More Skiing Fun

Will has now been skiing four times in the last week and a half. He is definitely enjoying it. I lucked out and found a sunny seat by the window to enjoy my coffee and watch the boys.

 

Learn to Ski

Will decided he wanted to learn how to ski because several of his friends go every week.  We usually have hockey but this week the stars aligned.  We took him for a lesson at Bittersweet on Wednesday night.  His instructor was also a hockey player.  After two trips up the "Magic Carpet," Will graduated to the ski lift.  By the end of the lesson he had mastered the snowplow and "pizza turns" and was working on "french fry" turns.  His instructor said his skating skills definitely translated to skis. After his lesson, he stayed to practice for a few hours and ventured up and down several of the large hills.  On Thursday the boys had a half day, so I took him back up to meet up with a group of friends.  Despite only having three hours on skis, he was able to keep up with the pack and even went over a few jumps.  We had to leave to go to hockey practice and then he spent another 2.5 hours playing on his coach's backyard rink.  So much exercise but his legs weren't tired!  Since there was no school on Friday, we went back and he skied for 5.5 hours.  I ran into a lot of parents I knew so the time went by fast.  

 

Mid Winter Shootout Elite Tournament - Runners Up

The KWings played in the Mid Winter Shootout in Kalamazoo this weekend. Their first game was Friday night and the KWings beat Orchard Lake 5-4. On Saturday morning, they got to play at Lawson and were able to watch the WMU Bronco hockey team at their 7am practice. Unfortuantely, they lost their game against Jackson Melling 4-8. In the afternoon, they came back and beat the Southwest Michigan Freeze 7-3. Will had a great goal (video below). That win put them in the championship game on Sunday against Jackson Melling. They were tied 2-2 after regulation, and still tied after a 5 minute overtime period. We ended up losing in a shootout which is a hard way to lose a game. The coach had the kids over for BYR hockey which put a smile back on their faces.

 

BYR Fun

Will's coach has a pretty amazing Backyard Rink and he had the team over today to play.  They started arriving at 8am and we finally had to call it a day at 12:45 when a crack formed in the sunny corner.  We brought over hot chocolate and donuts for the boys to have as a snack.  They had so much fun and made some great memories. 

 

Birthday Cakes Through the Years

 

This is the first year I did not make a birthday cake for either of the boys. Will opted for an ice cream cake when he turned 10 so naturally Alex wanted the same thing. Here's a trip down memory lane:

Will's 1st Birthday - Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Will's 2nd Birthday - PBS at the Playground

Will's 3rd Birthday - Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Will's 4th Birthday - Bowling

Will's 4th Birthday - Snoopy Cake with Family

Will's 5th Birthday - Cars

Will's 6th Birthday - Michigan Teams

Will's 7th Birthday - The Lorax

Wills 8th Birthday - Harry Potter

Will's 9th Birthday - Baseball

Alex's 1st Birthday - The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Alex's 2nd Birthday - Construction

Alex's 2nd Birthday - Thomas cake with family

Alex's 3rd Birthday - Thomas

Alex's 3rd Birthday - with family

Alex's 4th Birthday - Planes

Alex's 5th Birthday - The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Alex's 6th Birthday - Peanuts on Ice

Alex's 7th Birthday - Pokemon

Alex's 8th Birthday - Pokemon

Alex's 9th Birthday - Zelda

Alex’s Birthday Party

 Originally, Alex wanted to wait a few weeks to celebrate his birthday with a few friends.  But, on December 26, he decided he wanted to go to Airway for a small party.  Fortunately, we were able to get it booked and the 6 friends he wanted to invite were able to come.  They had fun bowling, had pizza and cake, and played laser tag.  Alex had so much fun!

Birthday Fun

Alex woke up to our traditional decorations: door streamers, a giant “10” balloon (tie dye colors this year!), and lotto tickets hanging from the ceiling.  He also had a nice pile of gifts.  We opened a few before his hockey game and saved the rest for after.  He’s a luck boy!

 

Stand for his Glasses - handmade by Uncle Ken

Plasma Ball 

Moon Light

Items from the Rock Shop