Enjoying the sunshine

Pictures from the Ski trip

Alright, here they are. The pictures from our ski trip. Nothing too exciting, but good memories.

Through the bus windown on the way up. We've gotten so much snow this year that you can barely see the top of the fence posts in most places. It's so very serene.

The view from the chairlift down into the valley. You can see the resort right in the middle of the picture, too, if you look closely.

Partway down one run, it opened up and this was the view. Gorgeous!

And the obligatory self-portrait on the way up the lift.

We had such an amazing time. Really, it was awesome. We rode the shuttle bus up there rather than driving the Expedition that gets 14mpg. CHA-CHING!! It was $20 total for both of us on the shuttle. Sure, we were riding with a bunch of high schoolers, but we had a great time anyway. In order to combat the motion sickness that I was sure to get from riding in the very back of the bus, I slept part of each trip. Hubby, though, is quite a bit bigger than me and couldn't really get comfortable. On the way back they showed part of Star Wars (2, maybe?) so that helped make the time go by much faster for him, especially since he's such a huge Star Wars fan.

Our first real run of the day (after the refresher on the bunny slope and the chair lift) just about killed me. Word to the wise--don't every wear brand new (as in, not broken in) ski boots skiing. Yeah, big mistake. I actually contemplated asking someone to get the ski patrol to get me down the mountain. My legs/ankles/feet were in serious pain. And this is coming from a woman who has gone through two labors without a single pain killer, one of which was a breech delivery. So, uh, yeah, it hurt. Somehow, with the continually patient help of my hubby and a little bit of grit, I made it down the hill and even tried again. And again and again.... By about the third run, my boots were feeling about 80% better making for a much happier skiing companion.

We couldn't have asked for better weather, really. It was bright and beautiful. Some of the runs were getting a bit icy since it hadn't snowed in 72 hours, but overall they were great.Yesterday, I was sure that we would both wake up extremely sore, but we didn't. A few muscles here and there, but overall feeling good.

I would do this again in a heartbeat. Tomorrow, if I could.

It was so lovely to have it be just us. No kids, no other family. No time constraints, really. Just us. It was a great reminder of how much I love Scott and why I married him. He's so great! :)

We're baaack!

We made it home safe and sound.

We had a wonderful day.

I only have one more thing to say: OUCHIE!!!

*more to come tomorrow*

How hard can it be?

OK, how much planning can it take to go skiing for the day? We just have to find all of our snow gear, pack it and the stuff the girls need for the day with grandma and grandpa and hit the road, right? Well, basically yes, but it's not quite that simple. We're leaving the house at 6:40 so we must have for the girls:

clothes (2 sets each in case of accidents)
shoes
coats
diapers/wipes
blankets/special stuffed animals

For us we need:
hats
sunglasses
coats
gloves
ski pants
extra socks
skis/boots/poles (which involves going to rent them)
snacks
water
cash
and the toughy: deciding what is necessary to wear under the snow gear

Right now, I'm supposed to be looking through my closet deciding the number/combination of layers that would be appropriate for a day of skiing in 32* weather. Um, yeah, I'm on it, honey.....

Fortunately I got out my ski boots this afternoon just to make sure that they fit before we headed out to pick up rentals for hubby. Well, I discovered that the mice that found our home so attractive last winter also thought that my ski boots would make a nice cozy spot for them. GRRRRRR! They had chewed a bit of the lining on one side of one boot. I scrubbed, sanitized, boiled and scrubbed some more on it and then washed it in the washing machine so as to not get too grossed out by it. (OK, I didn't really boil it.) The liners are currently over a vent finishing their drying cycle. Have I ever mentioned that I hate mice?!

Most of my list is marked off and I'm just about ready to crawl into bed for a nice long rest before rolling out of bed to kill myself tomorrow. :) OK, maybe not kill myself, but I'm quite sure that I will be incredibly sore. On the bright side, we are planning on enjoying every stinking minute of having the day to ourselves doing something that we both enjoy so much.

WINNER, WINNER

Actually, we're the winners.

Ok, Hubby is the winner. He called in to a radio show and won 2 lift tickets for a local ski resort. I'm so BEYOND excited. We're hoping to go either this weekend or next, he has yet to actually commit to a date. Neither of us have been skiing since having kiddos and we've never gone together. It should be an adventure. He told me that he's thinking about learning to snowboard since he knows how long it's been since I've been skiing..... I'm trying not to take that as an insult. :) I used to be fairly decent, thank you very much. I even remember standing at the top of a black diamond run just about ready to pee my pants one time. AND, I actually went down that very black diamond run. Without even peeing my pants. I think. It was a long time ago.....

Either way, we both are very much looking forward to having a day just for us as we'll be leaving the girls with Grandma & Grandpa. It will be a day to remember at least.

feeling sentimental

I feel like time is slipping through my fingers. My babies are growing up.

Tonight during dinner, B spilled her water and then promptly told me that she was "solving the problem" as she grabbed a towel and started cleaning it up.

The past couple night K has opted not to nurse before bed (which used to be a 1/2 hour feeding.) It seems she's now so excited to brush her teeth, she'd rather skip that portion of the bedtime routine. She also has been transitioning into going to sleep all by herself. We give hugs and kisses and plop her into bed. Then we *gasp* leave the room and let her go to sleep on her own. Shocking, I know. This just doesn't happen. ;) It's bittersweet, I have to say.

B is little miss independent. She gets dressed on her own, does her hair on her own, buckles herself into her seat on her own. She helps set the table and clean up after dinner. Tonight she helped me make chocolate pudding for dessert. She's certainly a little girl now. One who brings so much joy. OK, and a few headaches, but mostly joy.

Thank you, Lord, for my wonderful children!

more milestones for K

Here's what K's hair usually looks like:

After a comment that her hair was starting to look like a mullet.....I cut a couple inches off the back. Here's the back last night:

And this morning:

I could hardly keep my eyes/hands off her hair today. It seems like she went from being my baby to being a little girl overnight.

OK, *mushy moment* I love her so much and I'm so proud of the little girl that she has become. She's such a joy and delight. Her smile lights up the day (and sometimes the night.) :) K is into everything and climbs up ONTO everything and investigates enough to drive me batty. But then she snuggles up, puts her head on my shoulder and then signs, 'milk, please' and snuggles in for a snack. My precious baby girl, I love you so much, KG. *Happy 18 month birthday, little one!*

not that I'm biased...

...but, seriously, how many other 17 month old's first word combinations are "no, thank you" and "yes please"??