March 2013

Ok... get ready.  March was a busy month!

Harvesters

Connor's class had a field trip to Harvesters to package food for the needy in the area.  I was so lucky to be able to go!

The kids are anxious to get started!

We packaged oranges and carrots.  The kids had to sort the good ones from the rotten ones.  Some of them were pretty gross!

Watch Dogs and Happy Bear

The kids school has a great program where 1 Dad per day is the Watchdog for the school.  He takes the day off work and spends the day helping out teachers, watching the kids, etc...  Jeremy's day to be Watch Dog just happen to also be the day I volunteered to be Happy Bear.  Happy Bear teaching the kindergartners about appropriate and inappropriate touch.

Jeremy and all the kids got to be on the morning broadcast

The most handsome Watchdog the school ever had!

The Watch Dog board with Jeremy and the kids in the picture.  The board will be completely filled up by the end of the year. 

Me as Happy Bear!  At the end the kids could give me an appropriate touch (a hug or a high-five) if they wanted to.  Whitney chose to give me a hug.  I was saying "Whitney, it's Mommy" but she was so confused and had no idea that is was me in there! lol!

Steamboat, Colorado

We wanted to keep the annual tradition of skiing for spring break.  Even though we weren't going to Edelweiss we were still excited to see what skiing in America was like!  

What did we do without electronics on road trips???

We stopped at Casa Bonita for lunch.  This was a tradition for Jeremy when he was younger.  Let's just say, this place was.... interesting!

Our table

The best part of the meal was dessert!  Homemade Sopapillas.

We finally got to our condo.  Trendwest is always predictable and familiar.  It felt like home!

The hot tub was definitely not as nice as Edelweiss but it was right outside our condo and felt GREAT everyday after a long day of skiing!

Cuddling by the fire after the hot tub.  

The best part of staying in a condo with a kitchen is being able to make homemade cookies and milk before bed every night!

Getting our ski equipment.  This was not as smooth as Edelweiss either.  But, we eventually got everything we needed and were super excited to go skiing!!!

The first day!  There was a smaller mountain that Jeremy wanted to try out with the boys before hitting the big mountain the next day.  The day before our trip though Aiden gashed up his knee pretty bad.  He couldn't even bend it.  So it ended up just being Connor and Jeremy for the day.  We went and met them for lunch though.

That night they did a torch lighting/fireworks display on the mountain.  We got a great seat next to these open fires while we waited.

These lights were held by a bunch of skiers skiing down the mountain.  You couldn't tell what it was until they got close.  It looked really cool!

Here we go!  We got our equipment and all 3 little munchkins are following their daddy for the first run of the day!

This was scary!  The boys took 3 years of ski school in Germany but Whitney only had 1 year.   We really didn't know how to work with her.  Jeremy is a much better skier than I was so he started off with her while I took the boys up.

Going up for the first time!  

Whitney was getting frustrated.  Daddy made everything better though!

It didn't take Whitney long before she was going down on her own.   Which was a good thing because the boys would rather ski with Daddy instead of me.  I can't keep up with them or go down the runs they want to go on!

Mommy's turn with Whitney.   As soon as she started singing to herself then she wasn't scared anymore and was doing great!  Singing calms her down I guess.  This was how she learned to ride a bike too.  She would just start singing and then she could do it!

Taking a little snack break!  Sorry I don't have more pictures of the boys on here.  I didn't see them hardly the entire time we were there since I was mainly with Whitney on the smaller runs and I couldn't keep up with the boys even if I tried!

The boys would come down and go on a few runs with Whitney and I.  Whitney loved skiing with them most of all!

At the top!

We packed our lunches every day and ate them in the sun.  Connor's face cracks me up!

Mapping out their next run!

 

Whitney LOVES to go up with her brothers!!

You can see our condo's in the background

By the end of the week Whitney hated the bunny hill!  

She puts her arms out because she thinks it will make her go faster.  She likes to go fast!

On the last day Whitney and I stopped at one of the cafes on the mountain for some french fries and hot cocoa while listening to live music and watching the skiers come down.  Whitney just colored and hummed along to the music.  I remember just watching her and wishing she could always be this happy and care free.  

It seemed like he was singing just for us!  

 By the last day Whitney was doing awesome!!

So proud of you Whitney!!!  

Other than skiing we also did some sight seeing during the week.  This was the ice castle in Steamboat.  It was truly majestic!

   

We hiked up Fish Creek Falls.  There are a couple of waterfalls up the mountain but the were frozen.  It was snowing so hard it was hard to see anything!  Next time we are going to wear snow shoes!  It was so beautiful and peaceful.

 

Oldtown hot springs.  These were natural hot springs in the middle of town.  

They have a rock climbing wall with a bell at the top.  The kids try to ring the bell but very few could do it.  Jeremy couldn't take it for very long until he had to try it!  All the kids were watching and giving him advice where to put his feet, etc...  So funny!

And that is it!  The last picture of our trip.  Such great memories!!

Easter

We got back from our ski trip just in time for the Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt - which was practically right in our backyard.  Even the boys were excited! lol!

The kids friends from school were there too.  Everyone was waiting for the green light to find the eggs. 

Go!!

They got lots of eggs!  Connor had so many they didn't fit in his basket so they were in my purse.  

Jeremy and Kayla watching.  Jeremy was putting off surgery on his ear for after our ski trip was over.  Once again, for the 4th time, his melanoma on his ear returned.  :(

After the Easter Egg Hunt we all came home and colored our own Easter Eggs

Easter Baskets... Before kids!

Easter Morning!!  

Easter Breakfast

Our annual family Easter picture. 

Easter Dinner

Tea Party

Jeremy's Aunt Barb threw a bridal shower/tea party for her new daughter-in-law-to-be!  Only the girls were invited and we were asked to wear a fancy hat!

I let Whitney pick out her entire outfit and this is her at her fanciest!   

The room was decorated so elegantly!

Whitney really loves cousin Stacy!

Cheers!

Such a beautiful group of women!  Aunt Barb is an amazing woman and Cousin Mo will be a great addition to our family!

Birthday Party

We had to leave the tea party a little early to rush to a birthday party for Whitney's friend.  They hired a "real" princess for the party.  It was a really cute party!  

Red Rover

One of the best parts about moving to the U.S. is this!  We went for a walk on a beautiful, sunny day and, practically right in our backyard there was a group of kids that just started up a game of Red Rover.    All three of my kids just jumped right in.  This was something that we never could do in Germany.  I feel so blessed to be part of such a great neighborhood and community!

Movies

One of our favorite things to do is go to a Saturday Matinee.  Before March ended we grabbed a few of the kids friends and went to see The Croods.  I don't know where Connor and his friend were when we took this picture.  But, it was sure lots of fun!