Learning to Ride

We went to Utah for spring break again this year.  Snowbasin did not have nearly as much snow this year though.  It was very slushy and many runs were closed.  It was fun to have a new place to explore with the kids though, and they got to see a lot more of the mountain this year.  We were able to talk Grandpa B into joining us for one day.  I think we wore him out.  The kids really enjoyed spending the day on the mountain with him though.

This year they got to ride up the gondola and ski back down.

 And Clay was able to join us this year!

Miles has been asking to try snowboarding, and since the conditions were perfect for learning, we decided to put both kids in a lesson the second morning.  We were totally surprised and amazed at how well they were doing on their boards when we picked them up.  They both had a great first day!

 We even took their friend up the gondola for a run down the hill.  It's always fun to have friends to ski with.

On the third day, we tried out the other gondola, Strawberry.  The kids did awesome!  They had so much fun we ended up doing several runs back down it. It is really nice to be zipped back up the mountain on a gondola instead of a slow, old school chair lift.  We calculated the distance down the mountain from the top of strawberry and figured out the run was 7 miles long!  Leah's legs were definitely getting tired close to the bottom.

 She still found the energy to knit with Grandma B in the evenings though.

 She finished her hat with the yarn Grandma gave her.  It turned out super cute!

 When we got back to town, we traded the kids' skis for boards for the last few weeks of the season.  They both wanted to keep boarding.  We even took our friend Nash up for a couple days so he could learn too.

Here they are cruising down the hill on their boards.

We decided to get some chicks this spring since we are down to two chickens now and have really started to enjoy having our own eggs.  I surprised the kids with them one day after school  They were really excited to see them and play with them.  Too bad they poop so much though.  You can't hold them very long without getting pooped on.

This one is a buttercup, so we named her Princess Buttercup.  We hope she is really a she.

We got a couple Cochins too.  They are the ones that have fancy feathered feet.  We named them Happy Feet and Fuzzy Feet.

February Fun

 The kids got to ski down their first black diamond run.  They did awesome!

We did some hiking in Sedona.  

Leah did her first science fair project and won a blue ribbon!  We did her project on avocados, her only complaint about her whole project was that I wouldn't let her eat the avocados we used for our experiment.

 The kids both got haircuts.

 Leah and I worked on some paintings.  I finally finished my painting of her.  Now I just need to finish my painting of Miles.

The kids did a little rock climbing.  They had so much fun we signed up for a weekly class this month.

  Winter finally decided to show up, at least for one week.

  Grandpa U came to visit!  It was a short visit, but it was so nice to spend some time with him.

Everything is Awesome

When you're 8!

Miles had another birthday in January.  He is officially an 8 year old and growing up too fast!

Miles requested a Boba Fett Cake this year.  He seemed happy with my version.

I gave him the choice of a big party somewhere in town, or having one friend over for his first sleepover.  He chose the sleepover.  We had a few friends join us for dinner and cake and then he got to have his friend stay the night.  They had a lot of fun, and fortunately they didn't keep me up all night.

 The next day we met Leslie and family at the zoo for the day.  It was beautiful weather and nice to see them all again after only a few weeks.

  Miles seemed very happy with his gifts and was very happy to be 8.

Since we saved Uncle Brett's Christmas/birthday gift for Miles' birthday, Leah got her Christmas present from him then too.  She was excited to have something to open too.

I offered to make a second Boba Fett cake for our family party, but Miles wanted his second cake to just say Happy Birthday.

While it is fun to watch my little boy grow up into a big boy, it sometimes makes me sad to see him growing up so fast.  Thankfully, Miles still always has a hug for his mom.  We love you Miles!  We hope your year is Awesome!