Sledding

Last weekend we got a bit of a dump of snow, which meant sledding!!  While the snowflakes fell we were lighting up Donna and Emil's new backyard sledding hill.  They've been told that it had been used as a neighborhood sledding favorite in the past, and now we know why.  It was a perfect hill, just enough steepness for some thrill rides, but not so steep that it is awful to trudge up again and again.  Plus, you have those gorgeous views of the ravine to enjoy.

Luke was a little daredevil.

Claire's first time really bundled up, and definitely her first time sledding.  She loved the sledding part.

Now that's a snow angel

Donna even got in on the fun.  She says she hasn't been sledding in probably 20 years!!

A couple quick updates:

- I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but Luke apparently has developed a strong friendship with a little boy at school named Shale.  Isolene says that when she drops him off at school Luke runs up to Shale, or vice versa, and they hug each other in greeting.  How cute is that?  

- Claire has always seemed to love music, but lately she has started "dancing" when she really gets into what she's hearing.  This usually involves her standing up while holding on to a piece of furniture and bending her knees up and down to the music.  She sometimes gets her hands involved by banging on the furniture.  In all cases it is adorable and funny to watch.

- In the same theme, she also loves the piano.  Matt set her up to have her first lesson the other day and they did a few duets:)

And a few more pictures from the week to close:

Matt took Luke on his school field trip to the Botanic Garden's Winter holiday train display this week.  Matt said that Luke followed the train around the display again and again, and they even alerted the conductor volunteers of an issue with one of the trains.  

Mom's attempt at the snowman pancake concept

This is her Cher impression

She looks like such a big girl in this chair!  

Love this weird expression on her face, like it pains her to try and smile at me.  Actually, looking at this picture more closely it looks like she's constipated!  Ha!

That acrobatic elf has some impressive abs!

Luke is freakin' amazing at building elaborate train track routes all by himself.  This one pictured has a lego tower/tunnel that it goes through and then winds around the bar to the other side of the basement.

Poor little missy got her first goose egg last weekend after taking a header into the living room coffee table.

Rebuilding the truck engine with Grandpa before sledding.   Grandpa teaching him "Righty Tighty" :)

Meanwhile, Claire can't get enough of this singing and dancing decoration.

This sweatshirt came from Aunt Kathy & Uncle Bob, so was my cousin Doug and/or Warren's at some point.   I'm  pretty sure that my Aunt Penny painted this.  Luke likes Little Foot too.

Luke and I also hit our nearby sledding hill last weekend.  After going down again and again and again, basically getting a self-induced face wash every time by bailing when it got too fast, Luke decided he was done by climbing straight into the stroller and almost falling asleep before I even had time to collect his abandoned sled and meet him down there.  One pooped kid!

More Elf antics