Saturday the 20th was our third ski trip of this winter season. Not bad for mid-December! Kathi had to miss our first two days on the slopes (first time we had one sick, then another). This time we had the whole crew, again at Whitetail.

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Melanie was on skis for the first time in 11 months. Last year she never quite got up to speed, and today was more of the same. She will ski between legs, or holding a hand, but that is about the current limit to her courage. After a day on the bunny hill Kathi took her a little further up the mountain, and she did okay. Hoping she will do a little solo skiing by the time we make our overnight trip to Wisp next month.

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Back on Sunday the 14th the kids had their semi-annual piano recital. This time at our house. Kayleigh and Thomas each played one solo, and one duet. Evelyn has just started taking lessons herself, and asked if she could play at the recital too.

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Here is Kayleigh, in action.

It's birthday time around here, again. See below some pics and clips of previous years' Thomas birthday celebrations.

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Click the slideshow link for even more photos. Years 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, and 2003 are represented.

Yesterday Thomas celebrated the ninth anniversary his birth. My how the time flies by. To celebrate we made the short trip to the outdoor ice rink in Manassas. Lynne was coming from Oakton to meet us for the festivities.

But the ice rink was closed. After a cool start to winter, a brief outbreak of global warming pushed the air temperature just a little too high to keep the rink frozen. We improvised and crossed the street to a local burger joint, Foster's Grille.

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We capped it off with a short walk through old-town Manassas, checking out the lights, and the passing commuter trains.

We had a plan for this past Saturday: a plan to ski. Last month at the ski expo the Whitetail folks gave us seven coupons for free early-season skiing. Now it was time to use them. But what ever goes according to plan?

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Melanie awoke looking quite ill, and complaining about ear pain. Kathi and Jeffrey reluctantly offered to stay behind, and take her to the doctor. And it was a good thing they did, as she was diagnosed with two ear infections, and one eye infection. I have had experience with ear infections, and the pain was excruciating. Melanie is a tough one. Get well soon.

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It's feast or famine when it comes to northern Virginia and snowstorms. We have had some snowy winters here, and others with no snow at all. Most of our wet storms come from up from warmer areas down south, so even in winter rain is the norm. Every once in a while a storm will run up the coast when we already have some cold air in place. Then it snows.

December 5, 2005 was one of those days. When it snows here be sure to get out and enjoy it. These photos are from the small hill in the common area behind our house.

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Last Friday we made our first ski trip of the season. Thomas and Evelyn and I spend the afternoon at Hidden Valley, in the Laurel Highlands of western Pennsylvania.

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Thanksgiving weekend is one of the best times to ski, as everyone is home from school and from work, and most non-skiers are out shopping. The main problem with early-season skiing in the mid-Atlantic is the climate. Local resorts make most of their snow, and this requires cold temperatures. We hit Wisp the day after Thanksgiving back in 2005. The last two years have been too warm.

This year Mother Nature has been cooperating. For several weeks now cold air has been streaming out of Canada and south across the Great Lakes. This means plentiful lake-effect snow at the higher elevations, and excellent snowmaking conditions just about everywhere.

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Skiing in the mid-Atlantic is definitely hit-or-miss. Local ski areas are very dependent on weather, more so than resorts in other parts of the country. And the weather around here can be fickle. This year we are off to a great start, with some cold temps and amazing amounts of lake-effect snow (thank you Lake Erie). Two ski areas opened today (Snowshoe and Seven Springs), and at least two more will open over the coming Thanksgiving holiday weekend (Wisp and Hidden Valley).

Winter 2005 got off to a cold start also. The day after Thanksgiving we made the trek to western Maryland for some opening weekend skiing at Wisp. The plan was to take the whole fam out, but Kathi had a freak accident as we were packing the van. She cracked her toe stepping over her snowboard binding. She dropped out, and stayed at home with Evie and Melanie. Tough break, as this was to be her first day on her new board and bindings.

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Keri stepped in as a last minute sub. The early season conditions were very nice, and we had plenty of time for laps on Wisp Trail. We even got a peek at the new North Camp runs on the back side of the mountain. They were blowing snow all day, but the new runs werent ready to be opened yet.

Our fall Saturday schedule has included alot of time spent watching the kids play their weekly games on the soccer fields. One recent Saturday afternoon we supplemented our usual game schedule with a trip to Hartland Orchard, in Markham, Virginia. Apple picking seems to have changed over the years, from a necessary agricultural labor, to a fun fall afternoon activity for the whole family.

And it was fun. The weather was beautiful. Perfect, really. We were a week or two late for most of the harvest, but there were still a few apples on the trees. And there were plenty of apples and cider for sale at the nearby farmhouse.

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Back in May of 2006 Kayleigh had a dance recital...

Lynne, Kristin, and Laura joined us in Haymarket for this big annual event. Afterward we went out for an early dinner. Of course Kayleigh got to choose where we would dine, and she picked a local Japanese restaurant. Japanese? Every time I think I have these kids figured out they find a new way to surprise me. I had no idea even what to order. The kids helped me.

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