Hitting the Slopes

My parents hosted my family and my sister's family this weekend at their mountain house. My dad would love if we made it up there more often, but between everyone's schedules it's difficult. We had a wonderful time and are very grateful for their generosity and patience (with my 4). 

My sister and I grew up on skis. We both became snow boarders in high school and never really went back to skis. EJ was also a snow boarder and we had many great adventures together :) I haven't gone since I became a momma. Pregnancies and motherhood and struggles with chronic pain have made me quite gun shy about getting back on a board.

I thought this was the weekend. I was nervous but willing to give it a shot. Then Mason woke up on Sat morning throwing up. I was not about to leave him behind (he was disappointed) and leave my mom with 4 kids, one with a stomach bug.

Owen had a blast.

 He is already trying to convince us to go again, this upcoming weekend

I played taxi driver back and forth to the slopes (5 times). One of the trips, I took the younger two so we could have a peek on Owen's progress. He had a 1 hr lesson which really helped. EJ skied in order to help Owen more.

On Sunday, we decided to go snow tubing. Mason was feeling better and we could include Ryan too. The weather was perfect (I do not like being cold). We had a great time being together.

Avery stayed with my mom. She didn't meant the height requirements. It was fun hanging out just the 5 of us, but it definitely felt incomplete. It's amazing how natural/normal 4 kids feels now.

Each run down was a "race" of course. Always so competitive ;)

A Girl and Her Shoes

If Avery suddenly disappears, she is likely here. 

 

The girl has quite a shoe collection (hand-me-downs) and she visits it frequently. Her tiny (size 4.5) foot only fits in about 3 of the pairs, but she doesn't let that stop her. I am constantly picking up or tripping over scattered shoes.

Ironically she flings her shoes off the second we get in the car or when arrive someplace. She much prefers being barefoot yet she is constantly putting on shoes when we are home.

It's going to be so much fun when it's clothing too ;)

A Sweet Start

My mom works at the boys' school 2 days a week. It's quite a commute for her, but I am so glad she does. She usually pops over 1 of the afternoons, just long enough to say hi and witness the craziness of our homework sessions ;)
Yesterday, the 2 hr delay helped ease us back into the school routine. These snow days have been hard on Mason. He is my home body and would prefer to stay home and play. Two extra days at home causes some sadness. Owen on the other hand, doesn't necessarily love school, but he doesn't like being stuck at home either.
A special treat from Grandma made the morning brought smiles. She has been waiting for a good excuse to stop at the new KK on her route to school :) The delayed opening helped. Her teacher friends and our lucked out!

Before our 5th Snow

After early service on Sunday, I packed a quick picnic and loaded everyone back into the van. EJ was not due back until late afternoon from our church's men's retreat, so I decided to get us out of the house until nap time. The weather was gorgeous 70ish and ice and snow was heading our way.
We threw a Frisbee and kicked a ball, walked and looked at some farm animals, although most were missing and Ryan was very disappointed. Everyone was happy, that's hard to do these days with our age span. Yay!
Despite my efforts to ignore the forecast, hoping that would keep the snow away, we still got 3-4" and the kids missed both Mon and Tues. Tomorrow is a delayed opening. What a winter this has been!

Championship Game

The Ducks may not have won on Friday night, but they didn't go down without a fight. It was such a fun game. The crowd was more enthusiastic than normal with posters and noisemakers, etc. One mom even had a special shirt printed with her son's picture on the front!

We wore lots of green and yellow. One mom provided a duck whistle for each family. Ryan quickly took charge of that. Even Aunt Lissa came with her green sweater and beautiful yellow earrings ;)
I could not take pictures during the game. Too much cheering to do. Afterwards, both teams received trophies. See Avery in the center? She is not intimidated by the crowds. 

Their trophies are quite large. EJ received one too. So now we have 2 large trophies :p Ryan has claimed EJ's as his own and carries it around the house with him. I should have planned a trophy shelf in the basement. Hmm...
Mason's team finished up this weekend too. We officially have no sports going on (for now). Wow!