Skiing at Breck

We went up to Breckenridge today and since it was the first ski outing for Maddox this season, we put him in a class.  He's doing so much better than last year - he even said he doesn't need his harness anymore - YAY!  Here's a little video to show how he can turn on the bunny slope.  He also went down the mountain with his teacher, but I didn't get that on video.  Maybe next time.  (open this entry to view the video).

New Years Eve 2011

We spent part of our New Years Eve at Evergreen's "Skate the Lake" festival.   They put on a wonderful fireworks display at 8pm and midnight, and they have cozy barrels stoked with warm fires where we can roast marshmallows!  This year, they devoted the entire boathouse for a warming hut where they had a movie playing for the kids and served hot chocolate.

Maddox loved being on the ice - it's amazing what his PVC walker has done for him!

Happy New Year, everyone!!

Maddox Learns to Skate!

While my parents were here, Michael and my dad built an ice skating walker out of PVC pipe for Maddox to use.  Here's just a glimpse at how successful it has become!  (Open this entry to see the video).

Christmas 2011

Mom and Dad braved the snowstorms and joined us here in the mountains for Christmas this year!  We were so happy to have them!

We made ice cream cone Christmas trees - just for fun!  Even Mom participated!

As always, Santa was very good to us.  Christmas morning, the boys found a treasure trove of toys and games...

 ...including one very longed for gift... NERF GUNS!  Santa apparently didn't get the memo that we don't have toy guns in our house.  (which made it an even sweeter surprise!)

Santa also left these cool Star Wars jedi robes.  Doesn't Morgan look like Anakin?

A few years ago, we began a new tradition in our home where we draw names and make a homemade Christmas gift.  The things we've made for each other have been really impressive, and this year was no different!

To start, I made Maddox a super hero costume, complete with his own "SUPER M" logo on the shirt, cape, and hat.  He loved it - and if there was any question about that, let me just say that he slept in it that night.  :)

Maddox (with some help from Mom) made Morgan a neck pillow for traveling.  Morgan wanted one because he always falls asleep in the car and gets uncomfortable.  He really likes this one!

Michael made a gorgeous charging station for Mason and all his electronic gadgets.  He stained it to match Mason's room.  (Michael even made an extra one for me to go in the kitchen!)

My favorite homemade gift was definitely what Mason made for me - it was so COOL!  He made a portrait of him and his brothers out of LEGOS!!  Up close, it looks digitized, but when you step back, the image is unmistakable!  It is currently down at the store getting framed and will soon be upon my wall.

 Here's a better shot of it... now stand back a few feet from your computer and look at it.  Amazing!

 
And lastly, Morgan learned how to use a potters wheel and made Michael this neat bowl.  The really impressive part is that he had to mix the glazes to come up with this purple (Michael's favorite color)... if you've ever worked with pottery glazes, you know that they don't look anything like the color they'll be once fired, so mixing them was an extra challenge!

 The homemade gifts were certainly a lot of fun, but there were many, many more gifts to open...

 This next one is a bar of soap for Michael from our Scottish friends... one side is for his face, and the other side is for... well, see for yourself.  :)

More goodies from Scotland!

Michael got me a larger George Foreman grill - the one we have is teeny, tiny and not so good for feeding my crew.

 Here's Maddox, still in his costume, with his new sidekick.

While we were in Seattle, Michael and I found this cool wooden fish puzzle that we knew Dad would love.  I expect we'll be seeing his own rendition soon.

Morgan's dream car is a mini cooper, so I got him a model to help him visualize it.

Since the Volkswagen went over so well for his birthday, I got Michael the London Bridge set for Christmas.  It's a huge set, but it took us only a couple of days to complete it... are you not surprised?

The biggest present under the tree was for Mason - a new telescope!

Morgan made this crown out of one of Maddox's new toys, and Grammy modeled it for us.

Well, all good things must come to an end... Mom & Dad had to head back to Texas.  What a fun time we had with them here!

The Keebler Elf

I decided to make Christmas cookies for all of our close friends and neighbors... so one evening, I whipped up a few.

Well, okay, so I actually made 32 dozen cookies and 2 turtle cakes.  No sweat.  :)

Trip to Seattle

Michael's company Christmas party was in Seattle, so we made arrangements for me to fly up and spend a day with him there.  We are so grateful to have dear friends to keep our boys while we were away.

 The party was actually at the Seattle zoo!  We started off at the carousel for appetizers and cocktails, then moved to another building for a nice catered dinner.

Michael's co-worker, Tom, and his wife, Kate, showed us (...well, me, since Michael's been there many times) around Seattle a bit and took us to the famous "troll under the bridge".  Quite a spectacle!

Breakfast with Santa

I took Maddox to see Santa at my friends' church - they have this lovely breakfast with Santa every year and it's always worth going.  This year, however, Maddox actually sat on Santa's lap!  He's always been afraid before.  They had quite the chat... :)

 And Mrs. Claus got her snuggles in as well.