Adventures in Facial Hair

For some reason I decided in February to give beard-growing a try-- here are some photos of the result.

Slightly revised version:

All in all, I would say that it's a bit of a mixed bag. Having the extra insulation definitely helped with wintertime biking and soccer playing, but in spite of having grown out a fair ways, I never got over the "itchy" stage, even after more than a month. I think I am ready to go back to my usual shaving routine...

Winter Camping in the White Mountains

Photos from most recent CSW school camping trip, this one in the Carter Notch area in the White Mountains. Whew, makes me cold just looking at it! Everyone seems to have survived, however.

Cross Country Skiing

I am proud to say that Lydia is now a capable cross-country skier, hurray.  My mom gave her a set of very nice boots and poles this Christmas, and I found a second-hand pair of skis that work for her. Amy took Lydia for a ski lesson over at the Weston cross-country ski center, and then today Ethan, Lydia, Rustin, Michele, and I went for a ski tour at Minuteman National Historic Park, which has lovely trails. We spent two hours skiing, and Lydia covered around three miles, which was impressive for a kid her age. Photo (from my cell phone, so a little on the grainy / blurry side):

Ethan had a good time zooming way ahead with his uncle Rustin, which was fun for him too (he also has nice new equipment courtesy of his grandmother).

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, alas, but we had some good skiing while the snow lasted.