Winter Weekend Away

Scott's job has so many wonderful benefits that we enjoy, but perhaps one of our favorite perks is the annual trip with the employees and their families to Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park. This is our 3rd year to go on this trip, and each year we find even more new opportunities for winter fun. Here are our favorite highlights from this year...

• Skiing at Sol Vista on Saturday (this was our first time for all 4 of us to ski together at the same time)
• Saying goodbye to the bunny slope and hello to the quad chair lift up to the top of the mountain!
• Teaching the boys to ice skate
• Roasting s'mores over a bonfire by the light of a (nearly) full moon
• Going night sledding with tubes and toboggans
• Snowshoeing on nearby trails
• Staying in a cabin with 7 other families and cooking dinner each night
• Spending time with friends old and new

Luke & Mom on the bunny slope.

He didn't need much time to warm up ...

he picked it right back up quickly!

Reid ran into this new friend on the slopes!

He asked all kinds of questions about "that tiger."

"Why is that tiger skiing? Is he going to ride the ski lift?

What if he falls down? Is he nice? What is his name?"

View from the top! We rode the quad lift to the top

and skied down as a family. What a milestone!

Dad helped Reid along the way.

Luke is skiing totally on his own now!

It was fun to watch his confidence grow

and feel so comfortable coming down the mountain.

Scott and his sidekick Reid

On Saturday evening, the employees have a staff meeting.

Jami took the boys and joined some friends

for an evening out and about.

First stop ... the ice skating rink!

Pushing milk crates along the ice is

a great way to learn to skate.

3 crates for Luke!

Sometimes it's just as much fun to push...

as to be pushed.

Behind every great man is a strong woman.

Luke's friend Audrey gives him a little push...

Roasting s'mores by the bonfire

We wrapped up the evening by tubing on the sledding hill.

Tubing has become a favorite tradition on this trip,

but we added a new twist by going at night!

Let them eat pancakes...

It would be an understatement to say that the boys like pancakes. They LOVE them! We make a big batch of Swedish pancakes on the weekend, so they can have them throughout the week. We've been known to make pancakes in the shape of airplanes and hearts, and we even have a new griddle pan that makes them with zoo animal faces! We heard that our favorite of breakfast places -- Snooze -- was having a special event in celebration of National Pancake Day (which also coincided with Fat Tuesday). Say no more ... we were on the road for a random trip to Denver to feed our pancake obsession!

We ordered these pancakes du jour ...

• Peanut Butter & Jelly (Luke's favorite ... it's the one with the ooey gooey swirl in the photo)
• Sweet Potato (Reid's favorite)
• Pear with Blue Cheese (Mom's favorite ... yes, it sounds funky but it was divine!)
• Pig in a Blanket (Chocolate chip pancake with bacon folded in with a caramel sauce!)

There was another bonus to this special pancake promotion. Money from each pancake sold was donated to the Denver Urban Gardens, who has a mission to bring local urban gardens to Denver and educate children in local schools. This is also a cause near and dear to our hearts to support local farmers, so this Snooze visit was certainly a win-win!

Cold Day. Warm Hearts.

We skipped the flowers and chocolate this Valentine's Day and opted for brunch at Sundance Mountain Lodge followed by an afternoon family outing we all love ... sledding! It was a chilly day, but we braved the windy weather to try some new tricks on Toboggan Hill, including mastering the snow jump with our Zipfy sleds.

Papa and Reid (he's hidden by the snow spray)

Father and son sled together.

Luke catches some air off the jump. Woohoo!

The best way to warm up after sledding ... hot cocoa and cookies! Reid is all smiles about that!

:::::::::::::::::::::

We spent some time on the more technical side of the sledding hill with some ramps and jumps. Luke LOVED it ... Mom, too! Enjoy the videos below. (Just push the arrows to play ... for some reason, the video images aren't showing.)

Cupid's Questions

On this Valentine's Day, we thought it would

be fun to interview the boys about what

they "love."

:: LUKE ::

What food do you love? Grilled cheese

What do you love to do in the winter? Build a snowman

What's your favorite color? Green

What do you love to play most? Lego Batman

What movie do you love to watch? Star Wars

What do you love most about school? PE/Gym Class

:: REID ::

What food do you love? Mac-n-Cheese

What do you love to do in the winter? Play in the snow

What's your favorite color? Blue

What do you love to play most? Indiana Jones

What movie do you love to watch? Superman

What do you love most about school? Going to the library

Be Mine, Valentine.

There are some lucky little girls

getting valentines from these cute boys!

Happy Heart Day!

QuickTrip.

Some of the best trips are quick ones. Jami jetted to Wamego for the weekend to meet our new niece Gracyn and to celebrate nephew Dalton's 3rd birthday. What wonderful memories to see sweet Gracyn in her newborn days! She is so precious and such a good little baby! She's a great shopper already and joined us on our Girls Morning Out to hit some local stores! Dalton's tractor-themed birthday was quite the festive occasion on Saturday night, complete with "This Little Piggy Went to Market" Pork Loin and Ice "Cream of the Crop" Cake for dessert! Papa Jim had also been visiting the Wamego crew last week, so early this morning Jami helped him drive back to Colorado today. Quick trip ... but lasting memories!

Little sister. Big brother.

Aunt Jami & Miss Gracyn

So cute, cute, cute!

Family photo at Dalton's birthday party

The Quick Brown Fox

This weekend, our backyard had a special guest: Foxy Roxy. She lives in our neighborhood, and she makes an appearance from time to time. She decided our backyard was a good spot for a nap.

Catching some shut eye.

Ooooh, she's awake!

Making a getaway.

The quick brown fox jumps over the fence!

Photo Credit: Scott captured these photos. Well done!

It's fun to swim at the YMCA!

Since it's the middle of winter and we're spending more time inside, the indoor pool at the YMCA is our destination on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the boys' swimming lessons. Both boys have just 2 other students in their classes, so the small class size is ideal ... and they are having a blast!

Miss Jennifer and Reid

One day after class, Reid's teacher Miss Jennifer shared with us that he really likes to SING during his swim lesson. Too funny!

Miss Corinne and Luke

At the end of each swim lesson, the teacher asks the kids to share one skill that they learned or improved. One day, Luke responded that he liked doing those "blobs" ... or bobs ... where you bounce up and down in the water.

Alliteration.

Leahy lads with long lashes lap up lactose liquids.

SuperReid.

It's a bird.

It's a plane.

It's SuperReid!

Luke & Lego Indiana Jones

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Luke who turned 6.

His one wish was to have a Lego Indiana Jones birthday party.

What kind of cake to serve at a Lego Indiana Jones soiree?

Why ... dirt cupcakes in camo papers, of course!

Luke was so excited for his birthday adventure!

We even had a special guest appearance by

Indiana Jones himself! He read a story to the

children to kick off the party.

After the story, the children went on a hunt for clues

to find the treasure! First stop (here) the mummy gallery.

They also searched for clues in the snake pit,

gooey food containers, and ended up ...

... finding the treasure chest at the end,

complete with goody bags for the kids!

Happy 6th Birthday, Luke!

The birthday girl who curls.

We have been known to sidestep the traditional gift-giving and go for more of the "gift of experience" from time to time. Ballroom dance lessons. Indoor skydiving. A cooking class. Flying lessons. Some are practical. Some are fun. And others are just funny. Jami's 33rd birthday gift was exactly that.

On the morning of Jami's birthday, Scott asked, "What is one Olympic sport you've always wanted to try?" Although the original guess of the luge was not correct (hey, wouldn't that be a kick!) Scott revealed a fun surprise gift he had arranged for Jami's birthday. CURLING! Yes, that Winter Olympics sport that resembles shuffleboard on ice. We have always joked that perhaps someday that would be our ticket to the Winter Olympics. After all, it doesn't look that difficult. Oh, how wrong we were!

A little history about curling... It originated in the 1500s in Scotland when people would hurl flat river stones on the ice. Today, it is quite common in Canada and is known to be a very social (and courteous) sport.

On Friday evening, we headed over to our local ice rink for our "Learn to Curl" class. Members of the Broadmoor Curling Club (who knew we had a local curling club?!) taught our class, which had about 25 newbies to curling. After about an hour of instruction, they turned us loose on the ice to practice our skills and then actually play the game! Let's just say the game involved a lot of falling, sliding, laughing, learning, and sweeping. Check out these action shots...

Sweeping is key to heating up the ice

so that the stone will slide better.

Scott (left) works his sweeping magic.

Jami's turn to sweep. This is actually harder than it looks

to stay in front of the stone. You also can't touch the stone.

So many rules!

Scott demonstrates his fine curling technique.

Someone is serious business about curling!

Ha! Not really ... just trying to keep balance and not fall down!

The Curling Couple!

You say it's your birthday...

It's my birthday too--yeah. They say it's your birthday. We're gonna have a good time!

In our family, most birthdays fall in one of two months ... January or October. We love being able to celebrate together as a family! We paid tribute to the January birthdays of Papa, Jami & Luke with a night out to our favorite Mexican restaurant Salsa Brava. Cheers to a good time ... and good food!

Ski Keystone!

One of the best parts about Colorado is the availability of weekend getaway destinations just a few hours away! This weekend Jami and some friends took a trek to the mountains of Keystone for a Girls' Weekend Ski Trip! Friday was dedicated to some outlet mall shopping and dinner out in Keystone Village. We spent Saturday on the slopes all day and then visited a pub at the base of the mountain to hear a local band play that evening. On Sunday, we packed up all our gear and took the scenic way home, stopping for a bit in Breckenridge along the way. What a fun weekend!

The Girls :: Beth, Kristin, Kat, Jami & Trish

Waiting for the shuttle bus to take us to the slopes!

View from the top!

In the distance on the left ... the wavy lines are

the ski runs at Breckenridge.

Waiting in the lift line. The weather was gorgeous!

Pucks & the Park

The letter of the weekend ... letter P.

:: Pucks ::

Let's hear it for Air Force Hockey!

We joined our friends the Masseys for an evening

out cheering on the Air Force Hockey team.

With seats right down near the ice, the boys loved

the action and excitement ... and even caught a puck!

:: Park ::

Our Colorado weather has been gorgeous lately,

so we took advantage of our blue skies and warmer

temps for a "winter picnic in the park." We all

enjoyed the fresh air!

Luke is ready to try out for the "snow soccer" team!

Trip to Pueblo!

First trip of 2010 ... a short road trip to Pueblo to visit a friend and tour the city! Our Phoenix friend Shauna was in Pueblo for a visit, so we hopped down to visit with her, too! We lunched at the delish Italian restaurant Rosario's, walked along the Pueblo Riverwalk, and looked around the downtown area. Such a great day!

The girls by the Riverwalk -- Jami, Shauna, and Crystal!

The boys & a dark blue sky! Right before we departed,

a storm started to roll in. We drove through this crazy mix

of sleet, snow, and hail on the way home.

Ode to Christmas Break

This Christmas vacation was certainly one to be remembered. Perhaps it's because we now have a school-aged child (the big kindergartener!) so we're more in tune once again with the concept of a "Christmas break." Or maybe it's because we stayed in Colorado and enjoyed all the beauty of this season. Perhaps it's because the events of this year have really given us cause to stop and think about what truly is important in life and how we spend our days. Regardless our Christmas break was filled with some wonderful memories (some old, some new), many laughs, and moments that we will treasure for years to come. Here's how we spent our 19 days with the boys off school and 11 days with Dear Ol' Dad at home.

Redefined the art of relaxing ... slept in some mornings and took a few naps along the way.

Rediscovered how early anxious children can arise in the morning, especially on certain ho-ho-holidays and when on ski trips.

Worked hard on house projects like touch-up painting and furniture rearranging.

Worked out with trips to the YMCA, a New Year's Day 5K run, and soccer games.

Played games, like the Lego Indiana Jones video game and sight word bingo.

Played around in the mountains on a "staycation" to Loveland Ski Area.

Enjoyed several get-togethers with our neighbors.

Visited the neighboring town of Pueblo to catch up with a friend.

Tried a new sport -- snowshoeing for Jami, skiing for Luke & Reid.

Sported tiaras and top hats at our New Year's Eve festivities.

Celebrated the engagement of Scott's brother Eric and his fiancee Charity.

Celebrated the birth of Gracyn, our new niece and cousin.

This Christmas break was a wonderful mix of spending time with family and friends (the family we choose for ourselves) ... honoring traditions and trying new things ... and enjoying little moments and major milestones. What a wonderful end to 2009 and a fantastic start to 2010!