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Our third snowfall of the year has started. We actually got our first snow two months ago, on Andrew’s birthday. He was supposed to have a soccer game that day, but it was cancelled. We had some more snow a few days ago, but it was mostly flurries and didn’t amount to much. It looks like we will get an inch or two tonight, with more coming Tuesday.

The Cincinnatian in me still loves the snow. I suppose at some point I will get used to the fact that it is a more regular occurrence in IA. Hopefully the kids will be able to get out to play in it over the next few days.

We had a bit of a Winter welcoming this weekend, and just in time.

• Last week we put up our outdoor decorations.
• Saturday morning we got our tree, and put the lights on.
• Saturday night we celebrated Wintergarten with the Des Moines Waldorf Association.
• Sunday morning we prepared for the Winter term of Susan’s Bean Sprout Parents & Tots class.
• Sunday afternoon we went to Winter Magic at the Des Moines Art Center.
• Sunday evening, just as some snow flakes were beginning to fall, we lit a fire in the fireplace and decorated our tree.

I will get some pictures up ASAP. Our computers are our of commission right now.

Erin, Eric Martinez, and I ran in this year’s Living History Farms Cross Country Race. We had a great time and plan on doing it again next year.

Susan and the kids made it out to cheer us on and the kids tried their feet at a creek crossing (there were nine in the race).

It took us a minute to find the sweet spot in our new neighborhood and it was pretty cold and misty, but our first Beggars’ Night was a success.

» View Pictures

PS – I forgot to mention that there was one guy who was passing out hotdogs. He was grilling in his driveway and he told us that he buys 400 of ’em. Interesting.

Tuesday marked the end of the soccer season. Andrew played and I coached, and we both had a good time. We plan on doing the same in the Spring, and Mari may be joining us. I am not quite sure if she is ready to start yet, but I think she may be planning on it.

Andrew turned six a couple of weeks back. We had a big party the day before his birthday, in conjunction with his friend Bianca, who was turning five. This party involved a parade, skyline, cool weather, cool lighting, and cool people.

The day of his birthday was more chill. Soccer was cancelled because of the snow so we hung out at the Reagens’ some and then headed to Mimi & Papa’s for dinner.

» here are some pics from his actual birthday

Once I get some pictures from the parade I will post those.

We used to deal with diapers, pacifiers, and baby monitors.

Now, it is soccer, school, and Capoeira.

Where has the time gone?

Two years ago the pacifier fairy paid a visit to our house in Cincinnati to take Andrew’s pacifiers. Elliot stopped using his pacifier when he was one, so the only one left was Mari. Heading into a long weekend we decided it was time for the Pacifier Fairy to come visit again. We hung Mari’s pacifiers in a basket in a tree in the back yard and, sure enough, the pacifier fairy came again.

» View Pictures

Our weekend started off well, with a bike ride on Saturday morning. It ended well, too, as today was spent biking, at the Iowa Cubs game, and the Iowa Midwives pot-luck for dinner.

The bike ride this morning actually wasn’t too great, as I was headed to meet our naturopath to talk about my pink eye.

The I-Cubs game was fun. It was nice to see some baseball, and it was cheap and easy. The only problem was that I kept cheering for the other team by accident, probably because they looked a little like the Reds, and the I-Cubs look like, well, the Cubs. The other team was actually the Albuquerque Isotopes.

The Iowa Midwives pot-luck was a lot of fun. I feel like I knew most people there, and the ones I didn’t know I was glad to meet. There was Capoeira, belly-dancing, guitars, food, & good weather.

We just got back from a great bike ride with our whole family, the Reagens (Susan’s sister’s family), and the Liesses, Susan’s parents. We start off by Erin & Nate’s house, and rode along the river for about an hour. We stopped for lunch at one of the beaches along the river. The kids had a great time playing.

Then we had to ride back to our cars.