The Bits: January 20th through January 26th

Delayed Bits:

Monday, the boys were off of school for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, so Ben and I took advantage of the down time and started, and completed, our 500 piece Grand Canyon puzzle.  Puzzle love is a love we share!  Plus, look at him, he's so cute!!!

On Monday, while the rest of us were playing at home, Zac was up at Copper Mountain snowboarding with his pal, Josiah, and Josiah's family.  They had a great day on the mountain, as evidenced by this selfie by Zac.

Tuesday, while everyone else returned to school, Ben got an extra day off and went skiing with his friend Dallin, Adam and Dallin's dad, Chad, and sister, Kate.  We've got to get in as many days as possible before soccer really picks up!

After warming up on green circles, Ben tried a few blue square runs and the halfpipe this trip up, with minimal crashing, which is awesome considering that he loves skiing through the trees!

Colorado Winter Part 1: With the brothers back in school, Tommy and I entertained ourselves with sidewalk chalk in the January sunshine.  January is one of Colorado Springs' best kept secrets.  We like to call it "Mayuary" because most days it's so nice and warm!

In the afternoon on Tuesday, Zac texted asking for a rescue.  No particular reason, sometimes middle school is just annoying.  He's such a great student, and rarely misses school, so I saw no reason why a rare pick-up a couple hours early would be a problem.  It helped a lot, and so did a good night's rest.

Tuesday night we attended Zac and Ben's scout troop Court of Honor where Zac received his Life Scout badge.  Next up: EAGLE!  He's working hard and determined to be done with his Eagle before he starts 8th grade, a huge accomplishment!

Best friends make life so much easier for all of us, don't they?  As soon as Luke sees Holden in the before-school line, he's good to go!  It's such a joy!  A joy...even when they get in trouble together.  The day after I took this picture, Luke was sent home with a note because he and Holden had been joking around about body parts...and we're not talking about ears.  Sometimes, in a family of 5 boys, I suppose our house can be a little locker-roomish, so we are reinforcing privacy among all the boys and we are now having Luke shower alone instead of bathe with Tommy.  Luke also wrote a nice apology letter to Holden and his family, and we got one from Holden too.  Ultimately, from Luke's distressed reaction to the whole scenario, I think the 'privates are private' lesson was learned through pure embarrassment...I hope!

Reading with Luke is so entertaining.  He is getting faster and faster at the actual reading part, but getting through a book is usually not very quick.  He almost always has to pause after every page to ask questions or make observations about the story we are reading, like on this day, when we were reading 'The Giving Tree.'  Luke: "I think the boy is growing up.  See?  His feet are bigger in this picture."  "Why was the tree happy, Mom, when it doesn't have any more leaves or branches?"  "I can see how you'd make a boat with that trunk, you'd just carve out here...."   "Why does the tree call him 'boy' when he's a grandpa?"  I love all the wonderful questions he asks, but I always make sure we have plenty of time before we sit down to read, even with a short book.

Sunset with jet streams.

Colorado Winter Part 2: Tuesday you are out in the Mayuary sunshine coloring with sidewalk chalk for an hour with no coat and sunscreen on, Thursday you have a snow storm and a two-hour delay that allows you time to sled and build dry-snow snowmen (meaning the snow will not pack so it's more like a snow pile with eyes and a nose)!

This baby boy, Ty, belongs to one of the women I visit teach, Emily.  Two of my favorite things about visiting teaching are getting to know women you may not otherwise take the opportunity to befriend and sharing in their joy!  Isn't this little joy a cutie?!

Colorado Winter Part 3: And just like that, the snow is gone and you are back to reading in shorts and t-shirts in the sunshine, as Ben and his buddy, Micah, did on Saturday.

Isn't it so embarrassing to show up to a party in the same outfit?  Haha!  Good thing six-year-olds don't care!  Bat Luke had a blast at his friend, Bat Daniel's, superhero party, matching costume and all.

I love our shadow family!  Even Ruby's in there, you just can't see her as well because she's in front of me, which is why it looks like I have elephantitis of the leg.

A sunny and warm Sunday walk around the block is the best way to get out the post-church wiggles.