Day Off

Took off most of this week.

On Monday I finished the leaves finally and burned a little brush.

The girls were happy to hang out and play with their “smoke sticks”.

I was just happy to not be working.

– b

To Climb or Not

Took the girls to the gym last weekend.

I think it’s been a year since they’ve been in the gym. In Abigail it showed. She had no interest (quite a lot of fear actually) in getting to the top.

Lauren didn’t care so much. She climbed what she could climb, then would drop and swing on the auto belay.

We’ll have to go back and/or make it more routine.

– b

Silly Selfies

Lauren and I often accompany Abigail to her Jiu Jitsu class Saturday mornings.

It’s a little slow during the calisthenics phase of the class, so Lauren and I find ways to make things interesting.

Things like selfies.

Especially silly selfies.

– b

Lollipop, Lollipop

Can’t remember why or where, but the girls got these huge lollipops.

And did what kids do with lollipops this size.

Hell. We’re 15 days after the fact and they’re still working on these things.

– b

Lauren Turns 4!

Better late than never…

Lauren woke up Saturday morning on the 12th to find a giant teddy bear in her room.

By far a birthday favorite.

Even Abigail loved it.

Then it was off to Bounce U for her party with friends.

Unfortunately I was sick as a dog and nearly missed it. Probably looked like the worst Dad at his daughters birthday loafing around trying to keep upright.

Regardless, Lauren had a blast. I can’t believe my youngest is now 4 years old!

– b

Got ‘m

After resetting the trap with more thread the little bugger got away with all the peanut butter again, so I used a trap of a different brand.

Same setup. Just a different brand.

He’s no longer an issue.

– b

Very Busy Mild December Weekend

The last two weekends were busy too, but I’ll have to try and get back to them later.

This weekend started with another assault on the mice. Set 5 traps and caught 2. One of the traps obviously didn’t have enough thread wrapped around the peanut butter.

I use thread wrapped around the bait to prevent just this situation. Didn’t use enough that time. Don’t worry. It’s reset and covered with thread.

Then it was outside for most of the rest of the weekend. It was sunny and just over 50F°, so outside was a must. Spent most of Saturday finishing most of the leaves. Only thing left is the pile around the play set they were jumping off of a month ago. Not sure when I’ll actually get to finish that.

Today was mostly chores like putting away the deck furniture, covering the sandbox, and taking down the tire swing.

That’s where the chain I used for the tire swing dug into the bark of the limb. Will have to do something differently about that next spring.

I also managed to cut some butterfly bushes, re-attach our solar panel snow dam/avalanche heater thingy, and get the tree inside for decorating.

If you look close, you can see the girls excitedly waiting just inside the door.

But they also spent lots of time outside.

And that’s about it.

– b

ps. got the outside holiday lights up to.

pps. you know since I got season passes for skiing for Abigail and I this year, it won’t snow.

Nordic Junior Ski Boot Rental?

Been trying to find XC ski boots for the girls on eBay.

The hard part is getting the right size, because you can’t just walk into a shop around here and try them on.

Luckily they’re so damn cheap on eBay. Normally $63 brand new, I haven’t paid over $11 for nearly new. Even with shipping the most I’ve paid is $25.

The one pair is too small. I’ll sell them in January when everyone is scrambling to outfit their kids. Maybe sell them for twice what I paid. The big pair is just that – too big. We’ll keep them for next year or later. The price was too good to pass up.

– b

Funny Faces

Somehow, while Abigail was lying on the floor and drawing on something, she got blue ink all over her chin.

Ha! Ha! Dad has dirt in his beard too!

– b

Dirt Bike Injuries

The full body cramping was by far the worst part of our ride a week ago in 7 Springs, but this was a very close second.

The new knee pads/leg guards I got have these impact absorbing yet abrasive rubber honey comb shaped pads in the knees.

That little red thing rubbed and rubbed my knees for 4 hours. It was almost as distracting as the near constant leg cramps.

In the end the red rubber pads won.

Apparently neoprene knee sleeves worn under the pads is the solution.

First it was protection from hazards. Now it’s protection from your protection.

4 hours of riding was too much.

– b