Steamboat

Our third day in Steamboat began wonderfully. We all had a good night's sleep and then got to wake up to an amazing view of the mountain. Little Lila was all smiles!

In the morning we took the big kids skiing and in the afternoon it was time for some more sledding.

Jackson and I zoomed down the mountain a time or two...

and so did Maddie and Jared. Apparantly those strings are supposed to help you guide this apparatus, but I never quite figured them out.

All that playing in the snow can tucker a girl out. It was 6:00 and Madison sat still for about 3 seconds. Since she'd decided to forgo her nap earlier that day, it was all over and she literlly could not hold her eyes open one more second. Jackson was jumping on the bed trying to rouse her, but had no luck. The girl was tired!

After dinner, this goose decided to do the dishes. Gotta love their outfits. These two lived in their long underwear. They were so filthy by the time we left! Jackson also loved wearing Gigi's ski boots around the condo. Now that I think about it, their feet are almost the same size! She only wears a 5!

The next day my parents went skiing together. Although I didn't get to ski with my mom I heard she did great. I am so proud of both of them for being such active grandparents--Gigi and Boom, y'all rock!

After skiing some with Jackson we all needed a break. The two guys hung out on the balcony and enjoyed listening to some live music. That harness is a great invention, but let me tell ya, wedging all the way down the mountain is so hard on your legs! Mine are just now recovering.

That evening we all went out for dinner. I realize that Jackson's attire may look a bit strange. Yes, he is wearing ski boots and is also sporting an ear/head warmer (for ladies) around his stomach. It looked like a cumberbund, and no, I did not let him wear it out of the condo.

We got all bundled up and hopped on the shuttle to go to dinner. This sweet girl fell right asleep. Can't say I blame her. Gigi's coat is so snuggly.

Ski Trip, Day 2

Day two of our winter vacation began by us five getting ready and heading over to ski school for Jackson and Madison.

We all had high hopes for the kids--hopes that they would enjoy being on the mountain, enjoy learning to ski and develop a love for the sport.

But mostly, we just hoped that they would have FUN!

Since Madison was too young to go to ski school, we signed them up for a private lesson. After getting fitted with their helmets and picking out some cool skis (SpongeBob for J and Dora for M), these two were ready to hit the slopes.

Mr. Matt, aka Shawn White, was their instructor. Before we turned them loose on him, we went over the rules. When I asked the kids to recite them for me, Maddie said, "No fighting, no crying, no whining...and if Jackson hits me, you will put him in timeout!" Think the girl has heard that before? Matt got a kick out of them and then off they went to the baby bunny slope.

First rattle out of the box, they both skied all the way down! Maddie went first and patiently waited on Jackson to ski down to her. Then they rode up to the top again on the magic carpet, which they loved.

They both did so good!

Look at this little ski cat!

Madison was completely fearless and did so good, too.

Just look at Pinkalicious go!

Jared, Boom and I watched from this ledge for about half and hour and made sure they were having fun.

Two and a half hours later we all met back there and picked up the kids. They were tired, sweaty, hungry and ready to go in, but they had had a blast.

Pinkalicious and Boom waited nicely for our shuttle bus to come pick us up.

After lunch and a nap, Jackson wanted to go back out, so us three headed for the slopes once more. Jackson loved the ski lifts and did so good getting on and off them every time.

After doing the bunny slope a few more times, we decided to try our luck at a bigger green run.

Jackson asked that I hold his harness for this expedition and we did really good, for the most part.

Seriously, it is so pretty up on the mountain. I just had to snap the boys while we were resting.

We all needed to rest because we bit off a little more than we could chew. This part of the "green" run was not so green. It was definitely more toward turquoise to light blue, and Jackson had a little trouble. After trying to ski him down with the harness and us both falling a few times, I just decided it would be much simpler to hold him under the arms! So off we went and zoomed all the way back down to our condo:) Ski Day #2 was a big success!

Trip to Steamboat, Day One

Last Wednesday our family embarked on our first winter vacation. We went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado and just had to best time. Our adventure began with a plane ride from DFW to Hayden, CO. The big kids were so excited about this and Miss Lila was game for anything.

After playing with her toys, eating some snacks and then playing with the seat in front of us,

all the kids fell asleep. Too bad it was literally three minutes before we landed!

Jackson kept asking over and over when we were going to land. Guess all that excitement just wore him out.

After taking a shuttle to our condo, these two maniacs were in full effect. They love the snow!

The adults enjoyed a nice glass of wine, courtesy of the condominium staff, and had a toast out on the balcony. We were right on the slopes and the view was amazing.

Jackson was so into his Mighty Machines dvd (thanks, Memaw!) that he just propped himself up and watched it. This would have been just fine, but we were in Colorado for goodness sakes! As soon as I could, I bundled the kids up and remedied the situation.

We all got our ski clothes on...

got out the sled that we'd found in the closet...

and headed up the little hill outside of our condo.

We wanted to get the most bang for our buck, so we climbed way on up there.

First up, Maddie. She and I slid down the hill and both hollered a bit! Then it was Jackson's turn, so I slid down with him, too. After a few rounds of taking turns, they wanted all three of us to go down the hill! I must say it was a bit hard to steer the sled--probably due to the fact that I am a novice sledder--and it got a little harder with one more of us on there. No prob, though! We just flew down the hill and into a big pile of snow. There were smiles all around.

While we were sledding, Lila was watching with Gigi from the balcony. She chose to wear her fur coat! Love it.

Right after the last time down the hill we trapsed back up to our room and got these two munchins in the bath.

After bathtime they both enjoyed being in the miniature robes that were provided by the resort. Jackson was pretty chilly, but Madison loved being pampered! So fun! They slept in a room by themselves for the first time and did great. After a good night's sleep they were ready to hit the slopes. Stay tuned for Day 2!

Steamboat 2011

Steamboat 2011! Oh my, what a fabulous trip!

There are many more pics to come. Here's a sneak peak, though, of us five up on the mountain.

So I found this great train that was Jackson's in our garage the other day. He got it for his first Christmas when he was 10 months old, so I thought it was the perfect time to get it back out for Lila to enjoy. Needless to say, she is a fan.

Whenever she spots it across the room she does some super-fast crawling and gets right over to it. She grabs onto the yellow part and pulls herself right up. Soon after she takes a few steps and then falls to her knees. Not to be detered, she pulls right back up and does it again. It really is endless entertainment for a 10 1/2 month old girl.

Every now and then she gets really brave and lets go! About .2 seconds after I snapped this pic she did a serious faceplant into the carpet! Not to worry, this little girl popped right back up and was all smiles.

Of course, it's hard to get pics of just one kid. Very soon Jackson and Maddie were both right in the mix. I chose to include this pic because it just makes me laugh. Madison was really trying so hard to get Lila's bow to fit around J's head. Now my son has been known to walk around in Madison's pink high heels sometimes, but at least he draws the line at pink bow wearing!

" Thank goodness! Those pink bows are all mine!"

Just look at all those teeth. She is now up to 7 and is about to get one more on the bottom. No wonder she's developed a new love for big people food. Gotta put those teeth to some good use.

Gym Time

Madison started gymnastics class a few weeks ago and has been having so much fun! After doing their warm-up and stretches, they do some handstands. After handstand time, they move on to this fun activity. It begins with a forward roll down the pie mat.

She can do this great by herself, but her teacher spots all of them for some reason.

Then they move on to a very beginner cartwheel....

and then do a big roll over this mat. Not sure what it really teaches them, but it sure looks like fun!

After that Maddie puts out her "Wonder Woman" arms and leaps onto and over this mat...

and then finishes things off with a backward roll.

Whew! Now that's a workout!

ABCs and 123s

Full of goofiness all the time. I took this crazy cat to the doc and he did so well. I was a proud mama!

Jackson's 4 year old check-up was yesterday and he passed with flying colors. He has 20/20 vision, did fantastic on the hearing test, and has a blood pressure of 94/59. She looked him over from head to toe and declared that he is as healthy as a horse.

After taking a few minutes to warm up to Dr. Betty, he was able to identify and draw the letters and numbers that she drew. He now can identify all the letters of the alphabet, uppercase and lowercase. He was then able to identify and draw a circle, square and triangle all very well. He told her his full name, complete with spelling "Jackson Hays, " and then wrote his first name for her. He counted to 59 for her and told her his ABC's at the speed of light. He can now dress himself and buckle himself into his brand new booster seat, both nice perks for me! He can also do some small math problems, such as "If I have two apples and then someone gives me three more...how many do I have?" He thinks about it for a sec and then shouts "5!" I feel qualified to coach him at this stage in math. However, when he starts with the pre-cal, I will have to defer to his daddo! He can also read a few words: Lila, Jackson, Madison, Mom, Mommy, Stop, Go, Dad, Hays and Gigi, so Dr. Betty suggested that I buy some books in a series called You Read to Me, I Read to You. We'll certainly give it a shot!

He is still at the top of the growth charts, coming in at 41 lbs (90%) and 43 inches tall (95%). At the end of the visit he had to get 3 shots and did not even shed a tear. He is so darn tough. It was still hard to watch, though. When we walked out of the doctor's office he got to choose a new Hot Wheel and then picked out 5 big stickers to take home with us and was very pleased with all of his prizes.

Perhaps my proudest recent moment came at the dinner table the other night when Jackson said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16" I must say, I was not expecting something so profound!

I still can't believe that he is four...pretty soon I will have a kindergartener! And that will really be nuts.