Family Ski Day at Alpine Valley

 Over mid-winter break, we finally made it out to Alpine Valley together.  This year, for whatever reason, has been exceptionally tough for us to find a day that works for all of us or that works with the weather.  Evan and I went out in January one evening, but this was the first day we all four went out together.  It was an awesome morning on the hills!  I'm so glad we got out butts out the door early to enjoy the freshly groomed slopes before the afternoon sun made them more slushy/sticky.  

Evan and I had a goal to go down every single hill and ride every lift (which isn't hard to do since there aren't that many at AV, but it was still fun to accomplish).  Sean and Scott skipped one hill that was pretty steep and narrow at the top.

We had lunch in the lodge that we packed and brought.  Sean enjoyed hot chocolate and Evan picked a cinnamon roll from the cafeteria.  When we went back out we let the boys ride up the lift together in front of us.  We each picked our favorite run to do before we decided to head out since the snow condition was deteriorating.  On the way home we stopped at Kickstand Brewing Company in Commerce to try their beer and enjoyed some half off pizza.  It was a fun day!

Sean's Ypsilanti Wrestling Tournament

Sean competed in his last tournament of the season in Ypsilanti over mid-winter break.  This time Nana, Pops, Matt, Mindy, and Luka were able to come out and support Sean.  He weighed-in Saturday morning because his practice/weigh-in was cancelled Thursday night due to the snow storm.  He weighed about the same he usually does - 81 lbs - but instead of the 80 and 85 lb weight classes being lumped together, they lumped the 75 and 80 lb classes.  So, he got to wrestle totally different kids!

His first match was up against a really good boy from Peer Pressure.  This kid ended up going on to get 1st place.  Sean was able to escape one of this moves and earned some points, but ended up getting pinned at the end of the first period.  

 Sean's second match, the boy forfeit.  So, Sean automatically won that match.  Boy, was he excited!  Because of that forfeit, he was now able to win a 3rd or 4th place medal.  His last match was against a boy that was pretty evenly matched with Sean.  The boy seemed to have a bit more skill, but Sean was stronger and ended up winning going all three periods and winning by points 11-9.  He was exhausted, but excited.  Third place for Sean today!

We grabbed some lunch and celebratory brews at Arbor Brewing in Ypsilanti with everyone afterwards!  It was a good day for Sean!

The Lion King with Evan

 Evan and I had tickets to see The Lion King at the Detroit Opera House last Thursday.  Since we had no school on Friday I figured it was a good night to stay out late and see the show.  It was my third time going because it's such an amazing production.  I took Sean to see it a few years ago and knew that it was Evan's turn to go.  I'm so glad we got to go, although the weather should made things interesting!

It rained all morning, switched to freezing rain in the afternoon and during our drive to Detroit it started to snow.  We just went slow and steady and added some extra time to our drive.  I pulled Evan out of school early so we could get down there with enough time for our dinner reservation.  He loved that we parked in between the Detroit Opera House and Comerica Park.  Of course he had to check out the stadium from the outside in the snow!

We had dinner reservations across the street at Karl's.  We actually have some family ties to the restaurant's owner/chef!  Evan and I split pancakes for the table.  They were huge, light, and fluffy!  We both got full of the sugary-ness of the pancakes, but we were craving something savory to compliment it.  So, we decided to order some chicken fingers and fries to share.  I'm glad we did - Evan ate a ton!  I tried the Karl's lager, which is actually made by Shorts and we enjoyed the placemat that had a crossword puzzle with Detroit trivia and the dot-to-dot.  What a cute place!

We got to the theater a little early, but it was fun to walk around and explore.  Evan bought a keychain of Simba, we got our playbills, and found our seats.  Evan absolutely loved the production, as I figured he would!  He loved the opening number the most.  He's still talking about how fun it was to go.  I told him I'd take him to see another musical in the future now that I know he likes going.  Too bad Hamilton tickets are so stinking expensive...

Another slow and steady drive home...no visible lanes and several inches of snow on the ground.  But, we made it safe and sound!  It was a late night!

Pinewood Derby 2022

 This past weekend was Sean's last Pinewood Derby with the Cub Scouts.  It was definitely bittersweet.  

Scott waited until the last minute to start Sean's car and then since he got COVID and was quarantined in the basement from the rest of us he suddenly had ample time to build it.  He built the car and Sean did the painting (most of it).  This year one of the themes was Marvel so Sean jumped on the opportunity to make a Captain America car.  

Since Sean's in the oldest den, Arrow of Light, they were the last group to go at 11am.  It was nice to not have to be there super early in the morning.  Sean won the entire derby two years ago.  It was also held in February at the same VFW.  Last year it was held in May outside at the Plymouth Township Park under a pavillion.  So, we made it a point to mimic what we did two years ago to see if that helped Sean win again....meaning we got McDonalds for breakfast Saturday morning!  

We knew right away Sean had another fast car - thanks Scott!  He won the first heat his car was in and it got exciting from there!  There was one other car in his den called "Wink" that was also pretty fast, but Sean managed to take 1st place ahead of "Wink" and win the den.  

The finals started shortly after with each den's 1st place boy getting to compete.  Since we hadn't seen any of the other dens race we had no idea what to expect.  One of the heats Sean's car flipped and took last place.  The other heats his car won.  So, we figured he was more than likely 2nd place overall and we were right.  

I'd say he had a great last Pinewood Derby taking 1st in his den and 2nd place overall for the pack!  Great building Scott and great racing Sean!