Bermuda Shorts

When we moved here, I understood that winter was a big part of this valley, however, I didn't expect the temperatures to be so devastating. For the past few weeks whenever I walked outside, even in the afternoon, my nose would fall off....that's how bitter it has been. The temps have had a hard time reaching zero. Therefore, I have been sporting a variety of different noses, whatever I could find lying around that had fallen off of other's faces...gruesome, but true. Did I mention it has been cold. Well, today we were transported to Hawaii. It reached 33 degrees. Wow! My kids were taking off their coats, they refused gloves and hats. They thought spring had come early, and yep, I had my own nose on! It was fantastic! The forecast is calling for two more days of heat and then the temps will plummet again back into the negative 28 degrees or colder.
Amid these below freezing temps we have still had to continue on with day to day life. School is never cancelled and I still need to get milk and bread. A couple days ago, Kel and I were going crazy in the house. I didn't want to take her out for no reason, but we had had enough of being inside. So I pulled out her Christmas present that she had still not opened. I blew up her swimming pool from her birthday and threw her present in it....she got some balls from Santa. We played for a good hour, and then when the kids came home we had 100 projectiles flying through the house...still can't find all the balls and I keep falling prey to sneak attacks. Everyday Kel plays in her ball pit and it gives us a bit of color in our presently white world. And seriously, she doesn't have a mullet, her hair was just being funny.

Last Thursday was the Pine Wood Derby. Aaron doesn't have any of his tools to help Lanny make one, so we used Lanny's car from last year. There were actually a lot of kids that did that, so I didn't feel too bad. Lanny was really excited, and Aaron went insane. He was calculating totals and shushing me, because, apparently, the Pine Wood Derby is big business. So here is the ironic thing. Lanny got first place! His car was never beaten and his fastest time was never topped. The other cars couldn't touch him. All the dad's were asking Aaron for advice and Aaron just laughed. Last year, Lanny did well, but this same car came in fourth. He was even beaten by a car that the wheels had fallen off of. I just turned to Aaron and said, "I guess they know how to build them in Cheyenne!" He didn"t appreciate my comment. I didn't take a picture at the derby because I figured he'd be somewhere in the mid to top range like last year, oops! So here is Lanny the next day, being a ham as usual.