Ice Skating, Birthday and Christmas!

Campus Park is just a block from our house.  In the summer it's a fun little playground and baseball field.  In the winter it's a fun little playground and an ice skating pond!  Z, being born and bred a South Dakotan, has decided to take up the northern sports and recently insisted that he be taken to the skating pond.  Now, I am not a good skater at all, so Nathan gamely took Z down to the park.  I expected them back within half an hour, but when almost two hours had gone by I was ready to send out a search party.  But they finally came back, bringing pictures with them. 

 They also took video, but blogger is being annoying and not letting me upload videos, so we'll have to save those for later.

Then, of course, I had my 40th birthday.  Yikes.  But it was great fun.  Nathan and Z prepared a lovely repast of cheeses, meats, bread, and this delicious cake.  We all had fun eating and celebrating.  Then Lisa came and took the kids for the whole night while Nathan took me to Sioux City to see Cirque de Soleil.  Amazing.  I had never seen it before, either in person or on tv.  I think it's best described as a grown-up circus; a combination of acrobatics, dance and music that is stunning.  The strength of the performers was literally almost unbelievable -- they seemed to defy gravity and the laws of physics.  After the circus we went to a bed and breakfast for the night.  I have such a wonderful family!

 

And just a couple of days later we celebrated an early Christmas with Amah (Lisa) at her house.  It was the wonderful chaos of Christmas breakfast, Christmas presents, and happy family.