We Snowshoe!

On President's Day we went snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park. We have tried cross country skiing in the past with disappointing results. This time we strapped something a bit less daunting on our feet and "squinched" along the trail (that is the sound the shoes made on the snow, really!).

Everyone is still smiling!

Well, almost everyone . . . .

That's better!

Neil couldn't resist jumping off the high places and into the fluffy snow beneath. He taught the kids how to do it. That's Mark and Jeff.

It was a perfectly beautiful day. I think we found a new fun family activity!

Battle of the Books

Linton Elementary School's Battle of the Books is not to be taken lightly. Kids start forming teams in early November. They seek out the best and brightest for their teams (best friends too, of course). Then they start looking for a coach. I was lucky enough to be asked to coach Mark's team. Mara wanted me to coach her team too, and I was willing to try to do two, but another mom stepped in. We started our Thursday lunch meetings at the end of November. The kids had eight books to read before the beginning of February. We planned, we strategized, we quizzed, we memorized. It was great! Mark's team was the "Rapid Readers." Mara's was "The Four-leaf Clovers." They didn't compete against each other, each grade had different books.

Mara got to be an emcee. She welcomed everyone and explained what was going on.

I am a judge here. These kids did pretty well, but in the end they had a couple of brain blocks and didn't get to go on to the finals.

Michael and Mark are getting excited for their turn!

You can't believe the tension! The girls team appeared to take an early lead with no mistakes. But amazingly, by the fifth question they started to crumble under pressure and the boys saw their chance!

Mark is ready! But so is Amelia. . . .

Happy Day! In a surprise finish, the Rapid Readers pull through with a correct answer that none of the other teams had. They get to go to the finals!!! Sadly, another team of girls, "the Campfire Girls" beat them by one question the next day. A couple of the little guys were trying hard to fight back tears. I was so proud of them though! They are a great team and I hope they do it again next year.

The Three Musketeers!

About a month ago Mark came home from school so excited. "I got a lead! I'm a Three Musketeer!" Last week we got to see what that meant!


It was the third grade program. A little play about things that come in "3." (Think about it: three pigs, three bears, three men in a tub, three little maids, etc.) Well, the three little bears were actually only "2" because baby bear was missing. The Three Musketeers came to the rescue! Actually, they were more like the Three Stooges and were very funny.

They sang a song about being "manly men." Their "deep" voices cracked us up!

Good job Mark! I think we have another singer/actor in the family!

New Year with the Spann's

Devin, Heidi, Tyson, and Holly braved the wintery eastbound I-80 and came to visit us for a few days for our New Year celebration. We had so much fun! The first day we went to Denver and stood exactly 1 mile above sea level on the Capitol steps.

The famous (or infamous?) Casa Bonita restaurant really defies description. Bad Mexican food combined with cliff diving, pinatas, and lots of atmosphere made a very memorable dining experience.

We all fell in love with Holly!

Can't have a New Year without popping our confetti, fortune-filled balloons!

Cashew Chicken stir-fry for dinner! Yum!!!

An interesting twist on the candybar game. It was pretty hilarious!

Tyson loved it! He figured out how to cheat with the dice too! :)

The Chinese fortune-telling cow came to visit us again. Everyone was in stitches! "Hoppie Moo Yee-ah!"

Toby really wasn't sure what to think. He tried to kill the cow. :O

Sledding on New Year's Day was fun for everyone!

Thanks for coming guys! We had a blast!!!

Christmas!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

A very satisfying day.

We Ski!

A few days before Christmas we decided to brave the slopes with the ENTIRE family! We live in Colorado, so you would think that skiing would be a regular part of our winter activities. But, even though we are only 45 minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park, we are 2 hours from the famous ski resorts. Also, being famous ski resorts, they cater to the rich and famous and cost an arm and a leg! So, we did our best to figure out how to ski at an affordable rate. We found a resort closer to home that sells a cheaper pass for the bunny hill slopes. Since the kids are all basically beginners, we thought this would be a good way to start.

It was a lot of work to gather (some borrowed, some rented) the gear. It even included picking the rentals up on a Sunday--we felt a bit wicked going to a sporting store in our Sunday best after church (we tried them on the day before!).

Mark and Jeff were a bit clumsy at first, but it wasn't long before they were tired of the tow rope. They picked it up fast! "Don't forget your "pizza wedge" Jeff! Turn! Turn!" I kept yelling that as I watched him picking up speed going straight down the hill. "I don't need to turn Mom. I like going fast!" He had a couple of colossal wipe-outs that humbled him a bit.

It was Mara's first time on the slopes too. She also caught on very quickly. The only glitch for her was that she left her snow pants at home and had to ski in her pajama bottoms!!! :)

Over all it was a very satisfying day. We hope to do it again . . . if we can afford it!

We Clog!

The clogging recital and special production (two different shows) marked the end of our crazy Christmas concert schedule. Mara and Emily have worked very hard over the past three months to catch up to their classmates after taking six months off for our sabbatical. It all paid off and they performed beautifully.

This is Emily's "free style" dance. It is a solo dance of a certain number of measures that they make up themselves. Emily also did an a'cappella solo that was terrific!

Mara has a smile that truly sparkles!

Getting the make-up and glitter on before the performance. Mara said, "I was sooo happy backstage! Clogging is my life!" It's a good thing to like something you spend so much time doing.