Ski Trip 2011

A few weeks ago, we went on our annual ski trip to Copper Mountain, Colorado.

Getting ready to leave is always a chore packing for four kids. But for some reason, it seemed especially challenging this year. Photo sessions needed to be finished editing and client orders needed to be placed before we could leave for our vacation. And that's just for my business. Add in shuttling the boys to wrestling practice, helping Jason with youth group activities calendars and all the other day-to-day to-do's, and I was in much need of a reprieve!

So, after driving all night long, barreling our way through a snow storm in the mountains, and getting the kids tucked in for a good night's sleep in actual beds instead of car seats, we were ready Sunday morning to start a wonderful week of skiing.

And wonderful it truly was!

In addition to our family, we had several friends with us this year, one of which just happens to be the family of our sons' best friends. So, needless to say, Gabe and Cooper had a blast sharing a room and beds with their best buddies, Brayden and Easton!

And then there was skiing together!

The boys all had a blast and were making their way down double black diamonds like nobody's business by the end of the week. Yes, there were several almost heart-attack moments for this mom, in case you were wondering. Our five-year-old is a dare-devil and likes to go fast. While going down a steep black diamond run early in the week, Cooper thought he'd go straight down instead of doing his turns as I'd just told him to do at the top of the run. So there I am, watching from behind as I see Cooper skiing straight down the mountain at supersonic speed. It looked as if he thought he'd zoom right by our friend, Jeff, but he instead barreled right into the back of his legs and they both went down. It was completely horrifying. I still wish that I would have somehow captured it on video, although I would have never wanted to watch it again myself.

Thankfully, both Cooper and Jeff escaped the incident unscathed, and it taught Cooper a valuable lesson to make sure you're under control while skiing. The rest of the week Coop skied without incident, and life was good!

So many stories I could share from our wonderful week, but I'll get on to sharing some photos...

This was Chloe's first year on the slopes. She was so excited, but a bit scared too. After getting over her fear of the lift, she did great. Here she is all bundled up. It was so very cold for most of the week...



Cooper lost his first tooth on the second day of skiing. He's so cute and proud with his missing tooth...


The lift below is very tricky, as you can see, because there's only a little bar you grab and place between your legs as it proceeds up the hill. You miss the bar, it's strike one. You fall down, it's strike two and you're out...they only give you two chances to get 'on' the lift. It was the boys' first time on this lift, and they all made it on the first try with flying colors!{From top to bottom: Me, Cooper Gabe, Brayden and Alex, going up the lift. Jason was in back with the camera.}


At the top there is this sign to remind you that the stick you were just holding on to can be brutal if you allow them to then hit you...


At the top of the lift, you literally feel like you're on top of the world! At the very least, on the top of a very big mountain! Here's Gabe, Cooper and Brayden taking in the view...


We had to ski down this to get down from the top of the mountain. Very steep stuff! We didn't tell the boys until they got down, but this was their very first double black diamond run...


The run is so steep, and so full of fresh powder, that even veterans like Jason's dad fall down sometimes. And Dwight, this is payback for last year's tree run incident...you remember, a certain photo of me {and my behind} trying to work my way up from an run-in {literally} with a tree. That was a nice photo, but I like these couple better...



And to be fair, Dwight wasn't the only one who fell on this run. Here's our friend Alex on the ground, as Cooper and Gabe watch...


Here's the boys at the bottom of the run, with the huge mountain in the background being where they just skied down from. What studs...


Some of our crew on the lift...


A BIG thank you to Jason's mom, Grandma Sanders, who volunteered to again go along on the trip and watch kiddos so that I could ski! I think the kids and Bonnie both had fun watching the slopes from the nice warm condo...


I love this one of Easton and Cooper playing the DSi's on the floor. They were so into gaming, they didn't even realize I was there...


But Nolan did! He quickly grabbed his little laptop and posed for me like the big boys...


Speaking of Nolan, his personal mission throughout the week was to help take care of Gavin. Hey, he's older than Gavin, so why not! ha! But Gavin wasn't always so keen on the idea. Love this photo below. Gavin: Mom, stop taking pictures and help a guy out already!


Our friend, Joanna, playing princesses with Chloe...


Our little Dare Devil, Gabe, doing a jump on the terrain park...


You don't have to look long to see who Gabe takes after. Here's Jason doing a jump...


Here's our friends during an impromptu photo session...

This family went with us four years ago, and they had their truck stolen on the way out in Denver. Seriously, their truck was stolen along with all their belongings! No wonder it took four years for them to work up the bravery to try it again! We are so thankful they came along, and so happy it was a MUCH better trip!

Here's all the kid skiers from our group. Left to right, Chloe, Gabe, Brayden, Cooper and Easton...


And our family, minus Gavin...


Our Dew Run crew...


And what's a Dew Run without the Dew...


And we can't forget some gorgeous scenery...








Photo overload, I know. And this was just a small portion! What a blessed trip!

Chloe + Valentine's Day = Love

My heart overflows when I'm with this girl of mine...



I think besides the candy they get, the boys could take or leave Valentine's Day. But Chloe, she was sooo looking forward to valentine's day so that she could "love on all my friends," as she said. When I told her that she didn't have to wait for valentine's day to do that, she told me, "Yes, but the candy shows my love that much more!"

I just want to squeeze that little giggly face...



Chloe was so looking forward to Valentine's Day that she even made this necklace to wear for the big day using a kit I bought at a local craft store... {Owl Be Yours}



In addition to buying mom flowers this year, her daddy also brought her some flowers. Perfect little red tulips. Chloe politely said, "Oh thank you, Daddy! They're beautiful," and gave one of the tulips a little hug.



Oh how I love her...

15 years

Fifteen years ago on Valentine's Day, my valentine asked me to be his. I was a junior in high school, and Jason was a senior.We went to see a movie, 'Twelve Monkeys' featuring Brad Pitt...strange movie is all I can say. And we went to a matinee to save money. Looking back, this was a first glimpse into the person Jason is...cheap, er I mean fiscally conservative.

Then we proceeded to eat at the Applebee's, where my all-too-comfortable date not only licked his own plate clean (and yes, I mean literally licked his plate,) but he also ate the half of my meal that I couldn't. Charming, I know. The fact that he actually licked his plate on our first date in the middle of a restaurant and I found this to be cute (at the time) really shows that ours was a match made by the Lord. Thankfully, Jason's manners have come a long way in fifteen years, as has our life together. Yes, he continues to eat my leftovers but no longer licks the plate, ha!

We continued dating through high school and college, married in 2000, and now have four children. Where does the time go? Really, the rate at which our days, weeks and months have been passing by lately has me in a bit of a panic. I don't want it to go by too fast. I don't want to blink and have my kids grown and out of the house. I don't want to turn my head and find that I've missed the days that only come once in a lifetime, that I've missed out on all the little blessings God has given us. Blessings like a husband who loves the Lord with all his heart, loves ALL of God's people and possesses a passion to share Christ with them. A husband who is thoughtful, caring, kind, strives to see the best in people, and sees the best in me, even when I may not believe in myself. A husband who holds my hand as we send child by child off to school for the first time and this sensitive mama cries the day away. A husband who encourages me to achieve more than I could have ever imagined, and reminds me that it's all for Christ's sake.

Who am I that I have been so blessed?

No, I don't want to wish any of these blessed days away, for I can see that they pass by fast enough on their own. I pray that as we celebrate this Valentine's Day, the Lord would help me to cherish every moment and always strive for more passion and love that can only come from Him. I pray that He would continue to mold me into the best wife that I can be, and that I would allow Him to do so. And I pray that our children would see in their mom and dad that a love formed by the Lord is one to strive for.

Jason and I have been through a lot. We've grown up together in a way, as we've now spent nearly half our lives together. We've grown in our faith, we've grown in our relationship with each other, we've grown as parents and as friends. We've experienced life together, traveled together, served the Lord together, and learned how to do so many things together. And my valentine taught me how to ski so many years ago, just recently returning from our tenth ski trip together where we worked together to teach our three-year-old daughter how to ski as she laughed and cried down the mountain. (She's soooo like her mama in some ways!)

Yes, life is full of so many memories and so many of mine are filled with you, my valentine. And for that, I am forever thankful.

The making of our Valentine's Day Cards

Valentine's Day is something I love. Because it's about just that...love. Showing love to those we love. And MCP Actions did just that! They're showing the love by offering free card templates. They're so very cute, check them out:



Go here to download your very own free mini card templates! I love freebies!

As does Florabella, who is also offering free Valentine's templates...



The designs are all so adorable and I immediately fell in love with the bookmarks. Here's Chloe's Valentine bookmarks she will give out this year...



As much as I love all the free Valentine designs, I didn't find one that worked very well for the boys. They were all a little too girly. And I love girly, but not so much for the boys. {On a side note, I actually showed the cards to Gabe and he said, "There is no way I'm handing out cards that have hearts all over them. What would the boys think???" Made me laugh, so I just had to share.}

But, I have been craving a little art project, and with the boys help, we made their cards for this year.

First, I drew out a 5x7 box and sketched a robot...



Added a background graph design to add some depth...



I then printed one out for Gabe and Cooper and let them color their Valentines. I did make a color chart so they wouldn't get too carried away with the colors. (Cooper has this thing with coloring everything black lately. Trust me, a color chart was necessary!) And then, I also 'helped' their coloring a bit in photoshop too! ha! It's amazing how you can erase what is outside the lines, and blend a bit here and there.





After they colored them, I then scanned them back into the computer and added the 'UR Gr8' and the heart on the robot's chest with computer drawn squares, and also added the boy's faces to the Valentines...







And then the boys cut them out.





Voila! Robot Valentines!





And in case you're thinking that I'm insanely organized already having Valentines done and ready to go, think again. We're leaving on our annual ski trip in a few short weeks and will be back just in time for Valentine's Day parties at school, so I had no other choice!

Don't you just Love Valentine's Day!

She reminds me of the princess from Enchanted...

Does the blog post title have you curious?

Do you know the movie, Enchanted?

If not, first of all, you need to see it. I know it's probably considered a kid's movie, but it's one of my favorites.

Enchanted is about a fairytale princess who is sent to our world {the real world} by an evil queen. Soon after her arrival in New York City, Princess Giselle begins to change her views on life and love after meeting a handsome lawyer. The movie poses the question, 'can a storybook view of life survive in the real world?'

{A photo of Giselle, below..}


Well, in the eyes of my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Chloe, every day is a storybook view of life!

Chloe is princess through and through. Maybe with a bit more down and dirty than the average princess thanks to her three brothers, but still a princess. She is very animated, loves to dress up, loves to have her hair & nails done and loves to sing & dance. After all, what princess doesn't sing and dance?

Chloe is also a 'glass-half-full' kind of girl. She is almost always happy, almost always cheery and spreading that happiness to others with her sunny disposition.

Even at the dentist where some little girls may be timid or frightened, Chloe goes into the dentist chair with a smile, singing her favorite 'brush, brush, brush your teeth' song with her high pitched little voice. Which is why soon after meeting Chloe, the dental hygienist turns to me and says, "You know who she reminds me of? The princess from Enchanted."

I smiled, and said, "Yes, we've heard that before!" And we have! Giselle, the princess from Enchanted, shares Chloe's sunny disposition and glass-half-full outlook. Maybe that's why Chloe loves the movie so much! She can often be heard singing one of the movie's main songs "That's how you know."

Chloe, meant to be a princess.

And maybe thinks she really is one...





You experienced princess moms may notice something not quite right in the photo below. Cinderella is wearing Ariel's dress, Ariel is wearing Belle's dress, and Belle is wearing Cinderella's dress. I overheard Chloe telling the princesses that they were being taught a lesson in sharing with their wardrobes today...



Chloe, gotta love her!