Roller Skating

So Michael really didn't want to go to the Pinewood Derby for AJ on Saturday, so I told him he could plan our day on Sunday.  So after church he decided that he wanted to go roller skating.  They have really been enjoying it!!  They both are doing excellent at it also!!!

My handsome two fellas!!!

They usually play games during the three hours of roller skating.  The boys haven't done the limbo before on roller skates.

AJ going under the bar.

Michael made it under this one. They both did really good!!!

AJ was close, but not quite.  He is a little taller.  He was also upset that people didn't follow the rules and leave the game when they didn't make it under the bar. But he had to learn a lesson that we follow rules even if others don't.

The boys had so much fun skating and so did I!  It is great family fun and good exercise also!!!

Pine Wood Derby

Yes folks, it is that time of year again for the scouts - Pine Wood Derby.  This year, with David being gone, it came down to AJ and I to get it ready to go.  He did all the work again, he drew the car, an adult cut it out, then he painted it, sticker-ed it, put the weights on it and everything.  He was so excited about it!!

Here we are at the morning weigh-in.  There are specific items that have to be met; weight, length, width, etc.  Luckily we passed all inspections.  I did have a problem with putting the wheels on though.  I broke one of the axles when trying to put the wheel on.  With some wood glue I was able to fix it.  I had to get all four wheels on the ground and that was my problem, I couldn't, but finally I was able too!  Though the wheels were a little wobbly.

We went home after the weigh-in and then here we are back again, waiting for the race to begin.

They did awards first- AJ received his one year service star award and a couple more belt loops!!  Pretty soon he is going to need a longer belt.  :-)

They are all sitting around the big race track as the races are about to begin.

Self portrait - before he raced his car we were all smiles!!!

His car is about to race for the first time - anticipation!

The boys scouts help with the races.  AJ's car is the second from the right.

His car was out front - so excited!!!!

AJ did really well, he took third in the Wolfs den.  So he qualified for the district pine wood derby again this year!  Even with the wobbly wheels.  :-)

Receiving his trophy! 

So excited that he has another trophy!!  Though he did tell me if he didn't have wobbly wheels he probably would have gotten first place.

He also received a certificate for best sticker art on his car.  It was a great day!!!  He asked if we could fix the wheels for district, I told him we would try.  Mommy can only do so much :-)

Heidelberg

So we had the pleasure of our friends coming over from Belgium and visiting with us for the weekend.  They haven't done any exploring in our area before so I decided to take them to Heidelberg.  It is in the top 100 things to see in Europe.  :-)

I couldn't help myself with this one, AJ is singing in the rain!!  Just singing in the rain!!!

I thought this was a neat shot of the town of Heidelberg - looking down on the river.

So something new that I found out, there is a train you can ride to the castle and beyond.  It is called Heidelberger Berghanen.  It is a funicular railway.   

It is the longest one in Germany today and at the steepest point the railway has a 43% gradient.

Here we are heading into the castle.  It was a little bit rainy that day, but we toughed it out!!!

This is the first time that that this arch has not been covered in scaffolding.  It is quite beautiful without all that in front of it.  It is called Elisabeth's Gate, it is a triumphal arch.  Tradition says the gate was built in a single night by Prince Elector Friedrich Vin in 1615 as a birthday present for his English princess.

My handsome boy!!  Love that smile!!!

Michael was dancing for me in front of the castle!!!  He loves to dance!!!

I still think this is one of the most beautiful places in Germany - so picturesque.

These statues are above the front gate - guarding all who enter.

 

This is the door to the wine cellar.  They have never had the curtain up before and I thought it was really pretty.  I think it is to keep the cold out as much as possible.

AJ and Michael were so excited to show them the clock.  They wanted to scare them.  :-)

This is the spiral staircase, I thought Kellee took a really cool picture of it!

The boys on top of the HUGE wine barrel!!!

One of the walls of the castle, they had over two dozen of these statues on just this wall.

In Germany they have so many cool things, including doors!  This is a neat one!

Michael was using his sniffer to figure out what is in each bucket.

Michael and Joey being Pharmacists!

Jack and AJ's turn!

They added the new interactive computer - thankfully some of it was in English.

Michael was yelling at me to take a picture because he couldn't hold it much longer.  :-)  Then AJ and Joey got in on the fun!

Michael and Joey were being silly and said they were scared to go down!

Here is the grade heading down.

After that we headed into town to find some food.  But on the way we saw a beautiful view of the castle.

Lunch at the Coyote café.  It was really, really good food and a good price also!!  The service was excellent as well!!  It was a nice break to get out of the weather and get warmer.

We walked down through the town and the boys found a Swatch store.  They thought it was the coolest!!  Kellee and I talked about how we remembered these as kids.  Brings back old memories.

And of course we had to go down to the bridge.  It is a beautiful sight with a great view of the castle!  It was a great day with great friends!!!  After that we headed back home and a basketball game for AJ.  He did great in the game!

Kids sports

So there haven't been as many travel posts lately, since David is gone and we are so busy with the kids activities we don't have a lot of time.  We also want to have David with us on our adventures as much as possible!!  AJ is playing basketball this season.  Michael decided he didn't want to until he saw his brother playing, but it was too late by that time.  I am coaching basketball this season.  I decided I didn't have enough to do so I wanted to add more onto my plate.  :-)  His team is doing great!!!  It is fun to coach his team!  The only problem with that is that I can't take pictures of him playing because during the games I am also a ref and running up and down the court.  I will try and see if I can get another parent to take a few for me.  The boys are also in karate, they just started in November and had a two week break for Christmas break.  They were able to test on January 18th, already for their yellow belts!!!  They have worked so hard, practicing almost every day at home to make sure they have everything down pat!!

Here they are waiting for their turn to show their stuff.  I recorded both their turns showing the masters, but for some reason I can't get it off my camera.  They both did it without a mistake and great form!

Next up was sparing.  Here AJ was getting all suited up.

He is all set.  They had him spar with a yellow belt that was testing for her orange belt.  He did great!

Michael's turn, gearing up.

He was the second youngest there so he sparred with the youngest, a four year old girl.  They put a master behind each one of them, one to help her and one to hold Michael back.  It was pretty funny.  He landed some really good kicks and punches, but then the masters started blocking all of his kicks and punches.  He did great!!!

Here they are waiting for their yellow belt!!!  They are so excited!!!

Taking off their white belts and yellow belts on!!!

Two of the newest yellow belts!!!  I know I have already said this but they are really dedicated to karate and I am extremely impressed and so proud of them!!  They are really enjoying learning it!!