V-day up at Keystone

We had one more weekend trip up to Keystone planned for this season, and as a bonus the Werners were going to join us for our final day.  The first day was cloudy and kind of cold.  The kids did well, it was just so cold!  I can't complain too much though because we had the mountain to ourselves, and Daxton was skiing well enough that we could all ski together which was awesome!  

The next day was Valentine's Day and it was a much more pleasant experience.  We had a delicious pink breakfast of strawberries and crepes up at the hotel.  The sun was shining, and it promised to be a perfect ski day. 

 

Making our way to the mountain.  Have I said before how ingenious these wagons are?

We found the Werners pretty quickly and the kids loved it.  The kids are all roughly the same level so they can just go without worrying about leaving anyone behind.  Greg and Jeremy stayed up top with the little boys for the first part of the day while Ashley and I took the rest of the kids around the mountain.  

When we met up for lunch, poor Kelton decided that he was just too exhausted to continue.  He fell asleep at the table and slept there for almost two hours.  When he woke up he was doing much better and we were able to squeeze in a few more runs together as a family.  

Daxton was comfortable enough by then that he enjoyed going on the bumps with the other kids.  The kid adventure zones were a huge hit for everyone, and I was really happy that Daxton had enough control to make it through without too much trouble.  However, teaching a kid how to ski is exhausting!  My obliques were killing me by the end of the weekend simply from hauling him up and around.  

I insisted on one family picture before we left for the day.  The view from the top of School Marm is one of my absolute favorites.  Maybe we'll be able to find a way to find more passes before the season is over, because I know the kids are not ready to be done. 

38 only comes once

Jeremy's birthday this year was pretty low-key.  The most exciting part about the whole celebration was probably the wrapping of his presents.  Apparently we were completely out of tape, so Cambrie wrapped his presents in the crock pot, the insta-pot, the paper towel roll, and a tissue box.   

He received a random assortment of gifts this year.  He got some new mugs, a bendy drill bit, training fuel, new work pants, and some tickets to...Celine Dion!  He has said that he would love to see Celine Dion in concert, but I do not want to go to Las Vegas to make that happen.  Back in November I saw that she is going to be in Denver over spring break for one show.  Yea!  Now we can see her perform and not have to go anywhere.  Happy 38th birthday hun!

Snow sculptures

Things have been a little crazy around here lately.  I ended up with the flu which knocked me flat in bed for four days.  The first two days jeremy was at work, so I have no idea what the kids did while I was sleeping.  I'm pretty sure they ate their way through an entire Costco sized box of Eggo waffles.  On Sunday I was glad that Jeremy was home because the kids needed help, and I needed to go to the doctor.  Come to find out, I had THE flu.  They always say you should get the flu shot each year, and every year I ignore them because you can never be sure it will even be effective.  Well, now I know why they make such a big deal of it.  I just feel bad because I'm pretty sure Daxton and McKenzie also had it, but we did nothing for them except let them sleep.  Mine became a little more complicated in that I ended up with an ear infection and a perforated eardrum.  That was absolutely excruciating.  I think I scared the kids with how much I was howling.  That rotten eardrum changed a lot of plans: we couldn't go skiing the next day, I can't fly to Arizona with Jeremy on Friday, I can't swim for a month, and I can't hear out of my left ear.  Those are just the highlights.  It is absolutely miserable not being able to hear.  Unfortunately when I'm forced to be homebound I become really, really cranky.  I decided I needed to have some sort of adventure before I exploded, so I risked the altitude change and drove up to Breckenridge.  We haven't been up to see the snow sculptures in a couple of years now, and I missed them.  Daxton didn't have school, so he was my buddy.  Luckily Jeremy didn't have work either so it was the three of us on an adventure.  

Daxton loved finding giant icicles as we walked around.  

The sculptures were pretty impressive.  I had a hard time choosing a favorite, but there were plenty to enjoy.  

Daxton's favorite.  

Side one.  

Side two.  

I was just really glad we were able to get out of the house and go have some fun.  

Finally Four

This goofy kid has been counting down since McKenzie's birthday for his own.  He wanted to party all day long!  Unfortunately he is my only kid who has to deal with going to school on his birthday.  I made him go to school after breakfast.  What a mean mom I am.  

But as a consolation prize he received a crown that he wore all day.  

After he got home he kept asking about that pile of presents on the table.  "Can I open them yet?  Can I open them yet?  Can I open them yet?"  I told him that once everyone was home from school then we could open his gifts.  4:00 couldn't come fast enough.  

Finally it was gift time.  He got a Mac truck he's been asking for for years, a swing for the basement, Guess Who, and a Lego marble run.  

Cambrie wasted no time at all helping him set up his marble track.  

For his cake he requested an Optimus Prime cake.  We had gone to the store looking for an Optimus Prime figurine for the top, but just found a standard Transformer instead.  Jeremy ended up doing some fabulous fondant work for the kid and he was thrilled.  He had a fun surprise of having Papa and Dantley here for his birthday, and they helped celebrate. This goofball is four-years-old!  It's an age that seems just right for him. 

Playoffs at Lambeau

On a complete whim, the boys decided to take a weekend trip out to Green Bay to watch the Packers battle the Seahawks.  When I say "a complete whim," I mean they talked about it Tuesday night, bought tickets on Wednesday, Dantley and Bruce flew out on Friday, they all flew to Green Bay on Saturday, they watched the game Sunday, and flew back on Monday.  Judging by their smiles though, I think the spontaneous trip was well worth it.  It didn't come without its fair share of troubles.  The first obstacle they had to overcome was that their flight to Chicago was cancelled because of snow just an hour before they left for the airport.  In a frantic search they found another flight out to Minneapolis that they could barely catch.  We rushed them to the airport and they rushed to their gate.  Unfortunately Dantley realized he left his bag in security.  While he dashed back to get it, Bruce was running interference so they wouldn't take off without him.  Unfortunately he didn't get his bag (he had to turn around to catch the flight), and the flight attendants were not happy with their delay tactics. 

 Once in Minneapolis they needed to stop at the Mall of America to buy D some new gear.

  

The irony of that, was that the only cold weather gear he had with him were his boots...which he left at the hotel the day of the game.  Luckily the snow that was forecast for the game didn't come in full force and the guys didn't freeze.  Don't they look amazingly happy to be there?  

It was a dream come true for these guys to watch a game at Lambeau Field.  The icing on the cake was that the Packers won!  Sometimes crazy weekends are exactly what we need.

McKenzie is in double digits

McKenzie's birthday was on a Sunday, as well as being a family party this year which meant that it was a pretty low key day for this amazing girl.  Cambrie helped me stay up the night before so that we could cover everything in pink balloons and pink streamers.  Waiting for her at breakfast was a crepe, smoothie, and sweet party sunglasses.  

We opened presents after church and the girls were introduced to the "Heavy, heavy hang-over thy poor head.  What do you wish with a bump on your head?"  I was shocked the girls haven't heard of this game before, and I got a silly sense of joy watching them play.  

Bob came to watch McKenzie open her presents too. 

 She received a medal rack to keep track of all of her gymnastics medals, fencing for Bob, and a fun silk robe for when she preps for her gymnastics meets.  She requested lava cakes for her birthday cake, and those are probably the easiest birthday cakes ever to prepare.  The candles stayed up better in her ice-cream than the ooey, gooey cake.

The next day McKenzie and I went to go get our nails done.  I didn't take a picture of her in the salon, but she looked pretty adorable while the stylist did her nails and pampered her a bit.  

Here are 10 things I love about McKenzie:

-She's a sweetheart

-She works so hard at gymnastics

-She wants to be helpful, and makes my life easy

-She quite literally has too many friends to play with them all

-She has a pretty adorable smile

-She always wants to make the right choice

-She can put the boys to bed when they won't cooperate for me

-She's willing to be adventurous

-She loves being pretty with her hair, make up, dresses, and tiaras

-And she's a great example to me of patience and kindness

Happy birthday sweetheart!

Skiing Daxton

Immediately after driving home from Utah, we went up to Keystone for a family ski trip.  It is so much easier staying up in the mountains when we've got kids to get up and down! 

 We decided that it was going to be the season that we teach Daxton how to ski.  Last year he loved it when I carried him down the hill, so we decided we might as well give it a shot.  The first day on the mountain was a refresher course for all of the kids.  Daxton hung out between our legs as we familiarized him with how it felt to have those skis strapped to his feet.  

After lunch time we decided that we were comfortable enough with his skills that we'd take him to the top of the mountain.  He loves the tippy top because that's where the snowfort is!  Overall it was a successful day for everyone, even if it was a little cold.  

The next day was colder.  We went up to the top of the mountain pretty early and it was a mistake.  Daxton was cold and crying as soon as he hopped off the lift.  It's a long way to the lodge from the top and he didn't have the strength or will to deal with it.  I carried him the whole way down just trying to get him somewhere warm.  After lunch he and McKenzie stayed in the lodge while the four of us went and found some great tree runs.  We didn't stay out too long, but felt like it was a good time to call it a day.  Back at the lodge Daxton asked to go out again.  We stuck on the bunny hill and that's when things really started to click into place for Dax.  He wanted me to use the leashes and let him go on his own.  He had the biggest smile on his face!  I couldn't have hoped to see a happier kid than that on the hill.  

After three runs the other kids were done on the bunny hill, but Daxton could have kept going.  This bodes really well for the rest of the season.  I'm so proud of that kid!