Winter in Des Moines

This Winter has been fun. We got our first major snow in early December and there has been snow on the ground ever since. Our kids are doing really well playing in the snow and have come a long way in learning to deal with snow in the face and in between the mitten and the coat.

For a while it was so cold that it was hard to enjoy the snow, but it has warmed up in the past week and we have made our way outside for some hiking and sledding. In Cincinnati there were hills everywhere, but in Des Moines good sledding hills are harder to come by. The past weekend we tried out Waveland Golf course and had a great time. The hills are probably about as big as the kids can handle at this point. We have also spent some time at the hill behind Susan's parents' house.

Thoughts from Myself

Susan was cleaning up the attic and she found a note that said 'Open May 10, 2008.' After some thinking, I came to the conclusion that I had written myself this letter on Senior Retreat, when I was in college. Here is what I wrote:

• Staying up late is always worth it
• Sometimes is is good to be late
• We are all different
• The phone is never as good as the face
• Sometimes it is good to be uncomfortable
• Sometimes computers do more harm than good
• Lines aren't always necessary
• Some sleep is
• Outside is always better than inside
• We are always in a bubble
• The weather always changes
• Don't get too comfortable
• Music is good
• Pretty House is about more than just a good view
• Communication always makes things better
• Sometimes old is better than new
• Look at it again
• Don't settle
• Don't get greedy
• It is all relative
• My time for myself
• Be who you are
• Be who you want to be
• Keep trying
• Keep looking
• Enjoy it
• Take time to walk
• Take your time
• Bring your own bags to the store
• Be not afraid
• Desafios son oportunidades
• There are people everywhere
• The cheese doesn't stand alone
• Sometimes people talk out of turn.

2009 Pictures

I updated our online photo galleries to include our photos from the second half of 2009.

The end of the year finished in a hurry for us, with Christmas and New Year's. We had a great 2009 and have some fun things planned for 2010.

The Return to School

After two snow days Andrew and Mari were back in school today. There is a lot of snow around town and in our yard. Some reports say we got 16", but it is hard to tell because there were also high winds so there are a lot of large drifts. Temps this weekend are supposed to be in the upper 20's, so hopefully we will be able to get out and do some sledding.

Snow

Our third snowfall of the year has started. We actually got our first snow two months ago, on Andrew's birthday. He was supposed to have a soccer game that day, but it was cancelled. We had some more snow a few days ago, but it was mostly flurries and didn't amount to much. It looks like we will get an inch or two tonight, with more coming Tuesday.

The Cincinnatian in me still loves the snow. I suppose at some point I will get used to the fact that it is a more regular occurrence in IA. Hopefully the kids will be able to get out to play in it over the next few days.

Welcome, Winter

We had a bit of a Winter welcoming this weekend, and just in time.

• Last week we put up our outdoor decorations.
• Saturday morning we got our tree, and put the lights on.
• Saturday night we celebrated Wintergarten with the Des Moines Waldorf Association.
• Sunday morning we prepared for the Winter term of Susan's Bean Sprout Parents & Tots class.
• Sunday afternoon we went to Winter Magic at the Des Moines Art Center.
• Sunday evening, just as some snow flakes were beginning to fall, we lit a fire in the fireplace and decorated our tree.

I will get some pictures up ASAP. Our computers are our of commission right now.

Living History Farms CC Race

Erin, Eric Martinez, and I ran in this year's Living History Farms Cross Country Race. We had a great time and plan on doing it again next year.





Susan and the kids made it out to cheer us on and the kids tried their feet at a creek crossing (there were nine in the race).

Elliot's First Haircut

School Pics

Mari

Andrew

Bonus - Andrew Soccer

Beggars' Night

It took us a minute to find the sweet spot in our new neighborhood and it was pretty cold and misty, but our first Beggars' Night was a success.

» View Pictures

PS - I forgot to mention that there was one guy who was passing out hotdogs. He was grilling in his driveway and he told us that he buys 400 of 'em. Interesting.

End of Soccer Season

Tuesday marked the end of the soccer season. Andrew played and I coached, and we both had a good time. We plan on doing the same in the Spring, and Mari may be joining us. I am not quite sure if she is ready to start yet, but I think she may be planning on it.

Andrew Turns 6

Andrew turned six a couple of weeks back. We had a big party the day before his birthday, in conjunction with his friend Bianca, who was turning five. This party involved a parade, skyline, cool weather, cool lighting, and cool people.

The day of his birthday was more chill. Soccer was cancelled because of the snow so we hung out at the Reagens' some and then headed to Mimi & Papa's for dinner.

» here are some pics from his actual birthday

Once I get some pictures from the parade I will post those.

Revolver

We used to deal with diapers, pacifiers, and baby monitors.

Now, it is soccer, school, and Capoeira.

Where has the time gone?

The Pacifier Fairy

Two years ago the pacifier fairy paid a visit to our house in Cincinnati to take Andrew's pacifiers. Elliot stopped using his pacifier when he was one, so the only one left was Mari. Heading into a long weekend we decided it was time for the Pacifier Fairy to come visit again. We hung Mari's pacifiers in a basket in a tree in the back yard and, sure enough, the pacifier fairy came again.

» View Pictures

Ledges State Park

While Susan was in Seattle this weekend, the kids, Rebecca, Bianca, and I went camping at Ledges State Park. We had a great time, and there were no major catastrophes. On Sunday we packed up early and headed back to Des Moines for the Every Family Rocks music festival. Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, one of our favorite kid musicians (he is not a kid, but he plays kid-friendly music), was playing.

Check out some pictures from our trip.

Andrew Sliding Down the Rock Slide




If you can't see the video, Click Here.

Happy Ending

Our weekend started off well, with a bike ride on Saturday morning. It ended well, too, as today was spent biking, at the Iowa Cubs game, and the Iowa Midwives pot-luck for dinner.

The bike ride this morning actually wasn't too great, as I was headed to meet our naturopath to talk about my pink eye.

The I-Cubs game was fun. It was nice to see some baseball, and it was cheap and easy. The only problem was that I kept cheering for the other team by accident, probably because they looked a little like the Reds, and the I-Cubs look like, well, the Cubs. The other team was actually the Albuquerque Isotopes.

The Iowa Midwives pot-luck was a lot of fun. I feel like I knew most people there, and the ones I didn't know I was glad to meet. There was Capoeira, belly-dancing, guitars, food, & good weather.

I'm Worn Out

We just got back from a great bike ride with our whole family, the Reagens (Susan's sister's family), and the Liesses, Susan's parents. We start off by Erin & Nate's house, and rode along the river for about an hour. We stopped for lunch at one of the beaches along the river. The kids had a great time playing.

Then we had to ride back to our cars.

Capoeira

Andrew and Mari have been taking Capoeira classes at the Roots Capoeira Wellness Center. It is a Brazilian martial art that is sort of like a combination of martial arts and dance. It is really neat. My favorite thing about it is that it is always set to music and has a really nice rhythm.

Grilled Pizza

Kathie, Susan's mom, made some great grilled pizzas last night. First she grilled the crust for a few minutes, put some toppings on, and then grilled a little longer. My favorite was the BBQ Chicken & Mango.

While she borrowed the neighbors' grill, the kids had a great time jumping on the trampoline with their cousins.

PS - This is actually a double-post, as I also posted it on my the dinner blog. I was going to just post it there, but I decided to post it on both.

Photo Update

I just added about 60 pictures to our 2009 photo gallery - including shots from the Spring up through our recent vacation.