Just Today

I have decided that I don’t always need to have photos of the fun things that we do in order to blog about them.

I have decided that it’s ok to post about fun things without trying to be clever or witty.

I have decided that it’s important to write while things are still fresh in my mind, or else I will forget about what made them special.

 

Today we went skiing. It has been at least 15 years since I last put on a pair of ski boots. My kids have never gone. I wanted them to at least try it.

I loved it when I was younger. I had no fear. I used to ski fast. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t ski fast today. I was scared. I’m getting old.

For Christmas, Steve’s mom got passes for Me and Jonathon and Thomas and Hannah to go to Sundance. Thank You Mom!

There was no school today. We thought there would be new snow, but the forecast was a little off. We got there bright and early. It was 3 degrees.

I did remember to take the camera, I just didn’t remember to take it out of the car. Later, I did remember that I could take pictures with my phone, but it was out of batteries. No pictures today.

We headed off to ski school. Thomas and Hannah were together with their instructor. Jonathon and his friend with another instructor. I was all by myself with my very own instructor.

It was hard not to think about how the kids were doing, but I had to focus on making my way down the hill without getting hurt. My teacher was very patient and helped me remember what I was supposed to be doing.

I did get to see the kids in action a couple of times. I could watch them from the lift as we headed to the top of the run. They were doing so well. I wanted to yell at them and cheer them on, but I didn’t think it was such a good idea.

We met up at lunch time and ate frozen ham sandwiches that had been waiting for us in the car. We decided that we needed some hot chocolate, but it was so hot that we couldn’t drink it. It was a good thing that we could take it outside to cool it down a little. I was worried that the kids would be ready to go home. No worries. They could barely finish their lunch before they were ready to go up again.

On the way back up the mountain, I told myself that I needed to remember to go slowly as we headed down so that I could make sure the kids were doing alright. Whatever, they passed me right up and then had to wait for me to get to the bottom.

Conditions today were less than optimal. It felt at times like I was skiing on sheets of ice. After three runs down the slope I was ready to go home. The kids were not. So we played on the bunny slope for a while. Hannah was amazing. I thought she would be the first to say she wanted to stop. She was an expert at using the tow rope to take her up the bunny hill. I was impressed. She lasted longer than I did, I decided to take a break and watch for a while. My legs were tired.

The boys didn’t last long at the tow rope before they decided to head back up the big icy mountain without me. Such a long wait – up the lift, down the hill – waiting, waiting, waiting. Hey, guess what they made it down safely. I don’t even know how to convey the stress and anxiety that I experienced while waiting for them to get back.

We lasted until 4pm, but then it finally got too cold for us. I figured that I would be a little bit sore tomorrow. I didn’t have to wait to find out. It only took the 20 minute drive home for my body to start to rebel.

Luckily Steve let us get fast food for dinner so that I didn’t have to worry about it. I’m beat. I can’t wait to do it again.

Summer Summary – In Two Parts

PART ONE

Instead of trying to back blog about each individual event that happened over the summer, I have decided to just write about the whole summer all in one post.

Looks like I stopped blogging right around May – same time every year. I must have some type of mental break down when all the kids get out of school, and are here 24/7 with non-stop whining and arguing. I’m sure it’s not that bad, but I don’t remember very well. I do know that I enjoy having them back in school now. It’s so nice to be back on a regular schedule.

So I am looking back through pictures to help me remember what we did.

Here are the little boys at the zoo in May. They had a lot of fun. The weather was perfect. We actually went again today, but I didn’t have my camera. So I won’t be able to start and end with a zoo pic. :(

Thomas celebrated his 12th birthday in May. He asked for a strawberry shortcake. I don’t know if he remembers, but he asked for a strawberry shortcake when he was three. Sometime over the summer, he got a haircut and has decided that he prefers his hair short – we are all happy about that.

One of the major events of this summer was our vacation to Disney Land. It’s not very often that we take a family vacation. I’m sure it’s because we are afraid of having to be in such a small confined space like the car for hours and hours and hours together. I’m happy to say that it wasn’t as awful as I imagined it would be.

We did the drive to Orange County all in one day. It must have been the excitement of the final destination that kept everyone happy and agreeable. My new favorite way to pass the time in the car is to have an audio book. We listened to I Am Number Four. It wasn’t the best book, but it kept everyone occupied.

There was a slight problem when we arrived at our place of lodging, only to find out that they didn’t have any more rooms that would fit all of us. Yes, we did make a reservation. They were thinking that maybe we could share 3 rooms. Can you imagine the complete lunacy in suggesting that we share 3 separate villas for 4 days. Luckily we found someplace else to stay – A newer, brighter, cleaner place. Crisis averted – but not before I had a nervous breakdown at the front desk and bawled like a baby in front of the staff of idiots.

Here are my children walking away from us as they head out into the park with no adult supervision. It was hard for me to let them just go off and roam the park by themselves.

The girls got their faces painted.

The little boys were quite comfortable in the stroller that we were able to borrow from a friend – Thanks Mindy, we would have been super miserable without it.

 

We didn’t actually ride the Tea Cups – Blech!

We packed up and hauled in all of our own snacks, but for some reason we couldn’t resist the popcorn from the park. We also couldn’t stay away from the churros either – we ate way too many of them.

 
While we were there we celebrated Henry’s 4th birthday, and our 17th anniversary. We even got to wear special buttons and all of the workers congratulated us on our celebrations.

On the way home, we stayed at my Sister’s in Vegas. She was kind enough to pick up a Buzz Lightyear cake for Henry. That was his most favorite ride and he got to go on it several times.

A magnificent time was had by all and I am looking forward to more family vacations in the future.

 

** PLEASE PAUSE FOR A SHORT INTERMISSION **

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Summer Summary - Part Two

 

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And we’re back.

This year, Libby turned 8. She celebrated the big day at the bowling alley with friends and family.

I was super lazy and didn’t make a cake for her, but I did buy her three from the store. One of the great things about Libby is that she was totally fine with store bought cakes.

Since this was the big #8, it was Libby’s turn to get baptized.

We continued our tradition of dinner at the Roof restaurant. 

And a stroll around Temple Square.

We had a very nice time hanging out with her for the evening.

We are very proud of her.

Finally, we ended the summer with another birthday and a campout. Steve and Thomas headed out on a backpacking journey on my birthday. I was not too crushed, because I headed up to my moms house and had a great time. My sister made me delicious cupcakes and I spent most of the time with my head in a book while someone else watched the kids.

Steve and Thomas enjoyed their time in the forest. Thomas did not eat oatmeal or soup – I’m not really sure what he ate. He survived somehow though.

 

Also it should be noted that Jonathon also went on an amazing campout where he Climbed rocks, mountain biked, hiked, and river rafted. It was the most amazing thing he has ever done, and he lets us know every day how boring we are for not ever taking him to do those things ever.

I am always glad when summer is over – I gladly welcome cooler weather and yes – even snow!