Ski Liberty

We all went skiing today. It was the kids first time and they loved it. Karen and I also had a lot fun. Even though we really only were on the slopes for 3 hours, the kids were beat and I knew I would be sore.

First question... when can we go again?  :-)

3KDS&DG Goes To Washington

The crew took a nice tour of the Capitol today.  Very cold walking the streets but nice inside.  We had a nice lunch at Union Station where we met up with 3 other families/friends.  Now its off to basketball practice.

On the home front, more stairwell cement work.  And they cut our cable again.  So no tv, internet, or phone.  Cable company supposed to come Thursday.

12 Years???

Doesn't feel like 12 years... But if it is 12 years, definitely happy ones.

Now that the snow is gone, construction is back and up and going. More cement for the stairwell for the walkup out of the basement.

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And, to round off the day I took a picture of Reuben's new smile after he lost yet another tooth last night.

Chhrstmas at the JCC

We spent Christmas morning swimming at the JCC, followed by a pancakes and eggs brunch there, and then some basketball in the gym. Very fun way to spend the day.

That's Reuben above!

To cap off a perfect Christmas, we had some good Chinese take-out. Everyone devoured it... everyone besides Faith that is. Now for the rest of night its just crossing my fingers that our basement doesn't flood with the big rain and snow melt going on tonight. I hear our sump pump cycling on often. It is rigged up with duct tape and crazy pipe turns due to the construction going on in that area of the basement walkout. So hopefully all turns out well... Otherwise you will see a flood blog posting at 4am tomorrow morning :-)

Playing Hooky

No sign of a plow today, so I decided to stay home. Some decent melting today, so I should be able to get through side streets tomorrow (only 6" of powder to drive through).
So obviously more playtime in the snow.
 
 
Mom Sleds!!!

Taking with my new Droid.
BOOM!

Snow Fun

Beautiful Day. Shining sun. No work. No school. And almost a foot and a half of snow outside!

My Cutie

BIG SNOW!!!

Garage Slab Poured - Prepped For Snow!

Today they poured the garage slab. Let it set for a few hours and then smoothed it out for another couple of hours. Then they covered it and prepped it to be insulated by 20" of snow expected tomorrow!!!

And you know you are overpaying your contractor when he delivers a beautiful holiday gift basket...

At least I can down the bottle of wine to forget how much this is costing :-)

Hanukkah - It's a wrap!

And some movies...

Hockey Game

A little Blog catchup from a busy week. Last week I got our company tickets to the Caps game. They are really good seats. We decided to take the boys for a night out.

Metro ride in was fun. Kids brought there new chapter book onto the train and read it together.

Seats were great... row J. Karen would gasp at the checks into the boards.

Kids got a kick out of Mascot day intermission.

We left after the 2nd period (Reuben was almost asleep) with the score tied. Before we got home I check the score and the caps won 4-3 in overtime!

Big dig before the snow...

So yesterday our retaining wall was dug out to be replaced to include a switchback to end parallel to the new room. Hopefully the hole doesn't fill with snow tomorrow. They are coming to hook the sump pump back up later today.

Construction Update...

Now that our cable line has been repaired I am once again able to update on construction progress. The contractors ripped our old cable to shreds tearing up a concrete patio behind the soon to be garage. Only two days without service; not too bad. Karen has been doing an outstanding job tracking progress and keeping on top of everything. These workers are moving quick; so you have to watch carefully!

Happy Hanukkah - Night 1

It was a quick first night of Hanukkah. Karen, the boys, and I were rushing out to the Caps game while Faith got to have girls night in with her favorite babysitter Hannah. Even with the quick candle lighting we left room for a few presents... Yes those are Papa Smurf PJ's courtesy my parents! The kids got books from their favorite authors. They loved them. Reuben and Jacob took one on the metro on the way to the game and just about finished it, though they skipped chapter 1 because it was "too boring."

Construction Begins

Our home remodel began this week with a bang! Carport - Gone. Back porch - Gone. Footings - Poured. Backyard a mess!!!
For the kids - The Greatest Show On Earth!

Fun Day - Breakfast, Party, Snow!

Over dinner tonight Faith said "today was a fun day! We had breakfast at McDonalds. Went to a holiday party. And got to play in the snow." I said let's make perfect and finish your dinner so you can have dessert... no such luck on that note :-)
We had my company's kids holiday party which was a lot of fun. All the 5-7 year old boys quickly learned to get two balloon swords (one for each hand) for a battlerama on the ballroom's dance floor. They all had fun making crafts and playing on the moon bounce. And of course the ice cream sundaes were a hit.




But then it was quick to get home and play in the snow!!!


Reuben clearing the street...

Smiley the snowman...

And faith bringing snowball ammunition to the fight...