Morgan's Pinewood Derby

Here is Morgan participating (and winning a trophy!) in Pack 39's Pinewood Derby!

Vacation in Glenwood Springs

Okay, so where is everyone? I haven't had a comment in quite a while...

I have a long post for you this time... lots to share! Last weekend, we took a GLORIOUS trip to Glenwood Springs and had a fabulous time! Our first stop was to explore Glenwood Caverns. Here we are on the gondola that took us up the mountain.

There were a lot of fun things to do up there besides touring the caves. Our first order of business was to check out the self-propelled roller coaster. This thing was AWESOME! It's like a sled, only it's attached to a track. It takes about 1-1/2 minutes to wind its way from the top to the bottom, and then you get to relax while it pulls you back up the hill to drop you off right where you started. We must have ridden it 8 or 10 times!

Here's looking back down the hill that it pulls you up:

And here are Mason & Morgan emerging again at the top. The nice thing is that you can get off, and then walk 10 feet to ride it again!


It was very cold up there, and when you're zooming down the mountain, it's even colder! So we were sure to bundle up good. Maddox had a blast!

Next, we toured the caves. Maddox was having a great time because the tour guide let him be her "little helper" and carry her flashlight. Maddox has a full blown infatuation with flashlights since his Aunt Sheri got him a cute little one for Christmas. Well, the one the tour guide had was about 20 times bigger! He could barely hold it! Oh, the joys of being 3...

This next photo was taken from a little "balcony" that was carved out right in the rocky cliff. The tour guide told the story of how one of the original owners of this cave charged admission to make it all the way through to this point. It was breathtaking...

Well, everything was great until Maddox tripped and busted his lip about halfway through the tour. It happened OUTside the cave, but the facility was so concerned about it, they even filled out an accident report. If they only knew how many fat lips this little guy has had?!

After an ice pack and some cold apple juice (on the house), we rode the roller coaster some more, checked out a couple other things, then made our way back down the gondola to the hotel. We stayed at the Hot Springs Lodge, where we had access to the enormous hot spring pool.

Now, let me tell you... there is just something REALLY WEIRD about swimming OUTSIDE in the middle of winter (it was only in the 30s!), but the huge, main pool is naturally kept at a comfy 90 degrees, and a smaller pool is kept at about 104. I was fine in the bigger pool... that is, until it was time to get out! Imagine being soaking wet, barefoot, walking on cold concrete in 30 degree weather?!

Ah well, it was still a blast! Mason and Morgan are such good buddies...


Maddox is currently taking swimming lessons, and he was eager to show Daddy all his new "tricks"!

(see all the steam coming off the water?!)

And for his final trick, Daddy taught him how to open his eyes underwater!

Aren't underwater cameras the greatest?!

Well, as if that weren't enough, we also did some SKIING!! It was the first time for me in about 5 years, and also the first time we all went together this season.

We put Maddox in the childcare and the 4 of us hit the slopes! Isn't it beautiful?!

Mason & Morgan were excited to show me how well they've learned to snowboard. I was SOOOOOOO impressed! I couldn't believe they were MY kids!

...of course, I was pretty impressed with Michael, too. :) He prefers snowboarding now because it's easier on his bummed knee. I tried hard to get pictures of the three of them standing together, but those boards are so slippery, that they always ended up on the ground instead.

We had such a great time, that we decided to ski again the next day, too! And we even signed Maddox up for a lesson of his very own...! At his age, he gets a private lesson, and his instructor spent about 15 minutes with him on the "kiddie" slope teaching him a few things, then it was ON TO THE LIFT! Eeeeeek!

Above is him getting on the lift with his instructor. I tried to stay out of his view, because I knew that once he saw me, it would all be over. Mason and I followed him up, and I snapped this shot from the lift as his instructor started working with him.

Unfortunately, Maddox did NOT like skiing. He cried most of the way down and kept asking his instructor to take those skis off. We tried to let him be, but about 45 minutes into his 1 hour lesson, Michael "rescued" him. We'll keep trying... the instructor says that all 3 year olds cry their first time out, but the more we do it, the more he gets used to it, starts feeling comfortable, and begins to like it.

Well, Mason and Morgan both decided to rent skis that second day and see if they remembered THEIR lessons from long ago. It didn't take any of us very long to catch on again, and it was SUCH FUN for us to all slide down that mountain together.



...oh, and I got a new coat! Michael and I each thought we packed my coat... when it turned out that neither of us did. So Michael bought me this snazzy new one! Isn't it pretty?

So, there you have it... 3 days of pure family fun. What can be better than that?!

Michele

Question of the Day...

We recently went ice skating at Pine Junction, on a lake that was virtually deserted. It was a gorgeous day, spent with wonderful neighbors, breathing the crisp, mountain air... thus begs the question:

...and there you have it.

Michele

PS: Doesn't my husband look GOOD?! ;)

The Obermarks Visit

Just after the new year, we had the pleasure of hosting my cousins, Mike & Kim Obermark, and their three boys, Eric, Alex, & Jason. It is always so much fun when they visit since our families have a lot of similarities. The boys, needless to say, have a blast together playing the Wii and whatnot... and they even had a chance to do some skiing/snowboarding together!

During their visit, our dear friend, Doris, came back through town on her way back to Texas. She so graciously showed two of her wonderful birds to our guests...



So what could be better than a vacation where you get to go skiing AND hold a Great Horned Owl all in the same trip?! :)

Thanks for coming, guys... can't wait to do it again.
Miki

A Day at the Stock Show

We took a little field trip today... the boys and I joined some friends (another homeschooling family) and went to the Stock Show! Among all the sights (and smells!), we watched cows taking showers and getting all "purtied" up for their big events. Oh, were they beautiful!

We even watched a sheep getting sheered... shorn? We gave the guy a hard time and teased him for doing such a thing to these animals in the dead of winter in Colorado! But he promised us that they would be "indoor sheep" until they grew their coats back.

We also saw lots and lots of bunnies and chickens in all shapes & colors, and even saw some llamas, which was especially neat since we just finished studying the Incans who placed tremendous value on llamas. The boys saw some bees in action, Mason made some rope, and Maddox got to ride a real pony named Dolly!

Then we had a picnic lunch before heading back home for juggling practice.

All in a day's work for a homeschooling family... now off to our fun weekend trip!
Michele

The Boys

I know I haven't posted in a LONG while. I've been busy... with these:

We're all doing well and we hope you are too! We have a fun surprise trip planned for this weekend... I'll be sure to share it with you when we return!

Michele

Sledding

Happy New Year!! There's no shortage of snow up here at 8,000 feet, so it's high time we take advantage of it! We took a little family outing to a great sledding hill earlier in the week...

Above is Mason on one of our new sleds... we have affectionately named it "Zippy". It's very different from any sled we've ever used, but after you get used to it, it's pretty fun! Below is Morgan on our other new sled. It's basically two skis with a seat and it goes FAST!

Of course, Maddox got in on the action by hitching a ride with anyone who'll take him...


...and finally, he got brave enough to attempt Zippy all by himself!

Great fun was had by all... and no one got hurt, so that's an added bonus. :)

Michele