January 14 - January 20

    Monday January 14th I took the kids to school then came home and packed up the totes of ski and snow stuff. Since we are going skiing twice this year we just ordered the kids their own helmets and goggles. That after noon I did laundry and house work. Rachel had practice from 6-8. We had shrimp and pepper stir fry for supper before Rachel left and the little two were in bed by the time Rachel got home.

Alec playing with his "Snow" Christmas gift

   Tuesday I took the kids to school then came home and cleaned my office. After picking up Alec we took Roger and Jessie to the vet for their shots. Rachel had a basketball game that night and scored 6 points. It is so much fun to watch her get the game and hustle and enjoy the time with her friends. Wednesday I took the kids to school then went to Walmart. After picking up Alec we went to Mike's office and enjoyed lunch with Mike and his staff for Mike's birthday. After lunch we came home and I made Ice Cream cake and breakfast burritos. Alec and I then ran to Hershey for the communion service at CCD. Rachel served for the first time and loved it. The kids had left overs for supper and ice cream cake with Mike when he got home. Mike and I then had a nice steak dinner after putting the kids to bed to celebrate his Birthday!

   Thursday I took the kids to school then took Jessie to Paws-a-Palooza to get temperament tested and to be boarded there for the weekend. Usually when we head out of town Marty and Lisa keep Jessie but they are also out of town so we had to find a place to board her. This new place just opened and they have an amazing facility. The dogs get to play with other dogs all day and then just go to their room to be boarded at night. Someone is always at the facility to check on the animals. I then picked Alec up and we headed home. Mike was home when we got home and we packed up the car and grabbed the girls from school and headed to Vail. We had good roads until we got close to Vail then it started snowing. We got to our condo and unloaded then walked around to find a place to eat. We ended up eating at Garfinkles. The kids loved their food and after we ate we walked around and explored a little then headed back to the condo for bed.

Catching Snowflakes

The snow mountain outside our place

Group picture night 1

   Friday Mike had conference early. I got the kids up, fed, and dresses for their first day of ski lessons. We got on the public bus and headed to the ski school. Alec was in one group and Rachel and Becca were in another. The kids all had a great day skiing. Becca had some tears when I saw her on the mountain as she started in Level 3 and got bumped down to level 2 because some of the level 3 kids where not ready for the lifts. Rachel was and Becca wasn't and it hurt her feelings. Overall she had a good day and learned a lot. I skied for the first time in 10 years. It was not as easy as it was 10 years ago and after some falls I finally let Mike talk me into a run that I later regretted and ended up walking down part of the mountain. We skied part of the day with Jake and Stephanie Weisen. Mike and Jake then went back to the conference that night. The kids and I went back to the condo and went to rent skis for the next day. We ordered take out and enjoyed relaxing that night before bed.

All the Ski Stuff ready to go

Rachel was the only picture I got on Friday

Waiting for our food to be done The kids loved the heated streets.

Mike and Jake on the snowy mountain

Having lunch!

  Saturday I signed the kids and I up for family ski lessons. Mike went to conference that morning and meet us at lunch on the top of the mountain. I learned a lot at ski lessons and the kids loved having me with them all day. It was hard for me to see Alec struggle and not help but our instructor was so good at pushing them to get better. We had a good morning until Alec got hangry. We got him some lunch and he was ready to go again. It also helped that Mike joined us after lunch so he had to show his dad all the new stuff he had learned. Alec's favorite thing to do was free ski and go as fast as he could go. He also likes to do the pizza. Becca loves to follow all the rules and ski right behind the instructor. She only got mad when Alec would follow her and get too close. Rachel is a really good skier and loves being on the mountain. She still needs to work on some turns but overall she is doing really well. We had a good day of skiing, then enjoyed the hot tub on the roof of our condo, before taking showers and eating pizza while we watched TV.

Headed in for Lunch

He was cruising in for the day.

   Sunday Mike went to conference in the morning while the kids and I slept in. We then got ready for the day and meet Mike around lunch time over by his conference center. We then did some shopping and walked from the hotel that his conference was at to our condo. We took some fun pictures along the way. We stopped for lunch then let the kids go ice skating. We went back to the condo for a bit and then went took the bus to Jake and Stephanie's place to watch the super bowl. The kids had a great time playing and we enjoyed visiting.

Claire, Becca, and Ellie

Rachel's Creation

  What a fun trip we had. The kids love skiing and I can't wait to see them continue this sport in the years to come. We have finally found something we can all do together. I still have not found the love but I like it more after our lessons. We also loved Vail and plan to go back soon. Would love to see it in the summer or fall but it was very beautiful this winter.