Christmas in the Mountains - Day #4

Micah and Zoey enjoying their books before bed. It's a GLORIOUS thing that both of them can now read! A smiling Micah in the gondola, on the way up the mountain.
Zoey riding up the gondola - it was a beautiful, clear day at the top of the mountain.

Dave, expressing his frustration during lunch at the top of the mountain - whining children, long wait for a table, overpriced food! EEEEEKKKKK!!!
Zoey decided to take off her skis and just slide around (near the lift line). After this photo was taken, she realized how difficult it is to walk in the slippery snow in only ski boots, so she had a minor meltdown. Of course, she's had worse meltdowns. (Perhaps the cold snow kept her from getting too hot under the collar.)

Christmas in the Mountains - Days #2 & #3

We've made it to the mountain and are getting some great skiing! Here's Dave all ready to hit the slopes:

Zoey, geared up and ready to report to ski school (we put them in for the first day and they did great!)
After day #1 on the slopes, we were all tired and ready for nice soak in the hot tub.
The start of day #2 and our first day down the whole mountain as a family unit. Quite an adventure! (It took us about 1 1/2 hours.)
Zoey riding up the mountain on the gondola.
Susan and Micah on the gondola.

Dave and Zoey on the gondola.

Half way down the mountain we stopped for a break and a photo op - Micah actually leaned toward his sister and put his arm around her. I think he must be getting used to Mom's picture taking.

Christmas in the Mountains - Day #1

Here we are in Colorado, spending Christmas in the mountains where there is snow that lasts for months, rather than hours (as is the case in Columbus.) We flew into Denver, had a night in a hotel with a pool and spent the morning swimming before heading up the mountain to Keystone Resort. Dave threw the kids in the pool several times while I watched from the warmth of the jacuzzi. Being from really overcast Ohio, we just aren't used to the sunlight gleaming off of the snow. When we came out of the grocery store, Micah was nearly blinded (okay, a little dramatic) and had us lead him to the car while he covered his eyes. We decided to take a little detour to Super Target to acquire good skiing sunglasses for us all. It became a natural photo opportunity.
I always make a point of putting the camera in Dave's hands at least a few times while we are on vacation so we can get some shots of me with the kids. Basically so that if I die, they won't forget what I look like. I know, a bit morbid, isn't it?
When we were driving up the mountain, there was a sign for "Big Horn sheep viewing" so we decided to be spontaneous and give it a try. We followed the sign down this long road that was pretty snow covered. Finally we arrived at a little outpost that had telescopes aimed at the mountainside. We put in our 25 cents and scanned the mountains for the creatures. After about a minute, I realized the futility and headed for the warmth of the car. Dave and the kids braved it out for a little longer before giving up and returning to the car as well. We then headed back to the interstate and right there, on the entrance ramp to I-70, was the beautiful creature pictured below. We pulled over and snapped a few photos while he casually continued to munch at the dead stuff on the ground. As we continued on our way, we saw several others perched on the cliffs by the roads. I guess they're pretty common.
Parts of our day NOT pictured here:

• Our waiting in line at the ski rental place FOREVER.
• The kids near meltdown inside the ski rental place.
• Zoey's total meltdown outside the ski rental place when I told her that she could not ski back to the condo.
• All of our frustration when we realize there was something wrong with our equipment locker and, therefore, had to lug all of our skis, boots, poles, etc. up to our condo.
• Mine and Dave's meltdown and threatening of the kids as we tried to settle them down at bedtime (I think we're all a bit tired!)

The Revenge of a Little Sister

It started as an innocent romp in the newly fallen snow... Then, she saw here opportunity (the look says it all, doesn't it?)...
"He'll never see me coming because he's so distracted by the snow and fun. And, he would never suspect me!" Says Zoey...

"And, if I miss with the snowball, I'll whack him with this stick!"
"EEEKKK! This is NOT how I intended to have things go!"
"Okay, we really do love each other afterall!" (A little blury, I know. But it's not easy to get these two to pose together in a nice way!)

Leaves and fun in the backyard

When we moved into our house 10 years ago, there were no trees in the yard and, therefore, no leaves to rake in the fall. Finally our trees have grown enough so we can rake up big piles of leaves for the kids to jump into. Zoey was pretty happy about the whole thing. Of course, Dave and the kids jumped in the pile, but never actually bagged the leaves, so there they sit in our yard. It snowed this week, so they will soon be decomposed into a wet, sloppy mess where they will undoubtedly create a big eyesore in our yard come spring. But alas, our entire yard is pretty much an eyesore most of the time, thanks to the kids "creative gardening". Micah has been working hard on his football skills. When it's not too cold, he and Dave go out back to "run plays". He's very serious.

Hockey!

We are now learning hockey! The kids are participating in a rec center sponsered program for city kids. It's a lot of fun.

Dave has been helping out with both the Friday night "learn to skate" program and the Saturday morning "learn to play" program. This is ironic because he's really the one learning to skate and play. But, I guess they'll take any help they can get!

I think getting all the equipment, including pads, helmets and jerseys, made Zoey's year. She was so thrilled with all the equipment that she wore her helmet constantly for the first couple of days after she got it.

Halloween in Clintonville, 2007

So here's a couple of our Halloween pictures. Just about hilarious, I think. I was very proud of us all for coming up with creative, somewhat inspired, costumes...

Zoey the Tree - The bird actually made noise. And, you might not be able to see them, but there are several cardinals clipped onto her "branches".




















Micah, AKA Manny Ramirez - sweet wig, eh? Always the opportunist, he decided it would be worthwhile to go as somebody from the winning team.















The two of them, pre trick-or-treating.

So our neighbor's brother-in-law is this wild-and-crazy fella from Turkey. Every year he comes up with some sort of costume and tries to scare all the kids who come a-beggin' for candy. This year he tried to do this gorilla costume, only it was sweltering hot. He gave up after about 10, but not until he had scared the neighborhood police officer.
















Every year our neighborhood has a "parade" for the kids. They gather at the end of the street, get their picture taken, walk down the block, and end up at the fire truck that comes out for the big event. The fire men hand out candy and then the big night of begging for candy begins.

Have I ever mentioned how much I actually hate Halloween? I think it's a very silly holiday for a nation of fat and lazy people. Also, all the responsibility seems to be on the mom to get the costume together. And I, personally, refuse to buy my child some sort of stupid costume-in-a box. I've tried to boycott it, but the troops rebel every time.

School Photos

Of course I'm the most partial judge ever, but are these kids cute, or what? Micah came home on picture day with stories of how he had stuck his tongue out at the camera. As you can see, it was just talk.

Short post, but the pictures say it all.

More kickin' soccer news!

GET HIM, ZOEY!

So last week's games were, again, exciting and fun to watch. I missed part of Zoey's game but when I showed up they were neck in neck. I think they ended up losing 2-1, but (yeah, bad memory) then again, maybe it is that they won 2-1? Zoey's not here right now to confirm which way it went, but I guarantee she remembers. Zoey didn't score but played great nonetheless and was a champ at passing. One of the other parents took some pictures of her team. I just couldn't resist adding the one of her clearly pushing her way past another little boy. I don't think he was knocked over. You can tell by the team picture (taken after the game) how hard she worked by her sweaty hair. It's funny, when Dave and I were watching the game we kept commenting that she didn't seem to have much get-up-and-go, but then when I looked at all the photos from the game, she appears to be running at full speed in all of them. Oh, well. Just goes to show how we parents tend to push our kiddos a bit too hard sometimes, I guess.

On to Micah's game...Once again, he came out of the shoot like a ball of fire and scored two goals in about the first 3-4 minutes. Then he dropped back and played mid-fielder. He goes non-stop whenever he's in there. His coach had some very nice things to say about him afterwards and really praised him for his hustle. Dave and I just think it's hilarious how much he loves soccer - he's tenacious! Micah was made one of the team captains for the game and got to wear a striped band around his sock. I'm such a proud mama.

I don't have any pictures of his game but hope to snap a few tomorrow. (I am still waiting for my digital camera to return from Repair Land.)

Last week was Zoey's last game, tomorrow is Micah's. We hang up the cleats until spring season comes around.

Now we'll have to figure out how to help them both release the freakish amount of energy they seem to have... any suggestions?

Soccer Victories for All!

As promised, I am providing the blow-by-blow to this weekend's soccer games.

Zoey's team played first, at 9:30. Last weekend (when they lost) they were missing one of their key players, Sam. Sam returned this weekend and all the kids played together and made it a 2-1 victory. (It's funny, but in this league they don't really keep score - but EVERYBODY knows what the score is EVERY week!) Anyway, Zoey did not score this week, but she did pass to her teammates, which seems a little more important. Passing has been a little bit of a challenge.

Micah's team played at 10:30. In tears the night before, Micah told me he wasn't sure he wanted to play because he had a big cut on the palm of his hand and he feared further injury. I assured him that we would find the proper bandage to protect him. He ended up with an ACE bandage on his wrist, which made him look like he had a sprain or break. I don't know if the bandage threw off his opponents or not, but he made two goals within the first two minutes. The first one was kind of lame and just sort of dribbled through the goalie's legs. But the second one was an all-out, David Beckham-style, mid-field, up and over the goalie's head and into the back of the net kick. It was a beauty.

Then, they moved Micah onto defense. He happily played his position for the rest of the game and their team one 3-1.

I should be getting my camera back sometime this week and will be adding pictures soon.

I took one team photo of Micah's team using my cell phone. It kind of sucks, but what do you expect from a cell phone? Micah's the goofball in the lower, right-hand corner.

Soooooooo long since I've posted

Yes, it's been way too long since I posted anything to my blog. Shame on me! Part of the thing is, however, that my camera broke. After months of procrastination, I have sent it in to be fixed and am expecting it back next week. So, this posting is just sort of a warm up.

For now, a soccer season update:
Zoey - she's a star in the making. Her team practices on Wednesdays from 4:45 until about 6:00, ending about 30 minutes before Micah's team practice. Most days she hops on down to his field and tags into Micah's scrimmage with no trouble at all.

Her team (the Tuttle Tornadoes, Tuttle being the name of the rec center), won their first game, 4-1. Zoey scored twice. The score of the second game is a bit unclear (I wasn't there). But I believe it was 2-0. Zoey scored once. She's working hard on passing the ball to her teammates, rather than taking all the glory herself. But sometimes it's hard to do that because when she passes, they just pass right back to her. I'm sure they will eventually learn.

Micah - His team has been together for over a year and was dealt their first loss this past weekend. And it was a SCHOOLING! I don't know who their opponents were, but they sure did know how to get that ball down field and into the goal. A little bit of a wake up call.

Micah actually sat out of Saturday's game for disciplinary reasons (from Mom and Dad, not the coach.) But he had to watch anyway and felt the pain along with his teammates. We were fearful that his being out of the lineup would make him feel overinflated, as if he could have made the winning difference. However, I think the final score was something like 8-0, so there's no way he could have prevented the loss.

And, they had it coming to them. The won the week beforeby a score of 9-1.

I'm sure they will be excited to get out there and vindicate themselves this weekend.

And, maybe I'll even be able to get some pictures!

The tortoise is gone...

That's right. We are now a tortoise-less family. One might question our attachment to the turtle, after all, we didn't really have a name for him. However, I feel he was an important part of the team. And, technically, he did have a name. Micah gave him some random, Spanish-sounding, name, that he couldn't really remember, so it kind of kept on changing.

But he was our turtle, after all. I'm going to miss the little fella. I'm going to miss going in to check on him only to find him on top of his log. (I never did figure out how he got up there.) I'm going to miss watching him eat his salad of mixed greens.

Okay, not really. I won't miss him. I'm rather glad he's gone, to be honest. You see, he was Micah's turtle but I did all the caring for him. Micah would feed him, if prompted. To be honest, I think it was probably my desire for the kids to take more responsibility for the turtle that led to his disappearance.

The kids were playing in the back yard on a beautiful, sunny day, so I suggested they take the turtle outside for a little fresh air and a chance to nibble on some grass. I was outside with them when the turtle came out, but had to go inside to do something. My last words to the children were very specific, "If you guys are going to keep the turtle out here, you have to keep a close eye on him or you will lose him."

Approximately five minutes later I heard a loud dialogue between the two, "You were supposed to be watching him!" "No, you said you were watching him." "Well START LOOKING!"

I went outside to find the kids shuffling around the yard looking down at the grass.

"You guys lost the turtle, didn't you?"

"Zoey lost it!"

"No, Micah, you said you were watching it!"

So that was the end of the turtle. We walked around our yard, our neighbor's yards, even down the alley a bit. He was gone. Just like that. He got one taste of the great outdoors and decided he would just take off on his own.

I'm not worried about his survival. He's pretty hearty. He comes from Kazakhstan. He also eats greens and has the ability to burrow down into the ground when he gets too cold. So I think he could probably live for years in the Ohio climate. He's probably been plotting his escape ever since we got him.

I guess the lesson to be learned is that turtles can move surprisingly fast. And they seem to be fairly determined when they have a goal.

And now I don't have to worry about scooping turtle turd out of the habitat.

More CR pictures have been added!

I've added some more photos from CR. This set is mostly pictures of the kids. You can access them at http://weilfamilyfun.photoblog.com. Enjoy!

Mildly inconvenient differences - but not irreconcileable

There's something so rejuvenating and refreshing about travelling outside of the US. I'm not talking here about travelling to some resort in Cancun, or the Bahamas, or even up to Niagara Falls. But really getting away from the familiarity of our country and all of it's conveniences.

When we left the US for Costa Rica (after, literally, years of hopeful planning) I was a mess of mixed feelings. Excitement to explore and experience a new environment was at the top of the list. But these feelings we very closely followed by anxiety and fear of the unknown. After all, it had been 10 years since my last trip outside of the US borders, and that was to Grand Cayman for a week of SCUBA diving - hardly a stretch out of my cultural-comfort-zone.

The first day of travel to and within CR certainly fulfilled all of my anxious worries. The slow, winding mountain roads, rain, darkness, near-death-experiences on narrow bridges (see my earlier entry)... But on Day #2, when we awoke at daybreak, I had entered a new world. The torrential rainfall had been replaced by blue skies with billowy, white clouds. At 5:15am (daybreak when you're at 9 degrees N latitude), I opened all the doors and windows of our home and discovered beauty. It was pleasantly cool, yet at the same time warm. There was no need for a sweater, and the kids were more than ready to take a plunge in the pool. We cut up a plate of fresh, tropical fruit and brewed a pot of the best coffee I have ever tasted. And then we sat on our deck and looked out to the world below and beyond. And it was breathtaking.

At the same time, as we settled into our house, I realized the differences between this new, temporary home and the one to which we've become accustomed in Columbus. Screens have very little practical value in Costa Rica and because of this, they are not on many of the window. This allows the world to come into you. Our house was inhabited by many geckos who frequently reminded us of their presence through a magnificent chirping sound. At night hundreds of June bugs would dance around our lights, frequently finding themselves disoriented and plummeting to the floor. In the morning I swept all of these fallen soldiers into a dustpan and deposited them into our yard. I am sure that during the early hours of the following evening they revived themselves to repeat the process. There were many other bugs as well - moths the size of small birds and many strange flying insects wiht rather ominous looks. Surprisingly, there were very few mosquitoes (thank GOD!)

In the town we adjusted to the chaos and unfamiliarity. There were signs everywhere on the storefronts. Confusing, almost-handmade, and fairly well-concealed signs. We had been given directions to the "SuperMas" grocery store and circled the town three times before realizing we had passed it (three times.) Parking was chaotic as well,. Assistance was provided by a local, donning a neon vest, who randomly waved directions as Dave pulled into an open spot. He also waited patiently outside the car to receive payment for his services.

We had to buy milk off the shelf rather than from the fridge. There was no butter, only "butter" - a strange, golden, oily concoction. But it did the trick and worked for the week. We had to throw toilet paper in the trash can, an adjustment Zoey never made. Down the hill from our house there were roosters. Many roosters. I was always under the impression that roosters only crowed at dawn. These roosters enjoyed talking to one another about every hour throughout the night. They were more like coo-coo-roosters.

Every day when we drove to Manuel Antonio National Park we were greeted at the entrance by very official-looking men wanting to stop our cars and give us directions. On the first day we stopped and listed to their schpiel about how we needed to get a tour guide to give us the "ultimate experience" with a guarantee of seeing 99% of the animals possible. We quickly learned to decline these offers and by Day #3, Dave was able to confidently roll down the car window and say, "Hey, we've been here before and we know where we're going to park." (In Spanish, too!)

And then there was the guy on the beach who was selling COOL COCONUT WUATER (see picture.)

I'm not complaining.

I enjoyed all of these differences (except the "butter".) There were too many things about Costa Rica to love. We just couldn't get our undies in a bundle over a couple of inconvenient differences. The kids didn't complain once about any of the adjustments. To work around the bug's schedule, we went to bed every night by 8:30, and woke at 5:15 - it was glorious! We adjusted our plans and schedules to accommodate the differences we encountered.

And, now that I'm home, I am excited for another opportunity to do it again. I don't intend to wait 10 years before I put myself in such a state of unknown. The anxiety this provoked was a good anxiety. I had to overcome a very real and tangible fear about how we would do.

And we survived.

The first day we got back to the US, when Zoey went to use the bathroom, she came out and said, "Mommy, I accidentally threw the toilet paper into the trashcan." If we'd only stayed there an extra day, she would have probably figured it out!

Want to see some pictures of Costa Rica?

I have started a photoblog. I'm slowly moving some CR pictures, and will add others - both of our trip, and just of fun, general, things in life.

Check it out at http://weilfamilyfun.photoblog.com.

COSTA RICA!

The adventures and travails of the Weil Family Part Uno - Costa Rica, April 2007

Day #1 - Arrival in San Jose, car rental, driving through winding, winding, mountainous roads behind slow-moving, belching trucks. We got a glimpse of the ocean before sundown, but did not arrive at our destination until dark. That's right, the guidebooks suggested against driving in the dark, but we did it anyway. And then it started raining. The roads were bad - potholed, no dividing lines or edge lines, no reflectors or street lights. There were also many pedestrians and bicycles sharing the road. Interesting, to say the least. There were the bridges that were used by the banana plantation trucks - rusty, narrow, pocked with holes, completely undependable looking, but our only choice. I shut my eyes while Dave slowly maneuvered over the bridge. Oh, and then there were the Mack trucks that, in the rain, didn't turn off their high beams - blinding!

But finally we made it to our little home atop a mountain, overlooking the town of Quepos with a view in the distance of the Pacific Ocean. To the rear of our house we could look out onto the mountains. Just beautiful!

Here's our house:

Exciting news! Not only is today my (Susan's) birthday, but it is the day that will go down in history as the day Zoey lost her first tooth! (Maybe an excitement only moms care about, but who cares? This is my blog, after all!) Anyway, it was so loose it appeared to be practically dangling off of her lip. When I picked her up from school, her teacher convinced her to let her try to yank it out, which she did with no dramatics at all! A sale to the tooth fairy is being contemplated at this time. If anybody wants to try to outbid her, feel free to post a comment!

Our cute kids

Now we're bloggin!

So even though Dave just turned 40 and he's hesitant to become "computer literate", I think his infection is growing stronger every day. Just this past weekend we was buying books on Amazon and claimed, "Hey, that was really easy. What else do I need?"

Anyway, it seemed time to start a blog. And, with all the adventures I'm sure we're to have, I thought it would be a good way to share news with our "inner circle." I hope to utilize our blog to share photos and stories from our trip to Costa Rica in April. For now, I might just share stories about my excitement over the upcoming trip to CR.

So, there it is. Our initial blog.

What do you think?