Start Your Engines!!!

Last Saturday was our ward's annual Pinewood Derby. Eric volunteered to run it and so we have been steeped in it for weeks. The trophies have been at our house for the last month and Noah has been eyeing them in hopes of bringing one home to keep. This was his last Pinewood Derby and I must say we were all hoping the best right along with him. Pinewood Derby is a huge family affair in the Ciminski house. We start about 6 weeks before the event discussing what the car will look like. Noah has always designed the cars himself so they tend to look a little different than the usual derby car does. Once Noah designs it, Eric cuts it while Noah supervises. Noah then sands and sands and sands. Then on to the paint job. This for Noah is just as big a deal as the design and again, a lot of thought goes into it. Once I get my marching orders, I pick up the paint and he tells me how to paint it every step of the way. Noah is a decal and sticker guy so we can't forget those. Noah said that he liked this year's car the best. It's a stretched Mini Cooper.

After it was all said and done, Noah won 2nd place overall. The whole family was excited. Noah has been carrying around his trophy and placing it where he can always see it. I believe that right now it's in his window sill with the window open so he can see it from the street when he walks home from school today.

Here's Noah with our Cubmaster Bro. Bianez who dressed up as Evel Knievel for the occasion. Bro Bianez is a great Cubmaster. I wish every ward could have one as great.

100!

6 weeks ago in an effort to be more active, I set a goal to walk 100 miles by April 1st. I mapped out a 3 mile walking route in my neighborhood and got to work. This morning I am happy to report that not only did I meet my goal, but I have time to spare. My goal now is to get in another 100 miles by May 1st. I challenge all of my readers to get out and start walking as well! No matter where you live, if you accept my challenge, drop me a line and let me know. I will keep a list and then we will see how we all did come May 1st. A great program for mapping your own personal route can be found online at http://www.mapmyrun.com/. Keep me posted on your progress!

Snow!

Tuesday and today we have received a fair amount of snow. It is still snowing and coming from Arizona, it's still very novel for us and the kids. Today was reminiscent of living in Flagstaff about 15 years ago. Big, soft, pillowy flakes and everything is quiet. After school I went out with the kids and we had a snowball fight. We even built a snowman that Heber named Joe Bob. Here is a picture of our handiwork. I'm pleased with him. I think others were too because more than a few people have stopped to show their kids or take a picture.

The Knitting Chair

In the past 3 houses we have lived in, I've had a workroom. Each one has been a great place for me to be creative. Eric has always been SO VERY gracious to me in this respect. One of the first things he would look at when purchasing a new home after the basic bedroom needs were met was a workroom for me. Am I lucky or what? In our present house over the garage is my workroom. It's a room that's a little out of the way and right outside the door is a work desk that has built-in filing cabinets, a bookcase, and a place for the family computer. This is where I keep a lot of my books and files of projects and ideas I have. Up to this point I have always been in the business of making things to sell. Scripture totes, personalized baby things, and custom purses to name a few. Until now. For the past few months I haven't really spent time in my room because I stopped those business ventures for now and the room wasn't inviting. I would walk in there and the way it was set up was so utilitarian that without 50 of something to make I felt weird. Eric told me I should make my workroom into a retreat. Clean out, redecorate, and make it a real place to relax as well as a place to create. Boy, he was right and I was off and running! I cleaned everything out and reorganized. This alone took a couple of weeks. (surprising how much stuff I have) Then I saved up my hinge money and bought this...

The knitting chair. I love it! This is the first step in many. I'm still saving for other things I want to add, but this is the first installment and I am thrilled with it. Needless to say I spend MORE and MORE time in my room now. It's a great place to knit, read and just think.

Ollie

Today we had to put Ollie down. It was one of the hardest things we've had to do. We had that dog before we had the kids. 12 years is a long time. We will miss him. He was so great with our boys as well as the neighborhood kids. He even helped some of those neighborhood kids overcome their fear of dogs. Gentle and protective and true to his breed, the backyard sure is empty without him.

Just in time for Valentine's Day...

I have been working on Eric's socks for quite some time now. A little too long if you ask me. I made these socks using a different technique than I normally do and I guess I was a little intimidated. The second sock only took me about 10 days, which all things considered, is good for me. I really like the way they turned out. Especially the stripes on each sock matching perfectly down to the last row! I know, I know, I'm sick in the head. But like I tell my boys, "Anything worth doing, is worth doing WELL!". If I'm going to knit 15,000 stitches per sock, I'm doing it right. Eric loves them and plans on wearing them on Sunday to church. They fit him just perfect. I cast on his zippered sweater this afternoon and I'm presently working on the cabled hem. Wish me luck!

One of the great things about living in Texas....

I came across this article from Forbes Magazine indicating that Collin County rates second in the nation in getting the most bang for the buck as far as spending per student in relation to graduation rates and SAT test scores go. I am very pleased with the schools here. Out of the 5 elementary schools they opened in our district last year, ours was the only one that scored an exemplary rating. This is rare for the first year of operation. When we moved here we definitely looked at the school factor but it didn't drive us to our present locale. I guess this was just an added perk! http://www.friscoisd.org/documents/schools-taxes-education-biz-be.pdf