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.

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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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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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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Kayleigh and Thomas are on the swim team again. Practice began after the pool opened Memorial Day weekend. We will be there each weekday evening, until school lets out (end of this week) and practice time moves to the morning.

Time trials were held this past Saturday. This is the first of eight early morning swim meets. Last year during June the kids had to deal with cool weather, and cold water. This year we are having a heat wave, and a thick, muggy fog shrouded the pool area.

This year Kayleigh has graduated from of the eight-and-under division. This means she swims two lengths of the pool (50 meters) instead of one. She will be working on her stamina, and her turns. Here she is swimming freestyle:

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The Canon Digital Elph has been kept busy since the arrival of Numero Cinco last week. For a slideshow of all of the to-date photos of Jeffrey, try clicking here.

[slideshow of all Jeffrey pics]

We had quite the surprise late, very late Saturday night. Kathi unexpectedly started labor just before midnight, and just a few minutes later we were enroute to Prince William Hospital in nearby Manassas. The official time of birth for Numero Cinco was Sunday at 6:30 AM, May 18, 2008. Yesterday Kathi turned in the Form SS-5 (Application for a Social Security Number Card), meaning Numero Cinco actually has a name: Jeffrey David Hansen.

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The original plan was for Kathi to report to the hospital Thursday, May 29. She had an appointment for an induced labor. This was two days before her due date, and fit her previous pregnancy experiences. She had never been early before. Kayleigh and Thomas both arrived overdue. Evelyn and Melanie also waited, and were induced.

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Sunday, April 27th was the third anniversary of Melanie's birth. Her birthday celebration filled the entire weekend. The festivities started Friday afternoon with a short party at our house for several of her neighborhood friends.

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Saturday evening Lynne hosted a party for Melanie at her beautiful home in Oakton. Lynne treated us all with a delicious meal of grilled ribs and potato salad. Kristin and Laura provided entertainment, with some of Melanie's favorite activities: blowing bubbles, opening gifts, and tossing the ball to the pups.

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Then Sunday our neighbors next door joined us for one last birthday party. We grilled fish on the backyard grill and enjoyed what was left of Melanie's big Costco birthday cake.