February Running

I'm smack in the middle of my marathon training and starting to get up there in my miles.  I have been feeling really good about my speed and consistency.  And also have a love/hate for the ice baths that I take after my long runs.  I love how I feel after and how I don't get as sore from the long miles.  But I do hate and dread doing it...

I'm really hoping for another Boston qualifying time this year.  If I can keep it up I think I'll make it!

 

Biz Town

Rhen has been excited for Biz Town for weeks!  This is such a fun event for the 5th graders to be a part of and to feel a small part of what it takes to have a job and manage their own finances.  It's done so well and really fun for them!  Before they get to the actual day of Biz Town, they each apply for different jobs and are given those assignments.  Rhen applied for and was chosen as the CFO of the Salt Lake School District.  Once she got there, her responsibilities included submitting and giving out the paychecks for all the employees and helping them each be able to balance their checkbooks before they spent their remaining money.  They all have bills to pay as a company and personally and then the rest can be spent throughout the town on whatever they want.  It is a darling town and so good for the kids to think about a be able to play a part in a "real grown ups day."  Because Rhen was the CFO she also gave a speech to the town along with the officers from the other companies.  She did awesome and had such a fun day at Biz Town!

 

Uncle Greg

It's always a good time when Uncle Greg comes to town!

 

Ski Week

One of our very favorite weeks of the year has come and gone - with lots of good times and crazy memories to keep!  We absolutely love the time we get to spend at the Brighton cabin and could never ask for a better place to relax, enjoy and ski our hearts out.  It's like a little slice of heaven on earth!

We took loads of pictures and the kids got better and better as the week went on.  They love the terrain parks, going through the trees, The Slide, Wren Hollow, jumps, skiing fast and most of all just being up on the mountain for days and days in a row. 

Some new things we did this week:

Rails and boxes

Wren Hollow Pro

All the rollers on Candyland Terrain Park (mom)

Great Western as a family

Jumping off the roof of a cabin

Choosing our walkie talkie call signs for the week is one of the hardest, but most satisfying thing when you come up with the perfect one.  Our call signs this year were awesome!

Josh - Ski Daddy

Nat - Mommer Bomber

Rease - Volkl Girl

Rhen - Clammy Clam

Liev - King of Snakes

Keen - 

Beck - Powder Boy

Such a great week with amazing snow and blue skies! Desh joined us for a day to ski and we had lots of visitors: Andy, Kristi and Ladd, Grammie and Papa Losee, The Baldaufs (who we love and have wanted to ski with forever!), The Flint/Johnson family, Matt Turner and Grammie Beutler.  

The kids are amazing skiers and have no fear.  They are so good at sticking together too and taking care of slow old mom who always brings up the rear slowly but surely.  There is nothing like seeing my kids do something they love and letting me do it along with them.  We all made great strides in our skiing this week and loved our time together on the mountain.  But all good things come to an end, and we were surely sad to leave this place.  But we didn't leave without giving out awards for the week.  So here are the winners and reigning champions...until next year!

Rease - Supermodel Award.  For perfect ski form.

Rhen - Show Stopper award.  For falling 2 different times by the chair lift and stopping all chairs until she was clear.

Liev - Dare Devil Award.  For...well...being a dare devil

Keen - Tour Guide Award.  Always telling us where to do and leading us down the right path

Beck - Silent but Deadly Award.  He's a silent killer on the slopes and is rockin it as a 5 year old!

Special award this year was given to Keen and Liev - Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum Award.  For doing some of the dumber things of the week: dropped gloves from the ski lift, forgot their passes in the cabin and had to go all the way back, left without telling us where they were going,  and falling down a slope between two trees and getting skis lodged.

Dad - King of the Slopes Award.  That pretty much says it all.

We have an amazing video of Liev at the end of the week as we're walking back to the van.  He was crying and saying how much he's going to miss ski week and said, "I just don't want to forget all the jumps that I learned this week."  Cute boy.  We will never forget.

 

Breakfast

These are moments a mommy heart can't resist...

 

Magic Show

We got together with some of our favs and went to a magic show/dinner at Gardner Village tonight.  It was a blast!  And I'm always pretty amazed at magicians and how they do what they do.  So I was completely entertained!  We love these people that we get to call our friends.  

 

Basketball Ladies

I've been playing basketball with a group of girls for 7-8 years now.  I've come and gone during pregnancies and having babies and the group has changed a little bit over the years, but these are some of the core ladies that have been there since the beginning.  I LOVE playing ball with all these wonderful girls and hope that we can keep it up for the next 20 years!

 

Play-Doh

Gotta love these Play-Doh Hamburgers that the boys made today!

 

Crazies

When you get your phone back from your kids and realize what they've been spending their time doing...

 

Ski lessons

The kids officially finished their ski lessons for the year and had such a great year with lots of improvement and success!  Beck did awesome and has turned out to be an awesome little skier.  He can totally keep up with the rest of the group when we all ski together.  I love it. Keen and Liev were in a class together and have improved their technique so much just since the beginning of the season.  They are fearless and amazing.  And Rhen and Rease were in freestyle lessons again this year and absolutely loved it!  They had great teachers and fun kids in their class.  They can ski anything and want to go everywhere on the mountain.  We have loved being up on the mountain together this year and have so much more ahead of us before the season is over!

 

Liev's 9th Birthday!

Liev turned 9 today and we celebrated all day long with this boy! He requested german pancakes before school and also wanted a Pokemon birthday cake.  That was a tall order but we figured it out and got Pikachu as the cake and some other characters as cupcakes.  He was so excited how it turned out! We celebrated with family this year and had a fun night opening gifts and eating cake and ice cream for our 9 year old.  We sure love him!

9 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 4'8" - 84%

Weight: 69 lbs. 7 oz. - 62%

My favorite things about Liev at age 9:

1) Liev is a big helper around the house and is usually the first one to volunteer whenever I need a job done.  He takes out the garbage bags like a champ and runs back and forth to the storage room for me when I'm cooking.  He is a great help to me!

2) Liev loves to be the oldest boy and takes the responsibility seriously.  He tries really hard to be a good example to the other boys and also is quick to apologize when he knows he hasn't done something right.  He loves to help his dad come up with good ideas for projects and always looks forward to spending alone time with him.  He's a very sweet boy and we're lucky to have him as our oldest son.

3) Liev has gotten some special privilages as the oldest boy and has been able to stay up later than the younger kids this year.  He helps me get the other boys to bed and then when they're asleep he gets to stay up with me a little bit longer.  He loves to make a bag of popcorn and just sit and hang out doing whatever we're doing.  He has learned how to play Settlers and most nights he wants to get a game started as soon as the boys are asleep.  I love seeing him be one of the big kids.  He is such a fun boy to be around!

We are so proud of Liev and all he stands for and the person he is becoming!  Happy Birthday!

Gaming

Maybe it's because we don't have a gaming system of our own at our house, but this is exactly what happens whenever the kids get their hands on a phone to play games.  Completely engrossed.  

 

Super Dad Day

Liev's class celebrated Super Dad day to go along with the Super Bowl this week.  The kids all gathered with their dads and had food and games together and had a great time celebrating their awesome dads!

 

Babies

These babies have stolen our hearts...

 

Cup Tower

Once in a while we find a little surprise left for us as the kids go off to school.  It's usually Liev that does these cute things to help us remember him while he's gone...

 

Grammie's birthday gift

Grammie is always saying that she has a cold nose.  Well the girls took notice and decided to crochet her a birthday gift to take care of the problem.  Here they are with their nose warmers and Grammie trying them on for size!

 

Desh's 1st day of skiing

This crazy caboose joined us today for his 1st day of skiing!  He could not have been more excited to be there with us and get all his gear on.  I was a tiny bit afraid that he would get tired, bored, cold before the end of the day but that was not the case one single bit!  He could not get enough and picked it up so quickly.  We took a snack break halfway through the morning and that was enough to keep him going for the rest of the time we had.  And he ran into his big brother Beck at the lodge and thought that was the best thing ever to be able to see him!  He's just so happy to be one of the big kids that he had the best first day!

 

Tears

For the most part, Desh and Kinley are best buds.  Once in a while though, one of them gets their feelings hurt and they have to figure out how to make up.  Today Desh came to me in tears, but they were soon followed by this cute hug and apology from Kinley.  Quick and easily over just like that!

 

Protein stock-up

Whenever we find a good deal on protein shakes, we tend to stock up.  Today I was the lucky one to pick up the boxes for everyone.  I fit 28 cases of Core Power in the back of the van.  I think this may last us a while!

 

Grandson's movie night

Papa and Grammie had all the grandson's over tonight to watch a movie and have treats.  They watched a live version of Jack and the Beanstalk and were all completely into it.  Afterward Desh could not stop talking about the movie "Jack and the Beans."

 

The twins are born!

Hayley had her twins today!

Benson born at 5:41 pm 5 lb 7 oz.

Briggs born at 5:42 6 lb 0 oz.

Babies and mama did great and are still doing great!  They are on a little bit of oxygen right now but mostly just as a precaution because they are early.  Overall they're amazing and here at last!

 

Night skiing

Snow was in the forecast today and we couldn't resist...we checked the kids out of school early and headed up to the slopes!  It ended up being AMAZING with lots of new snow while we were there.  Every run was like a new powder run with all the snow that was coming down.  We had a blast!  

 

Cyclops

Desh got ahold of my headlamp today and wore it all morning just like this...

 

Liev's Legos

Liev finished his semi truck lego set today!  (With some help from his big sis) 

This set is pretty awesome because everything moves and works just like a real truck, including the engine, seats, wheels and all.  So cool!

 

DARE graduation

Rhen has really like being part of DARE this year.  They have learned a lot and had a big graduation ceremony today!