Quick Recap

Here are a few of the highlights from January and early February before we moved. We had several going away parties, a final time being the artist docent for Delilah's class, a final spa time in our Rye home,
and an opportunity to attend a forum on prison reform at the United Nations. I also squeezed in a quick trip to Wisconsin to see Cannon swim at his last home meet at the University of Wisconsin. Between my church schedule and his swimming schedule, I literally haven't seen him in years, so it was wonderful to reconnect!!

Skiing, Tubing, and Our First Guests!

We didn't think it was going to snow enough after we moved here to take advantage of the numerous ski resorts near us. But a blizzard came through! (A blizzard that nearly did Chris and me in because of all the shoveling we had to do of our driveway...will definitely be getting a snow blower next year!)
The girls haven't been skiing in two years, but they picked it right back up. We went to Butternut for a lesson and they can now ride the chair lift and ski down by themselves. Delilah is very comfortable on greens, and Noelle will be fine as soon as she gets a little better at stopping...she is so light that it is hard for her to exert enough friction on the snow to stop flying! :)
After three weeks, the Blinds came up from Manhattan. Artie was ill, so just Jennie and Alexa came. Jennie doesn't ski and Alexa has hardly ever been, so we thought tubing was a better idea. Had a great time tubing, although there was a bit of the friendship-drama that often comes in groups of three. Built a fire both nights they were here and made s'mores. Also attempted to make an igloo on the back porch that turned into more of a fort.
I think the snow is gone for good this year, but we certainly enjoyed the last bit of it as much as we could!

Museums, geography exhibits, the symphony, and Broadway!

The Pittsfield library hosts a geography expo every year and I signed the girls up to participate. They chose Costa Rica to study because of the incredible family vacation we had their a couple years ago. They learned a lot and did a fantastic job of creating their display. There were about 30 countries represented at the Expo, and upon entry each child was given a "passport" and had to go to all the displays to get stamps and to learn basic facts.

We also went to our first local museum last week, The Berkshire Museum, and we loved it! The bottom floor is a tiny aquarium, and the first floor has a hands-on discovery area for children, as well as a "miniature" natural history museum...it's literally miniature: all the figures are tiny! We didn't explore the 2nd floor, or even all of the first, because the girls had so much fun everywhere else. Any photo that doesn't have the children in it was taken by either Delilah or Noelle.

 We also took the girls to Williams College to see a kid-friendly performance of Holst's The Planets. Had a wonderful time and we were thrilled to learn a few weeks later that one of their favorite babysitters, Madeline Rawson, will be starting college there in the fall!!!!

 And speaking of culture, I was thrilled to join Kim in Manhattan to watch Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd on Broadway. We had a great lunch together, then saw the matinee...it was absolutely incredible and I can't believe I got to go!!

Our New Home!

We are slowly but surely getting unpacked. The girls loved getting to pick the colors for their bedrooms and bathroom; Delilah got new bedding; Noelle got a new bed and a decorative net. The backyard was especially fun on a surprisingly warm day after some snow. More pictures to come after we get more settled!