Red River Day Three

Ski School Graduates

First time on the lift for the younger Watts men

Max tearing up the green hill

An old pro

The end of a successful and super-fun day

Other items of note for today:

• I skied a blue and a black today, without falling! (Truth be told, the only time I've been in the snow on the whole trip was when I was standing still, trying to help Ruth gather up her equipment after a fall, and someone ran over me.)
• It was sunny and 60 today, and I was even able to shuck a few layers halfway through the day. 
• Ruth graduated from ski school this morning and then proceeded to master the nearest green slope and was able to ski it without falling after just a few runs. 
• Jeff traded in his snowboard for skis this afternoon, after his tailbone insisted. (He was planning to switch before tomorrow anyway, since we will have three brand new skiers on the slopes with us, and it's easier to help recover equipment and body parts on skis.)
• The boys graduated from ski school this afternoon and immediately got in a couple of runs on the little green slope. I can already tell they will be skiing circles around me in no time.
• We had dinner at the Sundance Restaurant, where we enjoyed some delicious Mexican food and drinks, followed by some of the biggest, most divine sopapillas, at no extra charge. 

Red River Day Two

Ready for ski school

Showing off her skills

Riding the "Magic Carpet" in ski school

Too cool for (ski) school

Doing ski school like a boss

Ready to hit the slopes

Showing us all how snowboarding is done

Keeping it pink

You say Mickey Mouse, I say sunglasses

S'more night at the lodge

Red River Day One

Lunch at Texas Reds in a Texas-sized booth

Our "Just Right" Three Bears Lodge is just steps from a lift

The kids met a new friend while watching the lifts

Actually, several new friends

Jumbo Icicle

Snow Angels

First time in any snow to speak of, and they loved every minute!

Who will be "King of the Hill?"

Snow Baby

Slippin' and Slidin'

Anticipating a great day on the slopes tomorrow

S'mores

Yum!

Torchlight Parade

Dinner on Vacation Eve and a Wall

Dinner at our house on the night before we are leaving for a trip of more than a couple of days is always a little interesting. The objective is to clean out the fridge and eat up any fresh stuff so it won't go bad. Here is what was on tonight's gourmet menu:

• Bagged Southwest Salad
• Caprese with shredded mozzarella
• Left-over pea and potato salad
• Hummus and crackers
• Fried eggs
• Peas
• Bowl of cereal (for one)
• Ham and cheese omelet (for one)
• Bruleed bananas
• Blackberries

On a completely unrelated note, our landscaping project is coming along nicely. At the end of the work day, the guys had a significant portion of the front wall done. We can't wait to see how it looks when we get home!

Ski School

This morning when I woke up, my phone declared to me that it was currently 21 degrees, but that it felt like 7. SEVEN! Will this {choice word} winter ever end?! I'm beginning to think not. I had kind of gotten my hopes up that spring might be a real thing and not just an a figment of my overactive imagination, when, over the weekend, I saw my first bluebonnets of the season, along with a couple of heavy laden Mountain Laurels and show-offish Red Bud trees. But, alas, they were all lies. Because here we are, stuck in this perpetual winter.

But, when life gives you winter, there's only one thing you can do (if you're not going to curl up in the fetal position and rock back and forth): go skiing! Which is exactly what we are going to do. And, that is why is was necessary for us to add, for the first time ever, a ski class to the schedule at Watts Homeschool. After baths tonight, Professor Dad stepped in to teach us all a thing or two. Much to the delight of the students, he even did a simulation of a chair lift using dining room chairs! Bring on the snow! I think we're ready.

PSIA Pride

Ruth and Weston competed in their district PSIA meet yesterday. It was a full and fun day, with Ruth competing in five events (On-Site Drawing, Ready Writing, Spelling, Mathematics, and Listening), Weston competing in four (Creative Writing, Storytelling, Spelling, and Mathematics), and Jeff and I judging two contests each. We were some of the first people there and some of the last to leave. Both kids did a fantastic job, and we are so very proud of them!! Weston walked away with the third place ribbon for Storytelling and a couple of qualifying ribbons for Spelling and Writing. Ruth brought home fifth in Listening, fourth in Writing and first place in Spelling, which will allow her to move on to the state competition in Ft. Worth in May.

Sleeping with the Mona Lisa

Recently, my older boys were asked to give presentations at CC on a famous artist. They both chose da Vinci, so I printed out pictures of the Mona Lisa for them to use as props during their presentations. Clay took one look at those pictures and instantly fell in love, just like so many men throughout the centuries. When the boys were through with their presentations, one of them offered his picture to Clay. It has not left his side since. He takes it with us when we're running kids around to their various activities. He carries it around the house. And, last night, he even insisted on sleeping with it. So, I guess even the youngest of men are not immune to that famous enigmatic smile. (Although, Clay says his favorite thing about "Mo Leese" is her hair!)

Thinkery

The boys and I had a blast today at the Thinkery in Austin with some of our CC friends!

Lots of opportunities to hop around

a little chemistry experiment

creating a hurricane

Creative Juices

This is a picture of the painting Ruth just completed in her Art class.
I'm biased, of course, but I think she has real talent! 

This is a song that Weston had in his head and stepped away from the Olympics to write down.
Again, I'm biased, but I think it's really beautiful!
(Our God is so awesome.
He loves us so much
And we should do the same.
The world is under his arms.
We take You seriously.
We love You so much.
You are higher than me.)

Patio Progress

We have been trying to get our landscaping project started for about a year and a half, so we are thrilled that this week we are actually seeing progress!

Extreme Tuesday

It was one of those extreme kind of days. We arrived at CC, only to find that I had forgotten the drop cloth for our painting project. I texted Jeff, who I thought was working in town, to see if he could come to the rescue. He was actually back at the house, and our communication was out of sync, so he was on his way back into town to save me before I had a chance to tell him just to forget it. So, then he ended up just working in town all day. Meanwhile, Clay was going through clothes and snacks like there was no tomorrow. Max and Weston were both kids of the week, so we celebrated after CC with dinner at KFC/Long John Silver. At 4:30. Because that's how we roll. The three oldest kids had sports practices in three different locations, starting at 5:30, and I was scheduled to conduct a CC info. meeting at 6:00 and then swing by a social gathering with one of the local homeschool groups at 7:30. So, Jeff took the kids and dropped them off at their various locations, and I took myself to my meeting. And, that was the last thing that went according to plan.

Just as I started my meeting, Jeff called, and since I knew he knew I was in a meeting, I answered, because I thought it might be important. Sure enough, Clay had fallen on the bleachers, and Jeff was gathering him up to go the the urgent care clinic for stitches. So, Jeff had the two youngest, but this was going to leave the other kids stranded at their practices. I wrapped up my meeting as quickly as possible and raced over to get Weston from his baseball try-out, and then headed back across town to get Ruth from basketball practice. Weston's basketball team was still practicing when we got there, so he stayed for the remainder of that practice, before we headed to the clinic to pick up Max and check on Claycito. Clay's chin was bandaged up, and he had soaked through his last set of clothes. So, I left him with Jeff, wearing nothing but a diaper, to get three stitches in his chin, while I took the big kids home for much needed baths at the end of a long day. Poor little guy. But, he's seems not to mind too much. In fact, before bed, he prayed, "Thank you I can go doctor and get crayons." A good reminder to look on the bright side.

Valemtime*

I'm not even kidding when I tell you that we haven't gone on a Valentine's (*that's Valemtime's, according to Max) date in about 12 years. We've never really been big on this particular holiday, for a variety of reasons, and we've been kind of tied up for the better part of the last 12 years, but about a month ago, Jeff came across a unique event that we didn't want to pass up. The Culinary Center at Whole Foods Market was offering a Valentine's Day Food and Wine Pairing. The chef prepared every dish right in front of us us, just like we were on the set of a cooking show, and then we got to partake in all the deliciousness. (I had good intentions to take a picture of each course, but then I got caught up in the eating and drinking and completely forget about my desire to document the event!) Plus, we were given a copy of all the recipes. And, then we got to shop in the market. For foodies like us, it was the perfect date night. Happy Valemtime's, everyone!

I can see clearly now

Before

After