car-go ship car

Owen created a cargo ship car for the Cub Scouts Pine Wood Derby.  It wasn't the fastest car of the day, but it won for "funniest".  He did a great job with the design, cutting and sanding, and painting.  He had a lot of fun working on it this year.

ben turns 4!

As the holidays wind down, the McManus family prepares for another big event- Ben's 4th birthday!  We had a low-key party with the Muhly's on the Thursday of his birthday, opened more superhero gifts from our families and ate a yummy pirate ship cake.  On Saturday we had Ben's birthday party, which he chose to be Pirate themed.  Richard and I enjoyed preparing for this one- the whole family dressed up and prepared extra costumes for his guests.  Ben's friends from the current and his old day care were able to come, as well as Valerie, Maggie, and Laurel.  We had pirate crafts, a pin the treasure on the map game, pirate cupcakes, and a pirate ship pinata full of booty.  Ben enjoyed the entire party and his guests had fun as well.

closing out a wonderful year

After Christmas, we packed up our winter gear, and Dad and the Muhly family joined us in Sunriver for a long weekend of snow fun.  It was cold, but dry and covered in snow.  The first night, we went ice skating.  It was the boys first time.  Ben made it for one lap, but Owen did well and made several laps with Richard.

Susie and Todd got our family a dog sled trip for our Christmas gift, which we did on Saturday morning.  It's not something I had ever considered doing before.  The dogs are amazing athletes, and they love running and pulling the sled.  We learned a lot about the sport plus had a beautiful ride through the Mt. Bachelor forest, with clear skies and mountains around us.  All of us loved the experience.

Owen took another ski class. He did a great job and enjoyed it. Richard got a few runs in on the powdery snow as well.  Ben and Laurel went tubing down Sunriver's sled hill.  Ben loved just playing and rolling around in the snow- and there was plenty of it.  Owen and Laurel enjoyed the hot tub on the deck of the rental house, and made use of it while it continued to snow on their hair.  We all enjoyed playing games and doing puzzles and watching movies and football and had a great time together.

Back in Corvallis, we spent New Years Eve with the Muhly's, Dad, and Russa's family.  Richard and Russa cooked up a Mexican themed dinner.  We did our traditional Wii Dance off, and did a big toast at the East Coast New Year.  Owen and Andrew both made it up for the West Coast New Year as well, though he was pretty beat on New Year's Day.  We took down all the Christmas decorations and stored them for another year.  We prepped for Ben's upcoming 4th birthday, and then said goodbye to Grandpa after a wonderful visit.