MLV Staycation at Liberty Science Center

So it's Presidents' Day Weekend and we originally had grand plans of going away, but we ran out of time and so we decided to plan a staycation instead. It kicked off with a ski day at Shawnee Mountain and today we took the kiddos to the Liberty Science Center.

Lucia used to be scared of the Touch Tunnel and now she can't wait

Mateo feeling his way through the dark...

...followed by Lucia

This hanging bar has always been one of Mateo's favorites. He reached his goal of hanging for a minute

His sister also did a pretty good job "hanging around"

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That is one big nose

It actually sneezes when you tickle it, so look out

(Please note - Valentina was with us, she just slept in the stroller for a long while)

M&L Ski Shawnee Mountain

Woke up today, ready to go. Drove 30 minutes and 5 minutes before we got there, Lucia got car sick...yuck!

Let's hope this isn't an indication for how the rest of the day is going to go.

Welcome to Shawnee Mountain!

Mateo and Lucia are ready to go!

After a few easy runs, Lucia and Mateo got to ride the lift and go up and down the mountain.

Look at Lucia's nice wedge

Lucia  got her ski legs back quickly ...

...and so did Mr. Mateo who never lost his lead

Meanwhile, back at home...V spent the day with Aba and one of her favorite cousins...

Estella!!!

Look at these girls go

Cousin Yolaiki, Estella and Valentina had a great day

M&L Pre-Ski Time with Cousins

So ski season has kicked in and next week is my company's annual ski trip. What tends to happen every year is the kids spend the first day relearning what they learned the year before which is a waste of a day, so this year to get a jump on things and wake up their muscle memory I decided to take them somewhere local for a day. Mima was gracious enough to let us crash at her place the night before so we didn't have to wake up too early the next morning.

All the kids(cousins), and Mima, were intensely watching America's Next Top Model

And now for the lovey-doveynes between Lucia and Omega. For some reason, Omega the Rottweiler absolutely loves Lucia. For some other reason Lucia doesn't mind although Omega is probably twice her weight.

Big Smooooooooch!!!

And some cuddle time

Valentine's 2017

Although today is Valentine's Day, there is nothing Valentine's related on this post. There are, however, some cute pictures of the kids and Mateo's Ecosystem Science project game.

Up first, Valentina looking adorable eating her oatmeal and opening up her own V card.

Now on to the Ecosystem Project. Kasper and Mateo created a board game that featured desert regions, which I played and never advanced...

...I think this is a racket.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

MLV at Elysian Charter Chili Cook-off

The kids' school has a variety of fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for various activities and necessities. The Annual Chili Cookout has become both a favorite and sometimes a frustration.

Valentina is always prepared to eat!

There were over 25 chili meals to taste and I didn't bring any Tums.

I guess we will just have to pace ourselves.

Ok, so one of the portions that leads to frustration is when Eddie decides to compete and enter the Chili contest. He doesn't do it every year because it is a lot of preparation and work. One year it resulted in a broken broom and a demolished stroller. The kids convinced him to enter again this year and thankfully it wasn't too painful. He also won 2nd place for Judge's Favorite! 

Nice job.

Lucia is always proud of her Papi

Meanwhile, these 2 (V and Annika) got into their own mischief

"Come on, let's go get some more chili!"

Lucia and Mommy Have a Night Out w/ Friends

I don't often get a night out with the girls and definitely not with just one kid in tow, but today I went to a great gathering. First, drop off the girls (including Lucia) from her Girl Scout troop at a local sewing school where they would get to work on a sewing project as well as pizza and hanging with friends. Second, meet up with the moms at a local gourmet BYOB pizza place.

The only documentation of our grownup night was this picture of a wine I really liked. 

We were having such a great time we almost forgot pickup time for the girls!

No worries, they had a great time together. Yes those are pink hats..."go females!"

They were wearing these before they were a statement piece.

Alessia, Amelia, Vivy and Lucia all enjoyed the Nutella pizza we brought back for them...

It was a great night.

Everyone had "sew" much fun.

"Thanks M. Avery Sewing Studio!"

Mateo's Second Winter Recital - 2017

While I know that Mateo just had his piano recital a few weeks ago, his teacher (a very strict and proper instructor) wanted to host her own recital exclusively for her students. 

Virginia's Program

She had a specific plan to go from good, better and close with the "best" and look at who she picked for the "best"!

Sisters were in full force waiting to hear their big bro play

Sincerity...again

And Sonata in G Major ...again

And just like that - Nailed IT!!!

 He redeemed himself. He beat himself up a little last time for stumbling, but made up for it this time.

Virginia and all of her students

Mateo and Virginia

She was very proud...as was I

And not to be ignored, Lucia decided to "decorate" her face.

Just so you know her shirt reads "Lights, camera, fashion"...

...and then there is this one.

"chiliando"

V and Estella

Today was a pretty average Sunday filled with soccer practice and lazy lunches, but there were two pretty cool activities...

...the kids went to Nelsito's house where Valentina got to hang with cousin Estella, and...

...once again I helped out at the Hoboken Family Alliance's annual Mutzfest!

A good time was had by all!

MLV Try the Epiphany Cake

So apparently there is a tradition in France to bake a cake made of pastry puff around the new year. The interesting part of the tradition is that a little king and queen figurine is baked in the cake and the lucky person who gets one is crowned king or queen.

"Oh look who is the lucky winner!"

"Papi got the King!"

"And Mateo got the Queen!"

Mateo & Lucia's Winter Piano Recital 2017

Well let's get to it. Today was a great day for me because it was piano recital day. One of the reasons I love it so much is because I get to see how the kiddos are progressing and I am never disappointed.

The usual capture of the program...

...and these two are ready to go.

Of course we can't forget little V. She is not old enough for piano yet, but she is not too young to support her big bro and big sis.

First up Maestro Mateo

As you can see, he is set to go at 2. You will also see that Lucia's name is missing. That is because they actually assigned her to a recital later on today.

Mateo plays Sincerity and Sonatina in G Major

Well done, there was a little pause, but great job nonetheless.

Since we had a break between recitals, we decided to go have some fun at Elysian Park

Monkey bars anyone?

A little hide-and-seek

"I see you"

"It's the jacket isn't it? Very hard to be inconspicuous"

Alright, let's do the slides!

Hair and legs...does this position even make sense?

Even Papi got in on the action

Now for the swings

And spider web

Finally, it's time for Lucia's recital

And there she is listed under the 4PM recital

Lucia playing Musette and Dinosaur Stomp

Bravo to Mateo and Lucia!!!

You both did a spectacular job.