Back Again

This seems to be the time of year that I fall behind. Thinking back to last year, it was right around this time that I stopped blogging, just because life became busy. I'm trying not to let it happen again, but it has been several weeks since my last post. I've included some pictures to let you know what we've been so busy with. The crazy thing about being busy . . . you literally don't know what to do when you aren't! The kids stayed the night at friends' houses last night, and it felt so wierd - no place to go and no plans - just relax? Really?!

Skating with the church group.

Elliiott wanted a monkey cake for his 9th birthday, so this is my attempt!
Happy Birthday Elliott - 02/24 - he later told me he knew he was getting this as he had "accidentally" peeked in the bag!!! Love you big guy! Elliott and both sets of grandparents.
The kids took part in a 2 month basketball program in Hillsboro called JAM. Matigan wasn't as excited as Elliott, but by the end she was into it and was doing well - of course her team had pink shirts - somehow her coach knew it was her color!

Elliott showed a lot of improvement in basketball. The camp-like instruction they receive was the reason we drove to Hillsboro almost every weekend.

Last weekend, we all had a 3-day weekend, so we decided to hit the slopes of Colorado. We went to Ski Cooper-mainly because of the cost, but also because we knew it wouldn't be as busy as some of the more popular resorts. It was great!! It was Matigan's first time, and she was a natural. It was Elliott's third time, but his first to give snowboarding a try. It was a little more difficult for him than he anticipated, so the second day he went back to skiing. This was the first time he was able to keep up with Mom and Dad, so he was pretty proud of himself. The kids are already asking when we can go back again.

Matigan in Panda Patrol ski school.

Elliott on the slopes - it was so nice the second day, we skiied without coats!

Ski Bum!

Matigan by her skiis - they were so short and cute!
Kris is a snowboarder - check out the powder - it was awesome! On the day we got there, it was snowing and blowing - someone said it had snowed 8 inches! We decided to skip skiing that day and went to the aquatic center instead. The kids had a blast swimming, going on the slide, and rope swinging into the pool. The two days we skiied were perfect.

This is the reason why I love Colorado and didn't want to leave - the beautiful views! Can you get tired of this??

Here's the reason why we almost didn't leave Colorado - the traffic jam. There was a wreck on I-70 just past the infamous tunnel. We went no more than 10 miles in an hour. A long start to our long drive home.
The kids were entertained by the other drivers - one guy got out and ran up and down amongst the stopped cars - that's him running down the middle of I-70!!

I'm really looking forward to Spring Break - a few home projects I'd like to complete - and just a break! Those that aren't educators don't know what that break does for us! At least for me, it finally allows me to see the light at the end of the tunnel and know that I can make it those last few weeks!! Now I'm hoping there's some nice spring weather to go with it!