Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Steamboat--Let's hit the slopes!

After a little rest the night before, we were all ready to get on the mountain.
 
The littlest girl in our group was beyond excited!  She was all about her ski outfit, helmet, goggles and mittens.  Unfortunately, her cousin's luggage got left at home, so Boom had to ski down and go shopping for Maddie before their 9am lesson.  Oops!



He did good and by the time we got down there, Maddie was stylin' in her new purple bib and pink gloves and jacket.  We were all relieved to meet their ski instructor, Gabsy, who was as nice as she was cute.  And she had such incredible patience, too!  A must when teaching kiddos to snow ski.

She had the kids start off by just using one ski...maybe to work on their balance?

We stayed and watched for a little while and were very happy to see all three kids working hard to get it right.

Their lesson lasted three hours, so Jared, Dad and I took advantage of it and went to the mountain top. And oh my, what a view!  It really does take your breath away, no matter how many times you see it.

We picked the kids up at noon and went back to the condo for some lunch.  Maddie said she was too tired and wanted to take a nap, but J and L were all about more ski time.  Yeehaw!  Let's go!

We took them up a short lift and they did GREAT!

Jackson skied with the boys, while I gradually got Lila to ski down more and more of the run.

Within an hour, this girly was skiing all the way down by herself!  She was awesome!  Fast, but in control, and not falling at all.  Even her big brother was amazed.
We stayed on the mountain until the lifts closed and then went back to the condo for a hot chocolate celebration.  They were so proud of themselves and we were, too!  That night, we stayed in and made some chili and hot dogs.  It was the perfect way to end our first full day in Steamboat.  We were all tuckered out and ready for some good sleep.  Too bad Cami didn't feel the same way.  Sweet girl would have nothing to do with her crib, and instead decided that some good horizontal sleep in between her daddy and I was preferable.  Oh well!  Morning came and we were back down to meet Gabsy by 9am.  After about 45 minutes, she told us that Jackson and Lila were doing so well that they could go with us.  She wanted to keep Maddie for a private lesson and was sure that she'd catch up in no time.


All of us were so excited to be able to ski together that we went to the top of the Christie lift. 


We took a green called Boulevard to Why Not, a favorite of the kids.  They loved all of the turns and thought skiing through these wooden teepees was super fun, too.

There she goes!

Even Daddo got in on the action and skied thru one...

followed by J man.

Go Jackson, go!

As we finished up the teepees, we found ourselves in yet another picture perfect scene.

The kids were doing great, the sun was shining.  It really was such a fantastic day.

As we were skiing back to find Maddie, we saw her and Gabsy about to get on the lift.  Maddie had learned to turn and stop and was ready for the big time!

We all went back up to the same run so that Maddie could do the teepees, too.  She was skiing so well and was very happy to be with all of us.

Go Madison!

We ended the day by going down Lil Rodeo about 7 times.  It had all kinds of fun jumps and you could even ski through this green box!

After the box, you skied into a half pipe, and this little girl LOVED it.  She zoomed through it, no matter how many other skiers were there.  The kid has a need for speed!  And we think that's so cool.

 
By the end of the day, she was leading the pack and told us how she loved "going really fast." 
She is definitely my child.  Get it girl!

 
We closed down the lifts that day, too, and then went to see Cami and Gigi.  They were ready to get outside, so we headed down to the firepit.  Cami chilled on my lap, ate her snacks, and listened to us talk.  The sun was setting behind the mountains and it was the best way to end the day.

 
Jackson, Maddie and Lila were sledding down the slopes and having a ball.

 
They were having such a good time that even Gigi decided to join them!  She was so brave and all was going well...

until she crashed into this pole!  No worries, she walked away unscathed, but decided to leave the sledding up to the kids:)

 
We stayed outside until it got dark and then went in to get cleaned up for dinner. 
Such a fabulous day--my favorite of the whole trip!

Steamboat 2015!

Day One.  We made it!  Despite bad weather in Dallas and school being cancelled last week, we made it very easily to the airport.  Our plane was on time, we got all 8 of us on board, and everyone arrived safely in Colorado a few hours later.
This little cat-napper only slept for a short while and then talked/squirmed the rest of the time. 
It's a good thing she's cute:)

We played on the luggage cart as we waited for our bags...

then we hopped on the Storm Mountain Express and headed towards Steamboat.
 
A few minutes later, these two girlies were sound asleep.
 
Lila was refreshed and so excited to finally be in the snow!

Snowballs!

Our condo wasn't quite ready when we arrived, so we got to check out the view.  Not too shabby.

The kids loved climbing up into the snow...

and we enjoyed some hot chocolate, too.
 
"Look, Bubba.  It's snowing!"
 

Our room was ready then, so we headed up to check it out.  Gigi definitely approved of her view of the slopes from her balcony.

And the kids went bananas over their bunk bed.
 
They must have asked me 22 times why they couldn't ski that first afternoon.  So excited!


After we got out skis and boots, it was time to hit up Slopeside for dinner. I tried the chicken pot pie--a new item on their menu--and it was awesome!
 

Our favorite hangout in Steamboat was the perfect way to begin our vacation.  We filled our bellies, got some sleep, and were ready to rock by 8:45 the next morning.  Stay tuned for ski pics:)

Cosmic Jump Birthday

This year, Jackson wanted his birthday party at Cosmic Jump so that he could play dodgeball the whole time.  So that's what we did!
I had Kroger make the cake and decorate it for our sports enthusiast.  He LOVED it.
 
The An Family was in town for the weekend, so Kelly brought Kennedy over to jump with the girls.  They had a ball and loved seeing their sweet friend again:)
 

Cami hung out with me mostly, but did let her daddy hold her for a little while so that she could chat with Aunt Lyndsie and Uncle Scott.

She crawled onto the inflatable slide for a minute, but quickly hopped off when the big kids got on it.  It was a bit crazy.
 
All of the boys played dodgeball for 90 solid minutes. 
I had to beg them to come out for pizza and cake!


We lit the candles and sang to the big guy...

then he made a wish and blew them out.
He thanked all of his friends for coming and handed them a party favor cookie.  Thanks again, Aunt Lyndsie. They were perfect!

 

What girls like

Dressing up like a Dalmation for the 101st day of school...

fun playdates with sweet friends...

and driving down to the bus stop to meet big brother!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Happy 8th Birthday, Jackson!

Whoa!  Time flies.  One day you are rocking a sweet baby, and the next you're bringing him donuts to share with his 2nd Grade class.  Seriously!  I have no idea how he is getting so old.  Does that mean that I, too, am getting old?  Surely not.
I'd seen these donuts and knew that we needed to get them for J's next birthday.  I think they turned out SO cute, and he did, too.

I dropped them off for him to celebrate with his friends at school,

and then took lunch from Wendy's down to the cafeteria for him and his daddy.  What a lucky boy--it was his birthday AND his dad was the WatchDog for the day!  After Cami and I dropped off the donuts and lunch, we ran back home.  Gigi stayed with her while I ran to Toys R Us and Kroger.  Jackson had a big birthday wish for some Pokémon cards and spaghetti dinner with the fam, so I obliged.

All four grandparents and one cousin made it to our house for the celebratory dinner.  We feasted on salad (thanks, Memaw), spaghetti, garlic rolls from A Taste of Italy (thanks, Gigi). 
Everyone was full and happy!  The birthday boy asked to open presents before cake, so that's what we did.  What do you think was the first thing he opened?  Pokémon cards!  Go figure.  He was so happy about them:)

His daddy got him his first bebe gun, which he loved...
and I got him a USA soccer jersey and toboggan.  All were big hits!

Little sister's favorite part of present opening was climbing on this big box. 
So pleased with herself.
 

Tada!


After he opened all of his gifts it was time to light the candles.  I made him a Texas Sheet Cake and it was so good!  I was very happy and he said it was "really good."  Great success.

Happy Birthday to you!


We love you, Jackson, and hope you had a wonderful day!  You are a very special little boy. 
 
8 Year Stats:
61.2 lbs. (75th percentile)
54 1/4 in. (over 100th percentile)
Body Mass Index - 25-50%
Blood Pressure - 104/65
20/20 vision
Perfect hearing

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