This winter has been fairly mild, but February decided to kick it up a notch. Ice, snow, freezing rain, and sleet started in mid-February and continued until March 1.
It was so icy that J could "sled" without any sled at all - just sit down on her ski pants and slide!
We flew out to Texas to visit A's parents. All of the grandkids (save the one still cooking) posed for photos.
When we flew into Dallas it was 68F. We enjoyed a brief time of "Texas winter."
Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Texas got iced as well.
However, we didn't complain too much because it meant that the girls got to spend a lot of time with their grandmother!
Riding the airport shuttle back to the parking lot.
Here's a summary of what we were up to in January.
J Passed YMCA Swim Test
J has been in the water a lot as a kid. She first started kicking around in the water without floats at age 2.
We are huge fans of the pool at our local Y. During the winter it's dark by 5pm here, so the gym is a nice place to go and move about since going outside is not much of an option. J was pretty fearless in the water.
Last month she started taking her first swim lessons. She was already able to swim without any assistance, but we wanted her to be able to pass the swim test so that she could swim on the deep end. Our gym also requires one adult per child without a floatation device, so if we wanted to work with C without floats then J needed to pass the test.
Last Thursday her other two classmates were having some issues following instructions so they bailed early. The lifeguard said, "Why don't we go ahead and try the test?" So J swam the entire length of the pool. The swim lane had to be cleared while she did the test, so a small crowd of people standing at the edge of the pool clapped when the lifeguard let her know she passed. She was excited to get her wristband! Seriously, just look at this face.
After they put it on, she pointed at the deep end and asked me, "Can I swim over there now?"
"Yes!" I said. As she started toward the deep end a life guard was standing looking in the water and I could see J checking him out from the corners of her eyes, waiting for him to blow a whistle. She paddled around in the deep end for a long time, enjoying her new-found freedom.
We Got to See Baby #3
A had an ultrasound and we got to see the gender of #3.
Of course, it was a girl!
(I'm going to start harping on the benefits of eloping right away.)
A's Grandmother Passed Away
A's paternal grandmother, from whom C gets her middle name, passed away. We were able to drive to her funeral and hear about her life from her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was an amazing woman. She was 93.
We Got A Token Amount of Snow
Seriously, a token amount. While our friends up north got more than their fair share, we didn't even crack one inch. Furthermore, it's been the longest streak of less than one inch of snow on record for this area - about 1500 days. We've been cheated.
I didn't like this program much at first but she seems to have really grown lately as a confident speller. It's interesting how a child can be on a completely different level reading than spelling. But that's true of many educated adults, isn't it? We continue to plug away at the AAS Book 1 and she's been doing really well. I should post a review of what we've been using for J's kindergarten this year, if only so I can remember in a few years for when C comes ready.
This past week we continued to grow our fruit tree orchard by adding three peach trees. Adding that to the two Montmorency cherry trees, two apple trees, two pear trees, two plum trees... we have a veritable cornucopia of fruits.
Peach Tree Planting
We also got 2 grape vines to replace some of the muscadine vines that were wiped out by last winter's cold (and, apparently, our failure to cover them well enough).
I have one very sad item to report for last month.
The Chicken Whisperer. LSC is on the far right.
We've had one Ameraucana chicken for several years now. She survived many wild animal raids during our time in Joelton. After one particularly brutal raid that wiped out 3 other hens, leaving her the only one surviving, we dubbed her "L.S.C." (Last Standing Chicken). Alas, while we were in Colorado she finally was snatched by a possum. I had moved the pen up close to the house since I couldn't open and close it while we were gone, hoping that the proximity to the back door would keep the wild animals at bay. That didn't work as planned. The pile of feathers was practically on the back porch
J, of course, was heart-broken. At first she said perhaps Elise (as her name eventually became) left because she was mad at her. When I presented the evidence of her demise, she was angry with Eric (the rooster) because he didn't fight the possum. I had to explain that possums raid at night, and unfortunately they eat roosters as well. It took her a little while to come to terms with it, but I think she handled it pretty well.
We're hoping that we can keep Eric long enough to get some chicks this summer. In the meantime, we've been keeping them all closed up at night to prevent any further tragedies.
For the third year in a row, we made our way to the state of Colorado to enjoy a change of scenery.
Last year, we flew into Denver and drove the 4 hours to South Fork, CO. This year, we were staying in Pagosa Springs, so we decided to take the additional flight to Durango and save ourselves a 5 hour drive. (As you will read later, that was a poor plan.)
The first thing that A and the girls did was go dog-sledding. There was one problem, though: the area had an unusually low amount of snow. With no snow to sled upon, the alternative was to let the dogs pull a wheeled-vehicle. Here are some photos.
The rest of us drove up to our ski spot (Wolf Creek Ski Area) to check out the pass. There was very little snow to enjoy, so we turned around back home and started thinking about other things we might do (like hiking). Thankfully, the very next day (Sunday) the pass got 8 inches of snow, so we were able to go skiing as planned.
A and I alternated skiing and watching the girls. A did a really great job of planning activities for them. The weather at the lodge was also quite mild (30's and 40's) so we were able to go outside with them a lot.
We really enjoyed staying with A's sister's family!
Taylor Family at Wolf CreekWalking around Pagosa SpringsR taking pictures at the lodgeC posing as an Ood
Their girls were very sweet with their cousins, despite the 6- and 8-year age differences. The youngest, (R) started snowboard lessons on Wednesday and was doing double-black diamond slopes by Friday. Watching her follow instructors off a cliff was amazing. What an amazing kid!
There was some concern about A being able to ski due to her expecting mini-Dailey numero tres, but she did fine!
One afternoon the oldest (L) very nicely offered to watch the girls so A and I could ski together for the afternoon.
Post-skiing, we were able to enjoy a really nice outdoor hot tub!
After stopping in Durango for the morning, we started our journey back home on Monday the 23rd. Unfortunately, the airlines had other plans. In Durango, the aircraft had mechanical problems, so we missed the last flight from Denver to Nashville. We spent the night in Denver but all direct flights to Nashville were booked, so we were routed through Houston. That flight also experienced mechanical delays, yet again missing the last flight to Nashville. After spending yet another night, we were finally able to be home on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. Spending three days in airports with a 2 year old and a 5 year old is not recommended.
After a friend picked us up at the airport and took us home (thanks, K!) we were re-united with Wilbur, the chickens, and our own couch. Never have I been so happy to be home!
I had many more breakfasts with these two goofy girls.
Sadly, we lost four chickens. I highly suspect it was this guy (and his family).
We've started closing them all up at night. We also got a rooster, which is only tangentially related since he probably won't do much about keeping possums at bay. A friend of ours needed to get rid of him. We originally planned on putting him in the freezer, but he's such a nice-looking rooster that I hope we can perhaps get some chicks next spring. That is, if the neighbors don't complain about the crowing at 6am (hens are legal in our neighborhood, but roosters are not -- dogs barking all night, on the other hand, are perfectly legal).
We had a fun Thanksgiving dinner at our friends house. J had a great time, surrounded by kids her age.
We also went hiking at Beaman Park and I took them on a long walk around downtown. After the weekend was over, though, I asked J what her favorite activity was all weekend and she said "Going to Noah's house." Apparently running around with a half-dozen other kids is her cup of tea.
