Oceans & Streams

We are back after a two week hiatus.  We had a busy time away from the blog and are now back into the swing of things.

Lily and Jack both had nice Valentine's Day celebrations at their schools and had fun trading cards with their friends.  On Friday, Marcy, Lily and Jack headed down to Florida to join me there for the long weekend.  We had a nice time visiting with Grandpa Maurice and Grandma Phyllis during the weekend and we had the great bonus of seeing Great Uncle Simon, Great Aunt Ruby and Cousins Lisa, Kevin, Adam, Matthew and Samara.  Lily and Jack had a lot of fun hanging out with their older cousins.

While in Florida we had some time at the beach, some time at the pool and we visited Parrot Jungle Island in Miami with Grandpa Maurice.  Despite the colder than anticipated weather, everyone had a great time.

Lily and Jack came back to finish off the week of school and also had their usual swimming and piano regimens.  On Friday, Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom came over and took the kids bowling in the afternoon (it was a half day of school).  On Saturday, we ran some errands in the morning and then we headed downtown during the evening to go the Wizards' basketball game.  We had some great seats and the kids had a great time.  On Sunday, Lily had Hebrew school in the morning and Jack and I picked her up and headed to the Purim Carnival.  After a visit to the Carnival the kids were off to swim lessons and then Lily had her friend Sofia's birthday party.  To close out the weekend our friends Sarah and Derek and little Adam stopped by for a quick visit as they were in the neighborhood.

Here is the photo recap pictures ...


Reviewing V-Day goodies from Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom.


At Parrot Jungle Island.


Checking out the tortoises.


Feeding goats.


...


Riding a camel ...


... not so comfortable.


Monkeying around.


With Grandpa Maurice.


Warming up in the hot tub with Adam, Matthew and Samara.


At sunset.


On the beach.


Digging.


Before the game at our seats.


After the game with some very extra large t-shirts!

Basket Case

Not much new to report on this end.  Another week with few pictures but here is what happened.

• We had our regular Tuesday visit with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom.
• Lily had swimming and piano lessons.
• Jack had ice skating but was a bit under the weather on Saturday so he missed his last basketball session.  He made a quick 24 hour recovery and was all better by Sunday.  Special thanks to Aunt Kelly (and Bodie) who bailed us out on Saturday afternoon and watched Jack while we had to go out.
• Lily had a friend's birthday party on Saturday and both kids had swimming on Sunday.

A better post in two weeks when we get back from a short trip to Florida.  In the interim, we all want to wish a special a happy birthday wish to Bubbie whose birthday is on Valentine's Day.

Our new basketball hoop.  We swapped out the old one since it was not adjustable and it was hard for the kids to shoot at that height.

This should provide many hours of fun over the years.

Taking a walk, deep in conversation.

Swimming Pool

A very busy week around here again and very few pictures to show for it!

Here is the rundown ...

Lily had her weekly piano lesson and she improved a lot from the previous week.  She seems to be remembering more from before and amazing what a difference some practice makes.  Lily also had her regular swim practice and a Saturday and Sunday meet.

Jack had his ice skating lessons and basketball.  Basketball is almost over and we will take a break from Saturday morning activities until tee-ball starts.  Ice skating will probably continue and he will move up to the hockey skates class.

On Friday, Jack had a play date with his friend Beckett and Lily had her friend Alexa over.  Everyone had a good time.

On Saturday, it was a swim meet and then a few errands before a relaxing night at home.  On Sunday, it was day two of the swim meet (Jack and I skipped the second session) and Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom came to watch.  After the swim meet we had lunch out and then headed over to our neighbors house for a Super Bowl viewing party.  Everyone had a great time.

That is all for now.  Here are some pictures and videos from the pool.








Jack keeping busy at the pool.



Lily on the blocks.  Her face is cut in half by the rope but you get the idea of how many kids are there.

Few and Far Between

Not much to report this week.  Another busy week of school, swimming, basketball, ice skating and Hebrew School.  We had our weekly visit with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom.  Aunt Kelly and Bodie lived here for a week, sort of and we had a bit snow.  Other than that, not much to report.

On Friday night we had movie night - Ice Age 4.  Saturday was busy with play dates in the neighborhood and Jack had his friend Nate's birthday party.  On Sunday, both Lily and Jack had Sunday school and Marcy and I were the week's parent volunteers.  We capped off the weekend with swim lessons and then a visit to Aunt Kelly and Bodie's temporary new digs.  We had a nice dinner with Grandma Gail, Grandpa Tom and Aunt Kelly downtown and then we came home for a good night's sleep.

Best wishes to Grandma Gail for speedy recovery from her bout with the flu.

We have no real pics from the week but here is what we have.



Jack at his birthday party.  It was an "under the sea" theme.


Lily playing with her Disney characters.  I kind of snuck up her on to get this shot.


Maybe we will do better next week ...

The Civil Wars

It was a long weekend around ... hence the Tuesday post.  Rather that sit around a stare at the walls all weekend, we decided to get out of town.

So on Saturday, after Jack's basketball, we headed up to Gettysburg, PA to see the battlefield.  The kids interest ebbed and flowed but we did the auto tour and the kids worked on the Junior Ranger book.  By completing a few games and answering some questions they could earn a badge from the Park Rangers.  After doing the tour, we headed up to Carlisle, PA to show the kids where Marcy and I went to school. We had dinner at the restaurant we had our first date at and then ate breakfast at one of our old favorites.  After breakfast, we headed back to Gettysburg to finish the Ranger program.  The kids got their badges and then we headed home.

Lily and Jack headed off to their Sunday afternoon swim lessons and then it was home for some quality time watching football.  On Monday we hung around the house and then went ice skating.  Jack has been taking lessons and he is really coming along.  At night Aunt Kelly babysat while Marcy and I went to a movie.  The kids had a good time with Kelly and they were passed out when we got home.  Jack was back at school today but Lily was home for one more day.  It was freezing cold outside so she and Marcy got a lot of stuff done around the house.

That is all for now.

Here are some pictures.


On an observation deck at the battlefield.


Jack with a re-enactor on Little Round Top.


At the ol' alma mater.


...


We ran into neighbors Michael and Izzy at the ice skating rink.


Lounging around watching the inauguration. Four years ago we had the same picture ... time flies.