Silas, Hazel and daddy found a little spot for sledding next to the ski lifts – no sleds allowed on the ski area but still this was fun.

I’m trying to teach Silas about Mondrian with these colored blocks. Unfortunately I’m finding that 3 year olds don’t have a big interest in art history. Instead he found the most entertaining thing to be knocking our celebration down.

When jogging home I came across these nice night lights at the south end of the Seattle streetcar thing that connects south lake union and central downtown. Apparently the area is called McGraw square. There’s a similar light feature down by centurylink/quest field. The days are starting to get longer now, so the won’t be much more night committing.

With sunshine and slightly warmer temps in the forecast I had to go back a few weeks to find another pic from Seattle’s snomageddon. This picture highlights Hazel’s current lack of sledding skills. But the good news is that the kids both get along well and they both enjoy the snow. Maybe we’ll find ourselves tubing in the big leagues up an snoqualmie pass this weekend. Right now it’s a wait and see.

We headed up to Snoqualmie Pass for one more lesson with Tom and the Alpine West crew. As you can see here, the highlights aren’t always skiing. We tend to spend a lot of time playing in the snow too. Silas found the “climbing spoon” which provided him with a great deal of entertainment. Overall, teaching a 3 year old to ski doesn’t seem like it will lead to the end goal of ski skills. But as long as we have fun trying, I suppose we’re all good. The fact is, he likes skiing a lot. It’s just the stopping that he’s not fond of.

Last week turned out to be a great week for recreation on the streets of Seattle. We had two solid snow days where our steep streets were difficult to navigate in a car, but they were easily enjoyed on skis or snowboard or sled. This was Hazel’s first sledding adventure and she had a great time. Our various winter acclimation activities with Silas also appear to be paying dividends. He had a great time racing down the hill and even managed to walk up the hill himself when I wasn’t pulling along. The most interesting thing about a Seattle snow day is the similarity to an Atlanta snow day. For the most part, Seattle and Atlanta are nothing alike, other than the futility of our sports teams. But when the snow comes down, the cities buzz with excitement and for the most part, shut down. It’s always exciting when the snow comes down.

I took Silas and Hazel over to BF Day Playground during the afternoon sunbreak. He’s riding on his stable 3 wheel scooter and singing a song that mommy taught him. After most of the snow thawed out in Seattle, we were able to enjoy the flat blacktop surface. We even spent a little time working on the states with the big US map.

The NW winter continues going strong up in the Cascades. Another double digit (inches of) snow day. Of course this means the crowds were pretty big. Fortunately, Brett and I got up there early and managed to get in some great runs before we gave up on the 20+ minute lines. The winds and heavy snow meant we weren’t ready to bring the kids, but it was a good day for the big kids. But I’ll say this. I think the lines on chair 2 are pretty rough. I think we need some comparisons on time spent in lift lines at the washington state ski areas. I think chair 2 at alpental would be the champion.

We had an unexpected second day of inclement weather that began with an ice storm and turned into a day of steady snow. Silas and daddy sliding the hill while Hazel stays dry in the BoB.

Seattle got a great “snow event” this morning with at least 3-4 inches falling on the hills of Fremont. Seattle easily is the best city in the US for sledding in the streets. With steep streets and limited plows, there’s always a place to go for a slide. Today was exciting because it was hazel’s first chance to enjoy sledding in Seattle. We took a few rides down the street with the whole family. As you can see, hazel was taking a pretty passive approach. Silas was well protected with his ski helmet and cute owl helmet cover and I think he was trying to mimic the helmet’s googly eyes in this picture.