RJ turns 14

RJ's actual birthday was on a Monday. St. Agnes was supposed to be off ... but too many snow days changed the plan. 

So RJ was under the weather and had to go to school. But Sara pressed on ...

due to sickness RJ wanted soup and bread for dinner (it was actually quite good!)

RJ with a 'small amount' of gifts

Gifts included: knee hockey stuff, rocketry, some cool games like Murdle, Oreos, ski goggle glass replacement, earth metal tools, some cool clothes, some not-so-cool clothes, and a credit card.

Best decorated (and most self-serving) gift from Julia ... Caps logo on back was awesome

By desert (cheesecake!) RJ wasn't feeling very sick or tired!!

RJ pre-birthday at Whitetail

As a birthday warmup RJ invited friends (Milo, Samuel, Cody) to ski with him at Whitetail and enjoy pizza in the lodge.

Boys line up on top of Jib

Boys covered the entire mountain while Julia hung out with Summer and Poppy.

The boys discover a HUGE mound of snow at the top of expert's choice. The next day the ski-patrol Nazi yelled at RJ for doing this exact same thing.

RJ and his big fan Gunner hanging out for pizza at the lodge

Julia, Poppy, and Summer were the first ones to the table (boys were skiing hard!)

Julia and Doug passed the puck on a frozen pond at Whitetail (we went to a pond where no 'Karens' would see us)

Lake Barcroft Rink

Thanks to a long stretch of sub-freezing temps there was a LOT of frozen lakes. We went to see the Moeller family at Lake Barcroft.

Look at that ice! Awesome!!!

After a bit of skating all over the place the boys found a hockey game. Sara got to know the owners of the house (a construction family) who built the rink.

RJ and Doug in the game ... notice the couch and fire in the background!

RJ and Hudson from CHA4

Hockey was pretty high quality. After the game we found out that we were playing with two guys who played in college (Tufts and Oregon).

Trains 2025-26

Trip to North Dakota, travel hockey, and general over-scheduling could have cancelled trains ... but we powered through. 

Day 4 of setup

Julia helps with track cleaning (RJ did a lot of the wiring this year)

Doug's grandmother's train was rolling this year

Ceramic village, street closures and backup

Whitetail mountain took on new life this year! Big parking nightmare.

Arial view

Skating with Amelia

Julia wanted to go skating ... so we picked Saturday at 2pm on a holiday weekend. Yes ... there were a few people there.

Julia and Amelia before skating

End of session - Julia is the one pointing in the middle with pink helmet. 

Doug managed to get some skating in as well. Sadly he was the the 'self-declared' best skater on the ice.

Hockey week in Canada

Sara and RJ headed to Niagara Falls for a weekend hockey tournament. Julia and Doug stayed home and tried to save money by eating stir-fry and leftovers.

All aboard the UA puddle-hopper

Nice ... room overlooked Niagara Falls

Opening Ceremonies with pin swap

Opening ceremonies were long but kids got to swap pins with other teams. 

Weather was warmer than it looked!

Crossing back-and-forth between countries (did not require the notarized form)

RJ and Hudson at the Sabers game on the last night

Hockey Results:

Well ... 0-4 sounds pretty bad ... but each game was a 1-2 goal affair so there were not any blowouts. RJ had a goal and got to play center because some folks didn't make the trip.

Julia and Doug got some quality time with Legos and some household stuff

New Year at Whitetail

Fireworks at 10pm and uncrowded slopes made Whitetail a good way to ring in the new year. Kids friends were all there to add to the fun.

9:30am ... where is everybody?

Getting the new year off to a good start!

Sara kept the streak of one of the family being sick on New Year's Eve alive. She got a doozey of a sinus infection.