Elephants, Snow Pants and the Pinewood Derby

What do elephants and snow pants and the Pinewood Derby have in common?  They were all part of January 2012 in our house.  I'm playing catch up with our family news for 2012 so keep reading for more on those elephants and much more.  

We kicked off 2012 with our annual New Year's at Noon balloon drop.  The kids really enjoy the balloons and we even decorated a few with faces (see George's balloon).  We did the drop at noon on New Year's eve day and celebrated the new year, kid style.

Andy, Zack, George with their New Year's balloons and baby sister Mary

Did I mention in December that Joe had emergency eye surgery exactly one week before Christmas?  He had a partially detached retina which thankfully was diagnosed and treated before it got worse.  You can lose vision in the eye if it is not treated and the retina completely detaches.  The surgeon did a fantastic job.  It is a long process for recovery and complete healing.  Joe was a real trooper and followed doctor's orders.  He had to refrain from rough housing with the boys or anything that will really jar the eye and possibly cause it to detach.  Good luck with that one!  He also had to put in several kinds of eye drops a few times a day.  I think the hardest part for him was not being allowed to drive.  He was relieved when the doctor gave him the go ahead to return to "normal" activity.  He wore the eye patch to work to reduce the strain on his eye while it healed.  Joe had his last follow-up with the retina doctor just last week (April 20) and he said everything looks good.  Joe doesn't need to go back unless he feels it is necessary.

If you ever see lots of floaters or lose your peripheral vision, go see the eye doctor right away! 

Joe and his eye patch and no, he did not end up in a roadside ditch like the guy in the DirecTV  commercial with the eye patch.

The boys got sleds for Epiphany this year.  Not exactly the best winter for sledding but hey, we have them for next year, right? 

George, Zack and Andy showing us how to ride their sleds.

Andy's sled was just right.  He got to use it three or four times this winter and it was perfect for him.

George and Zack with their sleds

Zack played basketball for the first time this year.  He learned a lot this season and enjoyed the practices and games.  

Zack at his first basketball game

Zack after the game.  We had cousin Benjamin's Flat Stanley visiting us. 

Mary was three months old on January 6.

Mary and Red Butt (the kids named the stuffed animal, not me)

Pinewood Derby - Zack participated in his first ever Pinewood Derby.  He designed his car and my dad and Joe helped him build it.  It was a great learning experience.  There is a whole book of rules for this event and lots of strategy involved.  I couldn't get over the sophisticated race track.  Electronic timers with times recorded out to the thousandth of a second.  Zack didn't win anything this year but he'll be back next year.  

Zack and his den at the end of the track watching their cars race.

 The cars are taken from the staging area and loaded on the track by the adults.  Once you check your car in on Friday night, you are not allowed to touch it again until after the races are over on Saturday morning. Zack's car is the orange one in Lane 2. 

Electronic scoring projected on the wall after each race

The standings after Round 2, Zack was tied for third.  They do several rounds.

The whole track

Zack and Joe (do you see Andy peeking up there in the middle?)  They got new racing hats that morning. 

Zack and his car after the races.  Great job Zack, we are proud of you!

Zack's car

I decided to wait and give the boys the Nerf Dart Tag set for Epiphany since the last thing Joe needed was to play dart tag on Christmas morning with his eye.  Look out world, here they come!

George, Zack, Andy and Joe

Zack was our Epiphany King this year.  George made the personalized crown for him on the Curious George PBS website.

Zack the king

Yes, we did use our snow pants this year!  This was our first real snow of the season.  The kids had a late start to school that day so they went out to check out the snow.  Good thing they did, it didn't last for long.

And here we are at the zoo at the end of January checking out the elephants.  Notice the kids don't even need jackets, the temperatures where that warm.  They had a half day of school so we headed to the zoo for the afternoon.  What a treat!

Reynolds, George, Zack, Andy, Ethan and Eli

The sticker on George's shirt says, "I survived my 100th day of school".  They did lots of special activities in kindergarten that day.  He still knows what number of school day it is, they keep track of it in his classroom.  George loves counting.

George on his 100th day
It appears it was a good thing we had a mild winter since Mary didn't care too much for her snowsuit.    She wore it a few times with less fussing. 

Mary 3 months

Hi Daddy, I'm ready for work.

Andy wearing Joe's t-shirt and socks

George's kindergarten class performed the "Three Piggy Opera".  There were a few children with speaking parts.  George was part of the chorus.  The chorus had pig puppets on their hands when it was time to sing.  The kids did a great job, the show was absolutely precious.

George singing during the show

George showing me his pig after the show