spring break ski trip

At Christmas, Grammy and Gramps blessed us with a ski trip to Colorado with them.  We've been anxiously waiting since then.

Sunday morning, we loaded up early and hit the road.  We, of course, stopped for donuts along the way.  It was a tight squeeze, but we headed west in the mini-van.

Not to Colorado yet, but the plains of Kansas can actually be beautiful.

The 12 hour trip was passed with color books, audiobooks and snacks.  The way out never seems too long.

Our cabin was nice and spacious.  The only complaint was that they were still in the dark ages and there was absolutely no phone service and no internet!  We found out quickly how much we rely on those things to check things like recipes and weather.  Not to mention anything about other forms of entertainment.  Good thing we all had books to read and games to play.

The game plan was to spend the first day teaching Jason and Isaiah to ski.  They were both newbies, but took to it quickly!  There were a couple of really funny moments, jumping off the ski lift and speeding out of control down the mountain, but by the end of the day they both had the hang of it.  Although, their day eneded before the lifts closed, so Dad and I took advantage of the time and hit up some blue runs.

The boys had fun playing with Grammy in the snow for the first time this year!  They even built a snowman.

On day 2, Amos, Silas and Grammy joined in on the fun.  We spent the first half of the day teaching them how to use the lift and snow plow down the mountain.  

Silas woke up in a bad mood and wasn't too sure about any of it.  Amos was up for trying anything, but he still had to learn the feel of the mountain.  They took a break after lunch and Jason and I got to go back out just the two of us.

The next morning, we left the boys at home and went back out.  This is when Jason really started to figure it out and started having a blast.  We really started covering some ground.

This is right after Jason landed a back flip!  I joke!

The boys and Grammy joined us again for a half day of skiing.  Silas was in a much better mood and really started improving.

Amos got down the turning and stopping.  Both crucial for skiing down the mountain.  Once he figured that out he told us he wanted to go by himself and for us to watch him.  After he did that on his own he spent the rest of the day going up and down the bunny slope.  Jason asked him if he wanted to take a break.  He said, "No, I just want to keep doing this and get more better."

It was so much fun to get to ski with our family!  

Thursday we just spent in the cabin and doing a little shopping in Salida.  The boys even went on a little hike with Dad and Gramps.

And Friday we drove home.  Not surprisingly, the trip felt a little longer going that way.  Maybe it was because we all had trouble walking everytime we stopped to get out of the car.

Even though we were glad to be back home and sleeping in our own beds, the trip was AWESOME and we can't wait to go again.

conrad jay - week 44

Beware...Conrad's got the hair cutting scissor...

Conrad has been slowly transitioning to taking milk from a sippy.  He’s been really easy and laid back about it, but that’s how he seems about most things.  He’s moving all over now and finding more things to get into.  In the last few days, he’ll crawl to the gate at the top of the stairs to the playroom and just sit there listening to his brothers play.  He wants to be where they are and now that he can do something about it, he tries. 

Ivan has got the silliest/cutest expressions going on this week.  He pays so much attention to other people, that he’s learning to work his expressions to match the situation. Most of the time, it results in my cracking up.  He also wants to everything that’s BIG!  Everything.  Not yet, not yet, not yet, my son.

Silas is always my first one outside. No matter the temperature!  And if not outside, most of the time he’s building with Legos.  He loves all his brothers and us too.  Lately I’ve seen how closely he notices details.  He’ll remind me when we’re all out of something or notice a subtle feeling someone has about something.  He’s got the big countdown going for SPRINGBREAK!  Every day….how many more days until skiing???

Amos is always thinking.  If he’s not crafting some Lego spaceship, he’s designing an adventure through art, on paper, or crafting a story to share.  He leads the charge most days, but when he’s ready for a little more peace and quiet, he’ll grab a book and find a secluded place.  He’s a good leader for the crew. 

This week’s movie night brought an old, old favorite….The Brave Little Toaster.  Who didn’t watch this one growing up??  The boys loved it and I’m sure we’ll be watching it again.

Sunday brought haircuts for the boys.  We reached our end of the attempt to grow it out.  No matter how long it got, I don’t think Silas would have ever managed to keep it out of his face.  And when they hate you brushing it and want it short, what can you do?  I think they turned out pretty good.  I’ve got lots of little heads to practice on.  However, they are a lot harder than big ones.  

That's it for this week.  The weather has cooled off again and we'll be spending most of this week prepping for our BIG trip to Colorado!  Last night we worked on our ski-jumps and watched a four year old skiing.  We are all inspired.  Or frightened...

conrad jay - week 43

Someone's found a new place where he's just tall enough to see out the window.

I'm sure he wanted to be on the other side, but his favorite was to make faces at Ivan and later Daddy as he came home from work!

On Silas' special day, he chose the game we would be playing.  And he picked one of his favorites.  As you can see, he's working very hard at it.

Meanwhile, this little one was working very hard at crawling, and he figured it out!!  He's still been a tentative crawler this week, but he's getting around.  Our slick hardwood floors present a little bit of a challenge for a new crawler.

On Thursday, we were going to meet up with friends for lunch, but when our plans got changed, we improvised!  We headed to a closer park and had it all to ourselves.

Conrad and I hung out on the blanket most of the time and the boys ran around playing.

Later, the youngest three got in some high flying on the swings.

One of my favorite scenes.  Some days they play so nice together.  Others don't go as smoothly.  This week, Amos has been going off and doing some things a little more independently. It's presented a chance for Silas and Ivan to figure out how to play together.  There's always more conflict between the two of them, but they did make some strides this past week.

More examples of his new skills.  The cabinets are always a favorite.

On Saturday, we busted out some Christmas gifts that take a little more time and thinking.  Amos was working on circuits and Silas with magnets.  They sure are little thinkers.  And Ivan was around just in case things needed a little messing up.

Amos' special day was Sunday.  He and Dad went to the park all by themselves and then picked up ice cream!

Monday brought an outing for our newly formed nature group.  We had fun, despite the wind, looking for rocks and marching along.

What a joy to share God's Great Outdoors with friends!