Beaver Creek 2015

We just got back from our annual trip to Beaver Creek with the Ranelles.  We had a great time and I would definitely rate this trip as one of our best ever!  (But after last year's trip when Cory's luggage got lost, I think anything would have qualified as good!)  The weather was perfect, the food was incredible, and we had the opportunity to attend the 2015 World Ski Championships that were being held in Beaver Creek. 

 

We chose to attend the Ladies Giant Slalom races on Thursday afternoon and got the chance to see American skiers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin race for a gold medal.  Neither one of them ended up earning a medal but it was great to cheer them on during their races.  We also attended the medal ceremony later than evening in Vail. 

Another thing that made this a great trip is that Cory was able to work with an adaptive ski instructor and get back on the mountain a little bit.  He started thinking about looking into adaptive skiing a few months ago but wanted to try skiing one more time to make sure it was time to make the switch.  After unsuccessfully trying to ski the first morning, we went to find out more information about adaptive skiing and met Brett, the adaptive coordinator for Beaver Creek.  He was full of not only information but encouragement for Cory.  He took us and showed us all of the adaptive equipment and helped Cory decide that the ski bike was the best place to start. He even offered to be Cory's instructor the next day.

Cory's lesson went well and he said that even though he feels like he's back to being a beginner skier, he enjoyed learning to ride the ski bike.  I was very proud of him for not letting MS take away his dream of skiing again.  Hopefully after a few more lessons next year, he will be back up on the top of the mountain with Heath again.

As always, the food on this trip was amazing!  We ate at a couple of new places this trip and they didn't disappoint. The décor at Saddleridge was beautiful and the food was great too!

We happened to be in Beaver Creek on Valentine's Day this year, which meant we enjoyed a lot of treats that we usually don't have on a normal Valentine's Day.  We spent the entire morning at the spa being pampered with massages and facials and then enjoyed some chocolate fountain treats in the Beaver Creek Club with the Ranelles. 

That night we enjoyed a Valentine's dinner at Splendido.  My steak was wonderful and Cory loved his crab claws but the best part of the meal was the butterscotch bourbon milkshake we had for dessert.  Words can't describe how delicious it was!  It was the perfect ending to a great trip!

It truly was one of our best ski trips, even though I didn't ski one day!  I enjoyed getting away with Cory so much and reconnecting with him for a few days without the kids.  But all good things must come to end and we were welcomed back to real life by coming home to a child with the stomach bug! 

We are so thankful to the Ranelles for opening up their home to us year after year.  We are already looking forward to our trip next year!

Lily's Pajama Picnic

Today was Lily's pajama picnic.  She couldn't wait to wear her pajamas to school.  It was fun to eat lunch with her and watch her play with her friends after the picnic.  I still can't believe she only has one more year of preschool after this year.  I am so thankful to have a flexible work schedule that allows me to attend all of her special days at school!

I Want S'more

A few weeks ago, we made a last minute decision to go to Emily and Jon's for dinner.  After dinner, the kids convinced Uncle Jon and Cory to go buy the stuff for s'mores.  We roasted the marshmallows in their fireplace and then made some very yummy s'mores.  It was a fun way to end the evening!

Happy Birthday Grace!

Two weeks ago, Eden got to help her friend, Grace, celebrate her 6th birthday at The Art Barn, a local paint your own pottery place.  She was so excited about going to a party without her siblings and kept asking me, "It is just going to be me and you that get to go to Grace's party?" which meant "Do I get to go without Lily and Parker?".  She did great on the ride there but as soon as we walked in, her nerves took over and a few tears were shed.  Luckily, Reagan, her classmate and friend from school, arrived soon after and she settled down and starting enjoying herself. 

 

Each girl got to pick out a piece of pottery to paint and Eden chose a piggy bank.  She did a great job painting it... I didn't have to help her at all.  She had so much fun painting and even called me over at one point to tell me she wanted to have her next birthday party at The Art Barn.

 This was the only picture I got of Eden with the birthday girl!

Eden refused to get in the group picture with all of her friends but I know she had a great time at Grace's party. Happy Birthday Grace!  We hope you had a great day!

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

Yesterday we took the kids to their very first rodeo.  We took them out of school early and headed to the 2:00 matinee performance.  It has been years since Cory and I had been to a rodeo so we were excited to go too!

 

We got there early and treated the kids to cotton candy and their very first funnel cake!  They devoured the funnel cake and Parker was covered in powdered sugar by the time they were finished!  

The kids did a great job and enjoyed watching the rodeo.  It was pretty fast paced which kept them interested.  Lily got a little antsy at one point but I was able to keep her pretty happy until the end.

After the rodeo, we tried walking around the rodeo grounds but it was a very cold day and none of us wanted to be out in the cold for long.  We made our way over to the pig barns and they had an area set up for kids with lots of baby animals to view.  The kids loved watching the baby chicks hatching out of their eggs and watching the piglets sleep.

We stopped at Rosa's for dinner and then Lily crashed on the way home.  Being a cowgirl is hard work!! 

It was a fun day and I think the kids had a great time at their first rodeo.  We will definitely be going back again soon!

 

January Little Things

January was a fairly slow month for us and you will never hear me complain about that!  Here are a few things worthy of remembering this month:

 

- I went to WalMart one day and came home to this:

Lily had clearly been unsupervised while I was gone. She was so proud of her new tattoos so I let her keep them until the next day. 

- If you come to our house at lunchtime during the week, this is what you will see:

Lily asks for a picnic every single day and since she is the only one home with me in the afternoon, I always say "yes"! She loves to watch Octonauts while she eats and it sometimes takes her an hour to finish her lunch.  I know I still have another year, but I sure am going to miss her when she goes to kindergarten. 

 

- I made the mistake of telling Lily that we are going to the beach in June.  The very next day, she insisted that she go ahead and pack her backpack for the trip.  I tried to tell her that the trip was five months away, but no matter what I said, she still insisted that she needed to pack her bag.  I finally gave in and she not only got packed, she carried her backpack around the rest of the day!  I just love that girl!

- These two girls love each other so much!  I'm not sure why Eden is wearing her skirt on her head, but this picture was taken right after I agreed to let them sleep together in Lily's room.  They had been begging and begging me all day and were so excited when I finally said yes!

- We decided to go on a family outing one Saturday night.  I needed to take something back to the mall so we stopped to eat at Abuelo's beforehand.  I'm not going to lie, the dinner was pretty much a disaster.  I think I took each kid to the bathroom at least twice and ended up eating cold food.  The dinner might have not gone well, but the girls enjoyed watching them make homemade tortillas while we waited for our table.  (And notice that Lily has her baby doll in her arms!  She is so into baby dolls right now and is always playing mommy at home. It's so sweet to watch her love on them!)

- Eden has always been a good reader for her age, but she has really blossomed over the past few months with her word knowledge and fluency.  There are times when I listen to her read and think "how on earth does she know that word?".  I teach kids to read every day but it still amazes me to watch one of my own kids learn to read.  It is by far my most favorite milestone I have experienced as a parent up to this point.  I am so proud of her and can't wait to watch her reading develop more and more over the next few months.

And that does it for January!  Bring on the much busier month of February!

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2015! 

I love the start of a new year!  The hustle and bustle of the holidays are over and a whole new year lies ahead of you.  Time to plan and think about what the next twelve months will hold for you and your family. 

A few weeks ago, our pastor was talking about relationships.  He said that the best way to form or strengthen a relationships with someone is to step into their shoes.  Show interest in the things they like.  Get involved in the things that they are involved in.  I knew as he was talking that this is what I wanted to work on in 2015. 

There are so many times that the kids ask me to come play with them and I say "not right now" or "in a little bit" due to needing to get some work done around the house or due to the fact that I don't always love sitting and playing for more than a few minutes.  But the fact is, I NEED to take the time to sit and step into their shoes.  I need to build towers with LEGOs, put a puzzle together, play another game of Uno, or "feed" a baby doll because that's what is important to my kids right now.  I know that the more I take time out of my day to step into their shoes and spend time with them, the stronger our relationships will be. There will always be another load of laundry to start, another meal to plan or another sticky floor to clean.  But these precious kids will only be little once.  The past eight years have flown by and time is not slowing down.  I'm pretty sure I will not look back in a few years and think, "If only I had spent more time cleaning this house!". 

So there you have it! My goal for 2015 is to "step into their shoes" as often as possible.  I know it's something I will never look back on and regret!

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New Year's Eve looked a little bit different for us this year.  My mom offered to have a cousin sleepover at her house which meant Cory and I were free to do whatever we wanted. And because we are such an exciting couple, that meant dinner (at Fresco's), a movie (Mockingjay) and being in bed by 10:00!

The kids, on the other hand, partied the night away!  Granna had a very fun evening planned out for them that included a new activity every half hour until "midnight" (their 9pm bedtime!).  She let them make a banner to decorate for New Year's and even had fun accessories for them to wear. 

They played games, sang songs, danced and watched movies as they rang in the new year!

I'm looking forward to 2015!  We have some fun family trips planned for this year that I'm already excited about!  Cory is starting a new MS treatment that I'm hopeful will bring him some stability with his progression.  And I'm excited about all the wonderful memories that we are going to make with our family that I don't even know about yet!  Happy New Year!  I hope yours will be as wonderful as ours!