Monday (we celebrated with snowman pancakes). The snow continued to fall on Monday, so of course no school on Tuesday. School on Wednesday was 2 hours late, and unbelievably, school on Thursday was also 2 hours late. Both called as such the night before. The forecast called for another snow storm to move in on Friday, so on Thursday night before a flake had fallen from the sky, they called an early release day on Friday. One snow storm, 2 no school days, two 2 hours late and 1 early release, not one full day of school. Total accumulation at our house was about 6 inches. 

Brian and the kids had a good time playing in the snow, but everyone was hoping for a full day of school by the middle of the week. The kids built a snowman, went sledding and even skied down our neighbor's driveway.

The snow starting to fall before the Superbowl. 

During the game.

 Skiing and shoveling the next day. 

Celebrating the first no school day with snowman pancakes. 

Science Night!

The school hosted their annual Science night last Friday, which the kids always love to go to. We saw the usual hits including the planetarium, the radio room, the paper handprints and the lego robots. We also saw some new things this year including parrots, turtles, rockets, our friends the sugar spies and so much more. I always learn something from this event every year and it is fun to see how excited the kids are to go to it.