Silver Mountain

We finally got to go on a long awaited ski trip as a family.  Silver Mountain was having an amazing sale so we decided we had to go.  We stayed in the resort and had a nice 2 bedroom place with a full kitchen.  That allowed us to cook all of our meals while we were there.

It was pretty neat because every morning we would wake up and walk over to the gondola and enjoyed a 25 minute ride up to the ski slopes.  It was pretty magical.

When we got up there we would ski all day.  The kids all did so well.  The kids were a little traumatized when we took them on a harder hill than they were ready for, but other than that, we had a very successful trip.  All of the kids' skills improved incredibly when we were there.  They are all solid blue skiers.  Not bad for the first ski trip.  And best of all, they all had fun and want to do it again.

The only hard part for me was that my boots gave me a terrible cramp again and I could barely stand it.  I always have trouble finding rental boots that fit me, so I was super worried about that, but it turns out that the ones I rented were amazing and felt really good.  It was a blessing from heaven.  I definitely said a few prayers that I would find some boots to fit.  Otherwise, I don't think I could have skied at all. I even asked if I could just buy the boots after, but unfortunately they wouldn't sell them to me. The search for boots for me continues.  Those darn Norwegian calves!

We also had some beautiful views from the slopes.  There is something so beautiful and magical about skiing.  The weather was perfect for the first two days.  The third day was SUPER windy.  We still skied though.  I was proud of all of the kids for sticking with it.  They ended up closing early because of the wind.  It was knock you over type of wind.

In the evenings, we went to the water park and to sit in the hot tub, and the kids caught up on school for the day.  The waterpark was fun, with a lazy river and waterslides and a wave rider.  The girls tried out boogie boarding and Corban gave surfing a try.  There were 2 instructors there teaching each person how to do it.  It was great.  They all did amazingly well!

It was such a great trip for our family.  We had a great time.  We really needed that as a family.  Here's to new (very expensive) hobbies!

Little Project

We were doing scripture study several days and we wanted to show videos to go along with our daily study.  Zaron kept saying that he wanted a screen that we could just cast to when we wanted to show videos so that everyone could see.  So his wheels started turning and he decided that he wanted to put a tv behind my travel wall above the fireplace.  Once he got it into his head, he just had to make it happen.  So, he went and bought a tv and then cut a big hole in the wall!

He got the tv installed, but now he needs to fix the motorized mechanism that makes it all happen remotely.  Should be a cool setup!

Learning to Ski

The kids have been wanting to take a ski trip for forever.  We had one planned for last April in Utah (we were going to go to conference together and then spring ski) but of course Covid derailed all of that.  So, we decided to book a trip to Silver Mountain in Idaho for a quick getaway.  We scavenged some ski gear from Goodwills across the area and amazingly got everyone outfitted.  The kids were pretty excited.

We decided to go up to Snoqualmie one evening during mid winter break to get through the learning how to ski miserable time.  The kids all did great though and were really "getting" it by the end of the evening.  The snow was great and it was a very successful teaching session.  The only problems were that Eleanor's boots cracked in half (thankfully the rental shop let us borrow some for the night) and my boots caused my calves to cramp like the worst charley horse you have ever experienced.  Once I got past my initial cramp I was able to ski the rest of the evening, but I couldn't walk normally for days after.

But it was a good and successful night.  Everyone is so excited for the trip!

Valentine's Day

This year, Zaron made us a gourmet breakfast for Valentine's day.  He made us some eggs benedict.  It was so good, and even better that I didn't have to cook.  What a wonderful surprise.

We did home church (our ward was cancelled due to snow) and then did our zoom 2nd hour classes.  I made some yummy cinnamon rolls for us and to give away and then we did our traditional fondue dinner.  It was good!  I so love this family of mine.  What a blessing they are to me.

Snow Day!

They had been forcasting snow all week.  In Seattle, things can change very quickly and it often doesn't amount to much.  But when the snow began to fall, the kids got excited (and of course I did too!)  The girls jumped their excitement on the trampoline and we all went for a walk in the falling snow.

Then it started sticking and it got deeper and deeper.  Yes!  A real snow day.  And it happened on a Saturday so no school or work!  We got about 8 inches.  We went down the trail to the creek (How beautiful it was down there) and Bailey was loving it.

Of course both of the girls needed to take a picture of them holding Bailey.

Bailey ended up full of snow stuck to her hair.  She didn't love that, but she seemed to like the snow.

Many, many snow cones were made by the kids.  They couldn't get enough of them!

We decided this was the perfect opportunity to get the skis out and give them a try.  The kids did really great with them. We are hoping that they will pick it up easier when we get up to the slopes.

Once the kids were tired of hiking up the hill in ski boots (no fun) we did some sledding.  We had a fun time.

On day two, the temps were a little warmer and the snow wasn't as powdery, so you could actually build with it.  So the kids set to work on various things.  Charlotte decided to bury Corban.

Eleanor and Liam tried their hands at building an igloo.  They were looking good, but they are also a lot of work.

Eleanor was super excited to build a special snow chair for her to sit in.  She even made a foot rest for it.  She was pretty excited.

Snow days are so much fun.  And the beautiful thing about living her during a snow event is that you know it will be gone in a few days.  That's one of the reasons why it is so magical.  I love it!

Valentine Exchange

Eleanor got to participate with some kids from church in a Valentine exchange.  She made this cute box (very last minute, but it turned out so great!) for all of her valentines.

Then we dropped off her box to the church where everyone had their boxes out.  Each of the kids came by and delivered their valentines to each of the other kids.  The boxes and bags were so cute and creative.

Eleanor gave out Harry Potter valentines this year.  And it was funny because there were certain ones that she was embarrassed to give to people (the mushy ones).  It was a great quarantine friendly activity!  I'm so grateful for creative people that come up with these activities.

Charlotte's Cake

Charlotte decided that she wanted to bake a cake on a Sunday afternoon.  She did a great job baking it and then decorating it.  And it tasted really good.  We all decided that we wouldn't mind if she did that more often.

Of course she had to let Bailey have a sniff first.  Ugh.

I love that she just went for it!  And it turned out great! 

Reward for Family Challenge

While our cousins were here, we got to have our reward for our January family healthy habits challenge.  We all achieved our goals of eating fruits and veggies, exercising, drinking water, and showering and brushing teeth.  Our reward was to have a pizza and double feature movie night with donuts for dessert.  We had a great time together.

I am so proud of our family for working so hard and sticking with our goals.  Now on to our next challenge!

Cousin Visit

We got to have some cousins over for the weekend while their parents and brother were in Florida.  We loved every minute!  Eleanor was especially happy to have a fun, creative, sweet cousin to hang out with and create with.  They spent a lot of time doing art and building lego creations.

Of course Charlotte loved having Kaitlyn here too.  Charlotte, Kaitlyn and Eleanor spent a lot of time outside scootering around.  Max and Liam played games and had fun together too.  And Eliana was a joy to have around.  It's so fun to have a toddler in the house.  And she is so cute and good that it made things even better!  We loved it.

We all went down to the creek one day and had a lot of fun.  And Kaitlyn even found an arrowhead in the stream.  It was pretty neat.

It was a great weekend, and we were so sad to see them go!