Lacrosse Replaces Baseball

I know baseball is the American past-time, but this year Zan will be playing lacrosse.  He's been participating in an indoor clinic this winter (between hockey games) to try it  out.  So far he loves it, and as the deadline to sign up for the spring season was last month he had to make a decision between lacrosse and baseball.  I think lacrosse will be a good fit for him.  The games are an hour long (not 3+ hours) and the kids are moving all the time - like hockey.  In fact, the boys' protective gear is very similar.  Baseball was hard for Zan....lots of time waiting for your turn at bat or waiting for the ball to come to you.  He needs more movement!  

Squirt Hockey Scenes

Zan has been reminding me regularly that I haven't posted any hockey pictures yet this season, which is a little hard to believe since his first game of the season was way back in the beginning of September.  I finally took the camera to a home game last weekend, where I felt more comfortable going up where the scorekeepers sit for a bird's eye view of the game.  This year Zan's team is in two leagues - one is in this state, the other is the state south of us (which means  any game in the southern league is essentially an away game for us).  Real home games are rare!  

The season is winding down.  Zan has one league tournament coming up next weekend and there will be another one in late March or early April.  In between, he'll have try-outs for next year.

I love watching Zan skate - he never seems to get tired, and he makes skating look sort of like dancing.

We have a great team this year - good kids and fun parents.    

We won!

Nordic Champs

Zoe's middle school nordic team (girls) took first place at the state meet on Monday!

Proud Owner of a Saddle!

Up until recently our "horsey" purchases have been limited to helmets, riding boots, breeches, horse treats,  grooming brushes, crops and the occasional saddle pad, but a few weeks ago Zoe's instructor Sue mentioned that Zoe really needed a bigger saddle because she is so tall - at 5'10" see is the tallest rider at the barn.  Sue gave us a quick lesson on what to look for and also suggested brands and models.  With her help we found a exactly what she recommended on Craigslist...a Collegiate Senior Event All Purpose 18 1/2 Wide Tree.  Once we got it on Ace we had to replace the leathers for longer ones and swap out the stirrups for the right size, but that was relatively easy.  

High School

Zoe's course selection form for next year - her freshman year of high school - is due tomorrow!  How can that be?? 

Paper Craft

Zan has been totally obsessed with the computer game Minecraft for a while, but he recently discovered a new obsession - "Minecraft Papercraft!"  It is just like the paper dolls I used to play with....pieces to cut out and little tabs to fold and glue.  He's spent hours making countless pieces and characters.

Guest Post From Zan:

I'm guessing your wondering what Minecraft is well its a game made up of all blocks like so

The best way to start the game is by chopping down a tree then using the wood to make a Crafting table.
The crafting table is like a work bench where you could make tools, weapons, and armor.
The first part of the word Minecraft means mining obviously.
The furnace is the block to smelt any of the ores like gold, iron but there are other ores that can't smelt like diamonds, coal, emeralds, redstone, and lapis lazuli.

(A picture of me mining.)

Diamonds are the best item  in the game.
There is a huge list of servers that allow multiplayer
and on some of the servers there are games like
hunger games, sky wars, and capture the flag.

 

Skywars above

Hunger Games Above


So I've been making some of this in
real life with paper.

Nordic Race at the Fairgrounds

Yesterday Zoe raced in a huge meet with over 700 high school and middle school skiers!  Fortunately it was relatively warm yesterday - 15 degrees with no wind chill.  It was a 4.8 K skate race.  Skiers are lined up by number in gates and head out in waves of five.  

Some of the girls going to warm up before the race.

The course started with a hill and ended with hill!

Nordic Race in the Rain

(Photo Credit - Steve Gordon)

Last week Zoe's nordic team had their first race - in the rain & fog - at a local apple orchard.  The conditions were dismal (slush, not snow),  but they all stuck with it  and completed the 4K course.  

Waterville Tournament

Zan's hockey team had a tournament up at Waterville last weekend.  Quite a few families rented condo units for the weekend instead of making the drive back-and-forth, making it really fun.  The lodge was over -run with hockey players and their families.  They even have a room on the ground floor for knee-hockey tournaments.    The team did not fair well in the tournament, losing the first game, winning the second one and losing the third game, which eliminated them from the tournament on Sunday morning.  The  weather was brutally cold on Saturday (-37 degree windchill) so we spent most of the day at pool, venturing out briefly in the afternoon as a team to go tubing.  

Visit at Mimi's House

We spent one of our vacation days at Mimi's house visiting with Mimi, Will, Auntie Gina and Uncle Bill.  Zan and Will played tag and catch outside all afternoon.  We met up with Uncle Pete, Auntie Maria, Jack and Gianna for dinner at The Fort, one of Mimi's favorite restaurants.