An interrruption and a catch-up

I was doing really well at blogging about our Israel trip--for a while.  And then life got in the way.  William stopped taking naps, taking away that lovely 2-3 hour chunk in the middle of the day that I could work and get things done.  Sad sad sad.  At the same time, I got some new responsibilities at work, which has kept me very busy.

So, I am going to interrupt my trip pictures (I know, you were sick of them anyway) and give you a quick post with a few pictures of what we've been up to for the past couple months.

Snowmageddon 2012
We had SNOW!  We had nearly a week off of school in January due to a big storm that gave us about 8 inches of wonderful snow. 

The first day was magical!  It was so beautiful and the kids spent hours playing outside.  They came in for hot cocoa and dried their coats and boots by the fire. 

The second day we got an ice storm on top of the snow.  Even David didn't have to go into work (that NEVER happens).  We had a great day of sledding in our neighborhood.  Everyone in the neighborhood was out enjoying the snow together.  It was another fabulous day!

By day three, it was not so magical.  It started raining and the snow was too slushy to play in during the day.  We played games and stayed inside and baked.  We started to get a little (a lot) stir crazy.  Needless to say, the kids were excited to go back to school the next week. 

Pinewood Derby
David and Ben spent countless hours (some during that week off due to snow) building Ben's pinewood derby car.  I guess all the hard work paid off, because Ben's car got first place! 

Ben with his trophy and winning car - Pinewood Derby 2012

Ben checking out the times on the chalk board--seeing if he was still in 1st place

Ben's car on the way to victory!

Cute cupcakes we made for the pinewood derby

Ballet
Kate started taking ballet again.  Her previous ballet teacher moved, so we had to find a new dance studio.  She doesn't know anyone in her class, so she is trying to make some new friends.  But, she really likes ballet and is glad to be dancing again. 

Off to ballet

 After the snow melted, we've had rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  William is super cute in his yellow rain coat. 

Valentine's Day
I got a little carried away with heart shaped food this year.  But it was fun!

Valentine Sweet Bread

Heart Pancakes

Heart Pizza

I didn't even take pictures of the red velvet cake!

I had to make baked oatmeal in this lovely heart dish

 I got a new camera lens for my birthday back in December.  We finally had a couple days without rain so I could go try it out.  I love it!  I made my kids (unbrushed hair and all) stop playing for a minute to pose for me.

In other news, Sarah is playing flute in the pit orchestra for the spring musical, "The Sound of Music."  It is coming up soon, so she is super busy with that.  I have loved hearing her practice those songs around the house!

We went on a relaxing trip to North Carolina over mid-winter break and Ben had a birthday.  I will post more on those things soon.