Model Train and Dollhouse Show

Today Mama went for her first outside bike ride of the year, while Mom and the girls headed south to Augusta to check out a model train and dollhouse show.

The show was in the Armory, which is a nice old building that is home to the Maine 240th Army National Guard.Grandma came along to help Mom out with the kids, and we also ran into Nana, Uncle Seth, and Sebastian there!

The place was packed--who knew that a train and dollhouse show would be so popular?

There was so much to look at! Lots of dollhouses, of course....

...but also lots of tiny little dolls and dollhouse accessories (which, as mom learned, are known as "miniatures").Chances are that if you can think of something that might be in a house, it is available in miniature form. It seemed like they had everything there.Of course there were also trains....lots and lots of trains to look at.

The girls got a kick out of the trains, especially the bigger-scale ones that actually had steam coming out of their stacks. They made great whistle sounds too--pretty cool!

There were lots of things to buy, of course, but Mom had a talk with the kids before we went in and laid down the law about not buying anything, so they didn't even ask, which was nice.

Surprisingly, this mirror was a big hit too. They loved watching themselves dance in front of it.Eventually all the excitement started wearing them down, and it was time to go home and have lunch.After lunch we went outside to ride bikes and await Mama's arrival home.

We cheered her up the driveway--that last hill is a killer!

After Mama recovered a little bit, she rode a victory lap around the driveway with the girls. She did 36 miles today in her first outdoor ride of 2010!

Needless to say, we are all proud of Mama for getting out there while there's still snow on the ground.

Mom's Office

Today Mom forgot to bring her lunch to work, so Mama and the girls decided to deliver it to her--wasn't that nice of them?

The kids are always thrilled to visit Mom's office, because they like to "work" alongside Mom.

Emily took it upon herself to add to Mom's "To do" list........although she did request that Mom get a lower whiteboard, please.Meanwhile Kate (and Shaggy and Daphne) highlighted some drawings........and ran some calculations.The girls had a fun time in the office, but eventually they had to leave so Mom could get some actual work done.

Pretty Pony Coloring Books

It's always so exciting for the kids when they get packages in the mail! Both of the girls received packages with coloring pages and My Little Pony coloring books from Chris's Aunt Char (Nana's sister).

Kate wanted Pinkie Pie to help her look at the coloring book and find a good picture to color.And of course Pinkie Pie found one of.....Pinkie Pie.Thank you Aunt Char for the coloring pages and books! Mom and Mama are especially grateful that you sent two identical sets, so we didn't have to have a wrestling match over whose was whose :) Yay!

Treehouse Wall Framing

For the last week or so we have been working on the treehouse in the basement. The plan for the treehouse is a platform (supported by trees) about two feet off the ground, with a ramp for access, and a three-sided structure on top, with a roof (think bus shelter). Mom has decided to build the structure now in the basement so the kids can use it as a playhouse until we can finally get outside.

Mom laid out the framing plan for the side wall on the basement floor so the kids could help put it together:

First they had to make sure they could fit inside........then they had to do some quality control checks.......and finally they were ready to start building. Mom had pre-cut the lumber so all they had to do was match the right piece to the right place on the plan. It was harder than it looked!There was a lot of trial and error........(mostly error).......but they eventually got it all laid out. After all that work they needed to take a break and do some playing (see Emily whizzing by on her bike in the photo below), so Mom finished screwing the pieces together.Tonight we finished the second side wall, and both girls actually did some drilling and driving screws (with Mom's help).

Then it was time to lay out the rear wall. The kids really got into it, using the four feet square, level, and tape measures.

There were a lot of lines drawn.......and there was a lot of counting and measuring.......but somehow we ended up with pictures of a princess and a robot on the paper, and not the rear wall layout that Mom wanted.It's not the most efficient way to build a treehouse, but it's nice to see it coming together. The kids are pretty excited about using it as a playhouse, especially when Mom mentioned that they will get to paint it too. Fun!

Better than a Box of Chocolates

After Mama's big race we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day together by climbing Mount Battie, which overlooks the town of Camden.

It was a very nice hike which included about 800 feet of elevation gain, and lots of scrambling over ledge rock.Sometimes the trail was hard to find, but we always managed to find our way using the blue dots that were painted on the rocks.We finally reached the summit, which has a very nice viewing tower (see Chris peering out from the top in the photo below).The top was windy and cold, so we didn't stay long, but check out that view!Our first date (to the Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor, Washington) was exactly seven years ago on Valentine's Day. We're hoping for another wonderful seven years together. Happy Valentine's Day to all of our blog readers!

Mama's First Race!

Most of our blog readers know how much Mama likes to ride her bike, and she has entered several fundraiser bike rides over the years, but never an actual race. Recently she has added running to her fitness regime, and Sunday she competed in her first ever competitive race (of any kind), the Love ME 5K in Camden!

The event was held at the Penobscot Bay YMCA, and there was lots of snow on the ground, but the temperature was actually fairly warm--about 25 degrees.Since it was Valentine's Day, each racer got a choice of a pair of running socks with hearts on them, or a box of candy. Can you believe that Mama chose the socks?She was a little nervous at the start, but after finding a quiet corner to do some stretching, she starting feeling better.We were planning to stay the night at our friend Hildy's house (who lives in Camden), and she came to the race to cheer Chris on!At the starting line everyone was complaining about the "cold" except Mama--she has been training for the last six weeks and has run in weather as cold as two degrees!Finally, they were off--there's Mama just in front of the woman in the yellow coat.And here she is 5 kilometers later--in a sprint finish! There was no way she was going to let the guy with a scarf beat her!She finished in 26:11, which was a personal best.Note that she was sporting a Seahawks hat for the big race--combined with Mom's Oregon State hat, we were quite the west coast representatives.After everyone had finished, we gathered back at the YMCA to hear the race results.All the times were recorded and announced, and........Mama took home first prize in her age group (30-39)! Even more impressively, her time would have also won the 20-29 age group. We are all very proud of her.A very impressive result for Mama's first ever race!

New Swim Caps

Look who'll be making a splash at swim lessons this spring!