Anna in her Noah outfit celebrating the end of the play

This week was Anna’s third grade play. This was a big deal because for the first time ever they were on the big stage in the festival hall. Anna took this all very seriously. The play was the story of Noah’s Ark and Anna was given the role of Noah. She practiced her lines every evening until she had it completely down. But she was still nervous when Friday rolled around.

We went to watch the play at 5pm on Friday evening. There was a role (or two) for every kid but Anna had by far the largest part. She acted her part beautifully, not stumbling on any lines and of course, I am biased, but I think she was the star of the show. Many of the parents came up afterwards to tell her how amazing she was. She was so pleased because she had worked so hard for it.

Anna after the play with some roses Marcy bought for her

After the play we kept our regular routine with Anna and I heading up to Keystone. Anna slept well on Friday night, getting almost 11 hours. She was happy to get to ski team and from what her coach said she had her best day on the slopes yet. She is definitely becoming a more accomplished skier as the season goes on.

We drove back to Denver on Saturday night and today we had another lazy Sunday. Anna didn’t get out of her pajamas until 3pm while Jude spent a lot of the day playing with the neighbor kids. The big project of the day was setting up my old computer for Jude so he can use it for school work. He has a major report on Mississippi and will be typing it on the computer. We are even going to try to use Siri so he can speak the words into the computer rather than typing them.

Pickles in her new bed

Finally, we have had Pickles two weeks now and she is already part of the family. She has a new bed and she spends most nights (we think) sleeping on it downstairs. The kids especially love having a kitty around the house – they are constantly giving her attention. And they are doing well on their chores of feeding her (Anna) and cleaning up after her and grooming (Jude).

Anna goes night skiing for the first time

On Friday night Anna and I went up for our regular trip to the mountains for Anna’s ski team. This time, though, we decided to go night skiing at Keystone. It was a nice warm night and there was hardly anyone on the slopes so we had a good time.

Then on Saturday Anna had ski team in A-Basin for the first time. She had what sounded like the worst fall she has ever had hitting her head on a tree. She was ok (thank god for helmets) but she was a little shaken up. After a relaxing bath we drove back to Denver where there was a winter storm coming.

Anna sleeping with Pickles in our bed on a lazy Sunday

We awoke on Sunday to a blanket of snow. It continued snowing throughout the day and it was windy so we did not venture out much. Anna laid low as she was not feeling 100% after her fall on Saturday. Jude was full of energy, though, and went sledding with the neighbor kids for a couple of hours.

Jude shows his style over a jump they made sledding at the park

It was nice to have a low key Sunday where we could relax at home and watch some football.

Our new arrival, Pickles, explores her new home

Our weekend began on Friday as I arrived home from my work trip to San Francisco at 6pm. Then it was off with Anna to the mountains for Saturday’s ski team. I looked at the weather and there was supposed to be snow by 10pm so I thought leaving at 7pm we would be fine. I was wrong. It was a nightmare drive with two major accidents and we didn’t arrive until just after 10pm. When Anna awoke on Saturday morning she was exhausted and didn’t feel up for ski team. So, we hung out in the morning and then drove home Saturday afternoon.

Anna trying out Pickles at the pet store

But the big news of the weekend was our new cat. We have been thinking about it seriously since the New Year and then Marcy and Jude went to the pet store (they are a satellite adoption location from the Denver Dumb Friends League) on Saturday and discovered Pickles. Then this afternoon Marcy took Anna to the store to see if she would react because of her allergies. But she was fine. So, we brought home our new cat. The kids are both beside themselves with excitement.

Jude loves Pickles

Ice skating in front of the huge Christmas tree on Keystone Lake

This week actually began in Des Moines, Iowa where we awoke on New Years Day to the coldest temperature I think I have ever experienced: -17 degrees. That’s fahrenheit (it would actually be -27 celsius). We packed up the car and drove back to Denver. The temperature slowly climbed as we drove west and when we arrived in Denver it was a relatively balmy 20 degrees.

The kids did not have school this week so the kids had various play dates with school friends during the week. Then on Thursday Jude spent the day at a new school, The International School of Denver, shadowing their sixth grade class. It is very different to Waldorf but Jude reported it was a positive experience. We are looking at various options for Jude for next year as he enters sixth grade, which is the middle school years.

This weekend I drove up on Friday afternoon with Anna in preparation for her ski team on Saturday. We had renters staying at our condo so we had to book a resort room. It was by Keystone Lake and Anna loved it. We went out for dinner and then ice skated on the lake. Then we were up bright and early for ski team on Saturday morning.

Marcy served Jude breakfast in bed for the first time

Meanwhile back in Denver it was just Jude and Marcy. She spoiled him on Saturday morning by giving him breakfast in bed. It looks like he enjoyed it. They also had a fun time with one of the neighbor kids who often comes over. They played this game where you had to see how many marshmallows you could put in your mouth and still say “fluffy bunny”. The answer for both kids was four.

Jude and our neighbor stuffing marshmallows in their mouth

Marcy and Jude came up late on Saturday and we moved back to our condo. Then today Anna and I were up bright and early for her first ever ski race meet. I was the volunteer starter so I was able to see Anna at the start of both her races. She had giant slalom in the morning and slalom in the afternoon. I thought she did really well, she was certainly one of the faster kids for her age but she was disappointed not to get a medal (there were 30 girls in her age group). Still, she enjoyed the experience and is keen to keep racing.

At the medal presentation for the ski race