Disney on Ice

This girl loves Disney and when Disney on Ice came to town I could not resist taking her!

Elisabeth was enthralled the entire time hardly even eating the popcorn she wanted to so badly. 

Who doesn't love a performance by all the Disney Princesses and their Princes

 

 One of our favorites was the Luau, where Lilo and Stitch showed up.

Love spending time with my sweet girl!

 

A Sense of Balance

Elisabeth has been wanting to be able to ride her bike without training wheels for some time now.  Well with the snow being minimal this winter there was no excuse.  One day Kelly took the training wheels and pedals off of her bike so she could practice balancing as she coasted down the sidewalk.  After about 2 days or less she was begging me to put her pedals back on so that she could ride her bike since she could "balance really good".

We had to wait about a week before dad had time to put the pedals on and when he did Elisabeth was off!!!  

The balancing practice paid off and she had no trouble riding all by herself.

Now all she ever wants to do is ride her bike.  As soon as we pull into the drive after school Elisabeth gets her helmet on and is off to ride her bike.  It is so fun to be able to go ride around the bike with her. I think she enjoys the freedom that riding bike gives her.

So proud of this girl!!!

Winter, . . . . . . . maybe

Winter has not been so wintery this year.  Unlike the Northeast it's been unseasonably warm in our area.  For example, here's a picture of approximately the same area of a trail about 1 month apart.

Jan. 15th

Feb.14th

We've been up to a lot of random things lately.  Some new and some the same for this time of year:

Ethan has been playing Jr. Jazz Basketball

Grandma came to visit and was able to be here to watch the Super Bowl and join her fellow Seahawks fan, Ethan.

Ethan and Dad have been enjoying the slopes of Beaver Mountain.

The kids school had their annual dance performance.  Each grade practices a coordinated dance routine and then they all perform for the parents.  Both Ethan and Elisabeth enjoyed the opportunity to practice and learn their class's routine.  Elisabeth was so excited and so well prepared.  For weeks she'd been dancing around the house simply humming/singing the song in her head.  Well both kids were chosen to be "leaders" for the grade meaning they are in the front row as a lead to everyone else.  Naturally, Elisabeth was quite leery of being in the front, but was so flattered to know it's because she was so good at the routine that she didn't ask to change to the back.
Well when it came down to performance day Ellie bravely stood with her class and managed a about 30 seconds before heading straight to me in tears.  I could see on her face when she stood front and center looking at all of the parents in the audience that she was incredibly frightened.  She was not only in tears, but shaking she was so upset.  I felt so sad for her know how intimidating it must have been to look at all those people watching.  Unfortunately she did not complete the performance with her class, but we are still so proud of her!

Ethan managed to deal with the stress of up front and center and did a great job!!

One of my favorite trails, only this time got to run it in the snow.   

Wildlife sighting on a training run

Ellie wanted to have a Valentine's Day party so we rounded up her friends and did just that.  The kids had fun playing a few games and filling up on sugar.

Beautiful Sunset

Fun picture that Ethan took one evening on our way home.