Skiing...exceeding our expectations

I was just talking to a friend about expectations of our kids, in the activity sense. I was telling her how there have been times that we are geared up to have a good time...and then our kids whine the whole time or whatever else a 3, 4, 5-year-old may do...and yet you just have to keep trying. You have to keep taking them hiking, on road trips, whatever you love to do and in the end, you hope for the best. You learn to give them grace because of their age, but also keep pushing them.

Honestly, I think Sam and I fly by the seat of our pants enough, that we don't think of what could happen, or how terrible it would be to camp with a newborn...we just do it. It hasn't always turned out the way we hoped (there was a camping trip that we almost drove home at midnight), but most of the time, it does. I think we've also learned that since you can't expect kids to always have a good time, to not let your expectations put you in a grouchy mood...thus having a whole family of grouches.

Anyway, this past weekend we went skiing, and it was one of those times that I would say our kids not only met our expectations...but exceeded them. I can tell they're growing up!


The boys had Monday off of school, so we headed up skiing on Sunday morning. Not the best conditions with wind...but the kids didn't mind. I think the boys were excited to help teach Elly, and Elly to learn, that they just went with it.


Sam had Elly on a tether, so she couldn't get away from him. I honestly thought her little legs wouldn't last long, but I should have realized with all her running these days, they're stronger than I thought! Sam had to hold her right between his legs quite a bit with some fresh powder being deeper in areas, but she got the hang of it. I loved hearing her repeat Sam's directions and just giggle. She giggled a lot! You could tell she had a great time. I don't know if being the third, and not wanting to be left behind skiing (she's old enough now to remember how many times the boys have gotten to go and she's been left behind) she just kept going...never complaining. She doesn't make turns yet, but more than anything, I was just impressed with her attitude.


Nate was preoccupied most of the time with helping teach his sister. He stuck by her and Sam most of the time trying to help her out. It was very sweet. I hadn't seen either of the boys ski the last couple times, so it was fun to see how much they improved. They do a great job on blues. Nate does a great job staying in control. He likes to try to bomb down the mountain,but always practices his turns.


This kid really seemed grown up this weekend. Mac has a great sense of direction and used it by leading the charge down runs. He just seemed so grown up leading us! He'd look at the signs and always wait at a good distance for everyone to catch up, never getting too far ahead. There was one time that Mac and I took a potty break and then tried to catch Sam, Nate and Elly on a run, so I led and would fly down. Whenever I stopped to let Mac catch up, he was literally right behind me. I was shocked. One time he crashed about 10 feet above me and said "I got going a little too fast on that one!" He also requested a mogul run one time and when he got down to the bottom, he looked at me and said "11...I crashed 11 times on that one." A couple years ago, Mac would have wanted to stop after crashes...but now it's just part of skiing...not a big deal...to be expected.

Mac and Nate have hit an age where they enjoy skiing, and don't need a ton of help. When they fall, they get themselves back up...they hike out of powder by themselves (we had a lot the second day), and they prefer to ride the chairlift by themselves (and amazingly, this doesn't worry me). My little boys aren't so little! Sometimes...that is! :)

Here's a video of Elly with her brothers following behind...she's usually on the tether.




You would have thought we were going to Disneyland with how excited the kids were to stay in a hotel! Mac actually said, "We're staying in a hotel with a lobby!" With the wind our first day, we only skiied for a couple hours. Sam and I knew how excited the kids were to stay in the hotel, so we headed back checked out our room and went swimming. While the kids took showers, Sam got dinner and a movie...and here we are...all eating on the bed together picnic-style! It was a great family trip!

March madness!

Life is full! We love it! It's definitely a new season of life with two grade school boys in the midst of sports and everything else. I rarely keep up, often think of what I meant to get started with two months ago...but it's alright. That's life. Here goes....


We hope you had a nice Easter! We had a quiet Easter, spending some much-needed quiet time after a busy week. I hope my legs didn't really look like this!




We got a dog! A chocolate lab named Hudson. He's fit in well and quickly became part of the family.


He hasn't been around kids much, so he hangs out in Sam's office when really little ones are over...but he sure loves Elly. She often lays down by him.


We had a great time with Beth, Bill and Gus. Can't wait to be with all the Glasers in North Carolina!


The boys are enjoying cub scouts. This is Nate's tiger den, he's on the end.


Mac's group got to do the flag ceremony at their Blue and Gold banquet. Mac is in the front saying all the commands. I'll try to post the video of this one.


The boys started soccer about two weeks ago. It keeps our evenings busy. They practice on opposite sides of town on Tuesdays, together on Thursdays and then have games in the same place on Fridays. They've been doing great for their first season, (Mac played in kindergarten, but this is a whole new experience, as he had no focus then!) it's fun watching them and they're having a great time.

We're doing well and will send more soon!

Oh yeah...it's still winter.

The past week has reminded us it's still winter. Last weekend we started our Friday with a snow day from school, then headed up to Red Feather for Sam's annual pond hockey tournament.

Sam left with his teammates early in the morning and I left around noon with the kids. I tried not to curse him for not warning me that I wouldn't be able to tell where the road was in places! I kept saying if this gets worse, I'm turning around...and Mac would then proceed to give me detailed directions because he did not want to go back home!


We got there safely in time to watch Sam's game. It was a bit of a white out. Before this snowfall that started Thursday night, there was only puddles here...now there's over 2 feet of snow.


The next day was awesome! It's usually windy and cold up here, but there was no wind, blue sky and lots of snow. The best weather we've ever had up there and the kids loved it! Mac was busy building tunnels and snow caves the whole time.


Elly helped him out.


Nate you could always find perched on a snow bank watching a game....didn't have to be a team he knew.


Sam taking a shot.


Sam's team. They made it into the top bracket, top 8 out of 24 teams, so did well. Always fun to watch.


Nate (bitsy in the middle) skated when he got some free ice...


and Elly got some in too. She's gotten much better on her skates through this winter.


Another nice picture of the area...


A couple weekends before the tourney, we stayed with some friends at their place in Winterpark. Here Sam and the kids are walking back up a long sledding hill.


The boys got their first snow-machining in, they of course loved it!


Elly loves sledding!


Her and her brothers have a need for speed that I'm sure will give me many heart attacks!

Cub Hockey

Goodness it's been a long time...there's a lot of pictures to post since our Christmas tree hunting...or even before then back to Thanksgiving, but I'll just start with today. The boys started cub hockey this week! It's on Monday and Wednesday nights, Monday being practice and then scrimmages on Wednesday. It's really fun.

The boys were sure to carry their own bags on their first night, unfortunately this didn't last by day 2. :) For cub hockey, you rent all the gear.


Nate was up first. He's in a 5-7 age group and skates for 45 minutes. They start with all the boys on one end of the ice, then have them skate as fast as they can. They blow a whistle and everyone falls to the ice and sliiiiiides. The farthest that slide are in the fastest group. They break the kids up into 3 groups.


Can you guess where Nate falls into? Skating with Sam every Saturday morning has definitely helped out this kid! The first day they introduced "hockey stops" as kids continued to run into the boards and each other. It was quite hilarious as no one knows how to stop.


After Nate's game tonight, he skated up to me and said, "Mom, do you want to know who won and what the score was?" They don't keep score, however Nate does, and knew that they won 4-0. The kid got a hat trick on his first night out.


Next up is Macalicious! This is all I see of him on Mondays because Mondays are also our night for cub scouts. Nate finishes up at 6, then Elly and I take him to his scout meeting which also starts at 6. Sam stays with Mac which his skate goes to 6:45 and his cub scouts start at 7:15. Our Mondays are a little crazy, but I'd rather have one crazy night then something on every night.


I did get to see Mac tonight though! He's in an 8-10 group and at the beginner level. He gets a little distracted at times, but when the pucks around him, he suddenly gets focused! :)He almost scored a goal! He wasn't so sure about signing up, but he's excited to go and has a great time...we're happy and encouraged to see him give it a shot!


Mac said he likes the practices better than the games...which I'm thankful for the way it's set up. I think having one day being fun drills helps the kids with their skills, but can also encourage kids who are younger and aren't as aggressive in the games.


"Here we go Ma-c, here we go!(clap clap)" This is what Elly would yell out every once in a while for her brothers with her hands cupped around her mouth. It was darn cute...she'd get everyone's attention on our end of the ice. I'm not sure how I ended up with such a loud child!


This is what the boys look like afterwards...bright red and completely tuckered out! They've slept well these past couple nights!

Finding the Perfect Tree

Last Sunday it was time for our annual Christmas tree hunting extravaganza! We had high hopes as the last two years our trees have been terrible. They were the usual sparseness that Colorado trees have to offer, but they were also very weak, barely holding more than one ornament per branch. Maybe that's exaggerating, but pretty close to the truth. I've been very tempted to take down the tree and go get one from a grocery lot!

However, for our family, it's a tradition to get a tree from the US Forest Service and we do love the experience. So with determination, we joined two other families to find some great trees for our homes.


We first stopped at the ranger station to see if Smokey the Bear was out...even though we don't need to be warned of forest fires at this time of the year. We weren't disappointed.


Got a group pic of my good friends Meaghan, Jenny and I with some of the kids. We each had 3 kiddos who braved the elements. This was not a warm day.


Elly, it's time to leave Smokey and go find a tree...


We all headed out...dad's with sleds, mom's with packs, some kids on snowshoes, some in sleds.


Nate and his buddy Jack on snowshoes.


Mac kept Elly on the sled...


...Sam was pulling.


There were a few spills.

Looking across a trench, Sam thought he might have spotted a grove of trees. Picture Chevy Chase seeing "the tree" in Christmas vacation...this is what Sam was sure he saw. So we all hiked down into the trench, but then let Sam and another dad, Jon, hike up to the other side by themselves since it was getting at least knee deep. We stayed in the trench while the kids played.


Elly and Janelle playing. This was before they got cold. Elly hit a point that she was cold and she wanted to go home. Fortunately, this was also when Sam brought down our tree.


Here's the beauty! Check out all the pine cones, one of the things we love about the Colorado trees! Oh yeah, and this was when Elly had had it.


Sam hiked back up to get some friend's a tree that couldn't make it, and Mac promptly popped the tree on the sled and started pulling it back towards the truck. I tried to tell him that it would be too heavy and we should wait for dad, but he was determined since that was the whole reason he brought his sled. So I got the rope around the tree to keep it on and Mac hauled it out. I was really impressed. He didn't complain, just kept inching in the direction of the truck. Wouldn't even let me help.


Look at this kid work! This reminds me of the poor dog on the "Grinch that stole Christmas!"


Much to Elly's delight, we all made it back to the truck (Mac got some help from another dad to finish the trek), and had some hot cider.


This little elf was also delighted.


It was a quiet trip home.


There it is! I am very happy with this tree. Yes, it's still sparse, but it's not wimpy. It did somehow come crashing down after decorating it Sunday night (a cat might have been involved), and I have yet to get the lights on nice again and all the ornaments back on, but hopefully by Christmas you'll get a view of the finished product.