Silas is snow SKIING!

After 11 days of skiing in 4 months, my valiant Silas is officially skiing by himself! I can not believe it!  And the feeling as a proud mother/skier is more than I can bear.  It's unbelievable, incredible, astonishing, wonderful, awesome, mind-blowing, sentimental and much more!  We are a family of four that snow-skis together.  Something I have envisioned of for years!

Here is the first time I let go of the straps on the harness.

 And further on down the hill, I felt confident enough to tuck those straps in and have him ski freely!

Silas, you completely surprise me everyday what you can do.  I love how you jump right in and don't complain.  You just want to accomplish anything that Jonas achieves at.  You truly are adventurous and love to challenge yourself to a higher level. 

While Silas and I were practicing on the beginning(green circles) runs, Jonas and Dad went to the top of Peak 9 and skied the intermediate(blue squares) runs. Jonas was so excited to report that he could ski any blue runs now and his favorite was Bonzana. Jonas quoted,"Mom, it's so much fun skiing but I need a massage tonight.  My legs hurt."

Look at those legs working.  He is learning to turn without snowplowing. He understands the idea of the inside edge of his ski that makes him turn. Wow!

Jonas, you completely amaze me at your determination and perseverance through snow-skiing experience.  Since you have been on skis, you have let me know(through your actions) that you will learn how to ski when you are ready.  And you proved to me that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.  You have tremendous patience with yourself, me, dad, and now Silas who is learning.  You encourage and praise him with your soft, simple, and kind words.  He appreciates you!  And I enjoy watching you 'raise the bar' for Silas to succeed. 

I am so thankful to have the privilege to teach my boys how to ski. 

Dr. Seuss's Birthday

Birthdays are so fun especially when it's Dr. Seuss' birthday.  My boys have enjoyed every year celebrating one of their many favorite authors.  In honor of him, we enjoyed green eggs and ham for breakfast(a tradition for years now), reading his books, and some craft activities. 

We made Cat in the Hat marshmallow and fruit roll up hats.  It was fun to play 'chubby bunny' with the marshmallows.  

January/February new beginnings

The months January and February came to an end very quickly and now here is March.  All four of us were very sick over these past few months but we made the most of it.  

I took this photo 2 years later at the same park. 

So far this year of 2013, there has been a slew of new beginnings.  Our first and most precious new beginning is Jonas taking piano lessons in our own home. Ms. Niki was referred by our piano tuner and she has been a wonderful and perfect match for Jonas.  Every week, she is always in awe what this little 5 year old can comprehend and how quickly he is learning.  She told me after the 3rd week, "I have never taught a child that can absorb music this well."  He is really responsive and enjoys practicing everyday to perform for his piano teacher.  

Another new beginning has been a passion for card games; UNO, Spot It, War, Slap Jack, and Golf. Jonas loves the competitiveness, especially with Dad(because Jonas legitimately beats him often, heehee).

We introduced the boys to Roller Skating with our good friend, Kallie. Through the anguish of falling down several times, the boys walked away with an attitude "let's try it again when I'm 8 years old."

Silas continues to make us laugh.  He will do anything to be silly and not let our life be mundane.  Love this guy!

Skiing as a family has been such a joy!  Now that Jonas is skiing on his own, I have the privilege to teach Silas. We either go to Keystone or Breckenridge ski resort with our passes every weekend.

Matt and I had the opportunity to stay in Vail with our good friends, Tom and Corine for a long weekend.  We played hookie from work and enjoyed a powder day!

My cute man and I shredding through the trees. Brought back memories together when we first met.

For the past 6 months, we have attempted to remodel our master bathroom.  It's been difficult to find time but the boys let us know it's time to work.  They love using their own hammers for demo work.

Our first trip on the Lightrail with our good friend, Finley. We headed downtown Denver to see a kid's symphony program.

Their opening melody was the theme song for Star Wars.  Oh boy, were they in awe!

Finley, Silas, and Jonas in front of the Boechtter Hall.

Lunch with school friends is always such a delight.

Valentines day was still a recovery day for some of us with the flu or strep, but we indulged in some chocolates from Oma.

Prepared a fondue dinner for the 4 of us.

We had a lot of days in our PJ's and playing in the kitchen. What's up homeboys?

Finally the snow came in February.  The boys have been wishing for snow since Oma and Opa's Christmas break in Canada.

Our first time shoveling the snow off the driveway.  Silas was quite helpful in being Dad's assistant.  

 Jonas giving it his all to shovel the sidewalk.

 After our hard work, we built two snow forts.  The boys called it Echo Base on Hoth(Star Wars).

 The next day, the sun was out and melting the snow quickly.  The boys played hard knowing they didn't have that many days to enjoy it.

We tried out Snow Ice Cream with sprinkles accompanied with hot cocoa for snack.