Halway Day

 One of my favorite school traditions is hallway day.  This is the exact halfway point in the school calendar.  The students are allowed to dress in a way that represents halfway.  Some come with half their hair colored.  Others paint half their face.  Some wear PJ bottoms and a regular shirt.  I use those wonderful 4-H skills making the kids fun halfway day outfits.  Since halfway day comes sometime in January, I can find a few outfits on clearance from after Christmas sales.  Those that want to wear something that represents halfway day, must give half of a dollar ($0.50) so that this can be donated to the local halfway house.  What a great way to give back.

Similar to last year, I gave Izzy BFF, Bonnie, the other half of Izzy's outfit to wear.  Bonnie made the halfway day bandanas all by herself.

Skiing - Jay Peak

Last year we "stumbled" upon Jay Peak given our last minute planning for a skiing experience with the kids with lack of vacancy at nearby resort.  Because we had an unbelievable time last year, we decided to head back again this year.  Their ski school is amazing, keeping track of past students abilities.  The kids were placed in their next level classes based on their performance from last year.

There were no tears this year during registration.  I just love how tiny were the twins' skies.

 The cold weather didn't stop anyone at Jay Peak.  We were in the single digits during the days and negative at night.  My car's battery died and John had to melt the ice off the hood at one point.  Micah made the biggest gains of all the children.  When we were done with ski school he went on to say this "was the best day of my life!".  Victoria continued to be my cute snow bunny but was braver this time around.  Izzy was Izzy... social, smiling, loving this experience, making new friends and improving her skills.

 Izzy loves the magic carpet.  This was Micah and Victoria's first year on the magic carpet.

One of the other reasons we fell in love with Jay Peak is their amazing indoor water park.  This allows us an alternative to snow activities.  Similar to skiing, the kids were more daring in their choices at the water park.  Hands down the favorite was the flowrider.  Victoria though choose to be a spectator while we all took this for a spin.

 Micah took to this like a moth to a flame.  There were times where we all sat waiting for him to either fall or stop.  I'm thinking he needs to be a surfer or skateboarder.

John wiping out after trying to get up on his knees.  Micah made that look so easy.

 We all enjoy the River Run (aka Lazy River).  We can float or have races.  Izzy and Micah loved it even without the inner tubes.

 One of Victoria's favorite spots.

This year Micah braved the larger water slides.... see our brave faces!  The yellow water slide requires one person at a time without an inner tube.  With a bit of peer pressure from her siblings, Victoria also braved this the following day.  We couldn't get her off!  Amazing what she can do if she puts her mind to it.

 We rented a cottage that has a small kitchen that allows us to cook most meals.  But we treated ourselves out one night enjoying warm comfort food.

This girl cracks me up.  The drive back from Jay Peak is ~4.5 hours.  Movies come in very handy.  I would like to know what was going on in her mind at this point in time causing her to bedazzle herself!

Izzy making spins on the flowrider.

Liz kneeling on the flowrider.

ArtBarn - Flat Stanley

This was Izzy's 2nd year in ArtBarn; a community theatre group.  This year's production was Flat Stanley based off the book series.  The story is of a boy (Stanley) who wishes to do something amazing and travel the world.  Well, he gets his wish after a magical bulletin board makes him flat.  He then travels the world via the US Postal Service having several adventures along the way.  During auditions, Izzy wanted to the role of the magical bulletin board that flattens Stanley.  When roles were handed out she got her wish!  Want an excellent bulletin board she was.

The kids practiced for 4 months before performing in three different venues.  The highlight was the last production at the Coolidge Corner theatre.  They were even showcased on the theatre's marque.

 This year one of Izzy's best friends, Michael, was also in ArtBarn.  He played a news commentator.

  Michael and Izzy

  Micah and Victoria were excellent supporters.  Victoria even found one of her best friends in the audience, Amalia, as her older sister too was a part of ArBarn.

Izzy was blessed with Oma and Opa traveling to see her ArtBarn performance.  Micah and Victoria enjoyed them as well, especially playing games.

This is a clip of Izzy's bulletin board.  Unfortunately the video is too long to show her performance.  She has an amazing recovery from her wand malfunction that made the audience laugh.

To view this video, please go to the main blog.

St. Pete Beach Water Slide!

One of the most fun activities at our resort was the enormous water slide on the beach.  Despite the chilly weather on our last day, Izzy and Micah took a few turns down before we had to say good bye to St. Pete Beach.

To view the video, please go to the main blog.

Busch Gardens

We spent our final full day at Busch Gardens.  This was a unique blend of amusement park rides, attractions and live animals (12,000 in fact).

 Victoria can never pass up a carousel and enjoyed Opa joining her on this one.

 While Victoria road the carousel, Micah and Izzy road on the smaller scaled Flume.

 The Falls Flume was a hit with everyone.  This was the one ride we came back to at the end of the day.

 After a long day of walking, riding the SkyRide was a welcome relief.  This provided us with a unique view of the Serengeti animals.

 A close second place for favorite ride went to the Bumper Cars.



Fishing Charter

On Saturday Opa, John, Izzy and I headed out to do a little bit of fishing.  Micah and Victoria hung out with Oma enjoying the beach.

We enjoyed the various fowl heading out of the channel.  The pelicans were by far my favorite.

This guy joined us on the way out for a bit.

 It took us 45 minutes of traveling to get out far enough.  This was approximately 15 miles off of the shoreline putting us only in water ~40 feet deep.

 Napping can make any trip go by faster.

 One of our many Strippers.

 This was my favorite and most fascinating fish we caught; a Remora (aka sharksucker).  He could even suck onto our hands.

 Izzy working hard on reeling up her catch.

 Opa's Grouper

 John's Grouper (a different variety)

 Izzy enjoyed catching a Puffer Fish.  We puffed him up but he deflated before I could nab a picture.

The boys hard at work.

 Once we returned it was as if the birds knew we had fish with us.  Our friend that joined us on the way out came back but with company.  As our fish were fileted, these two would eat the scraps out of our hand.  The pelicans were hilarious. They swarmed the boat waiting for the scraps.  Below is our catch that we could keep and eat.  That evening we took our Strippers to Sea Critters where they will cook up what you bring in.  What a great experience for Izzy to be a part of catching the food we ate as a family.  Great life lesson.  And, just like fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh fish was so much more savory than what you buy at the grocery store.