Snow!

We got snow!! We didn't get much, but we managed a two hour delay on Thursday and a two hour early dismissal on Friday.  Whoohoo! We had just enough snow for some fun with our neighbors before it got dark.

Keeping Up with Maddie

I'll be the first to admit that we were over-extended last week. I can't believe we all survived intact, actually.

Monday night, Maddie had her usual Gymnastics class until 9.  Wednesday evening, Madeline had an orchestra performance at 6; we were at school from 7:45 until 8:30 that night. It was a looooong day.

She had three jumprope practices and two evening performances, as well. Then, we wrapped up the week with her swim lesson. I am tired just thinking about it!!

One of Madeline's performances was at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University. We usually go to high school games, and this one was a college game. It was her biggest venue yet! She was so nervous!

Unfortunately, Sophie was under the weather last week. She has been battling a cold and cough. She was a good sport through most of the week but was disappointed to miss her own swim class on Sunday. This week is much quieter and healthier, and we are enjoying it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciK5-WdsXgQ
I wasn't able to attend this performance last night, but I found this video on youtube to share.

A New Year

Although it's January, these pictures are from the last week of 2012.  The girls and I put together a couple of boxes of donations for our local homeless shelter. They really enjoyed choosing a couple of their new toys to give to others, and I was very proud of them both.

We've been making the birthday party rounds in kindergarten. It seems there are a lot of friends turning six this time of year. Just last night, Kent and I had to divide and conquer with Sophie and I heading to a party, and Kent taking Maddie to perform at a local high school game.

We were fortunate to get two light dustings of snow over our winter break.  Just enough for a semi-pathetic snowman; things were getting slushy by the time Maddie started on his head. Sophie basically gets geared up and is out long enough for a picture before heading back inside.

I fulfilled Madeline's request to go iceskating before heading back to school. She did quite well; determined as always to get up and going after a fall. I lasted a few trips around the rink before considering how a broken bone might affect my ability to juggle family, life, and work. I decided it was safer for me to watch from the sidelines.