Sweet Snuggles and Burning Trees

These two ate always just the sweetest together.

there's nothing like dragging a dead Christmas tree 30 miles in February to a friend's to burn it.  watch it!

February in Michigan??

Crazy weather for sure, though no one is complaining!

Chicken-hamburger-Potato chip Stew Anyone?

After putting the kids to bed, I came downstairs to find a lone forgotten pot on the stove. I about I was a bit annoyed that somehow one was forgotten, but then I was puzzled because I didn't remember using that one while making dinner. I looked inside and found what could only be an Elijah creation. I will definitely miss these little surprises someday.

I sure wish he'd eat all those veggies! (Or really, anything besides the potato chip!)

Wind, and rain, and tornadoes, oh my!

We had a tornado warning today, yes, in February, in Michigan! Crazy weather for sure. So we packed up some scull and headed into the basement where we proceeded to ignore our school and learn about tornadoes. And then we watched videos of tornadoes. The kids were fascinated and a bit terrified. In the end, no tornado touched down that we heard about, and life is back to normal.

Just Keep Swimming

Selah and Micah are hanging out in the same class for now. I love how much they love their lessons.

After the awful time he had when we tried to do lessons last year, I was quite nervous to put him in this year. As you can see, there was no need to worry. The kid had a blast.

Football and friends

The best part is being with friends!

Ducks and DavidDavid

Elijah LOVED to dress up as a duck...I think it's time for a bigger costume!

mom! This little guy is David!

And he killed the giant! With a rock! (Yrs, that's why we say don't throw rocks!)

Where'd Our Baby Go?

He turned into Ski-Lijah!

I didn't ever realize I took this yesterday, I missed it when looking through the pictures and videos. I feel like he looks so big and in control. I can't believe he's the baby.

Checking to see where I am...trying to convince me to just wait at the bottom for him! He can do this alone! I refused, much to his dismay. But it's hard to get off the carpet at the top because it's icy and a bit uphill. Plus sometimes he starts going down the hill without lining himself and his skis up!

This one might end up on the wall. It says so much. I miss my baby, but I do love seeing the independent kid he's growing up into- He's on a mission world, watch out!

Second Ski of 2017

Micah successfully triumphed over the Black Diamond run...accidentally. It's the one in the shot where Selah and Elijah are staring out the window. It may not look like much, but Jonah saw it and was in a complete panic. And Bryan and I were both pretty concerned when we heard- and grateful that we didn't witness that. I wouldn't mind video of it, once I knew he was fine. But watching that live would have been rough. He rode the lift alone (without asking) and turned the wrong way. He was  pretty shocked when Jonah caught up to him at the bottom (where he'd crashed) and asked about it.
Poor Selah didn't take it well. She had asked me that morning when she could go down the Black Diamond... and I replied, "Not today!" That was while Micah was in his ski lesson, Selah didn't go because she already had achieved the patch Micah was going for. A little later, Micah finished his lesson and his instructor told me that he did so well that he not only got yellow, but also brown- the next level! When Selah found out, she literally cried on the slope. She did not like the thought of Micah out doing her. So next, Micah and I are going up the hill on the lift and we see Selah skiing down a bunny hill backwards. Micah says, "she's probably trying to outdo me, because I didn't tell her that I did that in my lesson today." Sure enough, she couldn't believe it when she tried to tell him about her skiing and he said he saw...and that he'd done that in his lesson already. So by the end of the day, you can probably imagine that Selah did not take it well when she learned of Micah's Black Diamond conquering! That is picture two...

Continuing on with firsts...Elijah rode the ski lift. Pictures 3 and 4 are of him with Jonah. It was terrifying for me, but thankfully Jonah was nervous about it as well and kept a tight hold on Elijah. He did excellent skiing down the hill. He's such a natural.

After 3 weeks of unseasonably warm temps ruining our ability to ski, we were finally able to go, but of course the weather can't be mild, it has to be miserably cold. It hurt going up the lifts where there was no protection or escape from that wind. But as you can see in shot six, the sun was out and the skies were blue and it was oh so pretty with the blanket of white on the ground.

In preparation for our upcoming trip to Vermont, I went down the hill on skis with Elijah (usually I just run with him). We didn't fall, so that was good, but he was goofing around so it wasn't easy for me. Hopefully we can get the hang of it before we go. It's been a few (or 13) years of not skiing for me...and I realistically have probably only been 15 times in my life. So needless to say I'm not super comfortable trying to ski with a little guy between my legs. I'd hate to ruin Jonah's adventure by putting him on Elijah duty though, so we'll have to get it figured out. He did well on the leash with Jonah, so hopefully he will with me, too.

The worst part of the bunny hill is that most of your time is spent on the magic carpet going back up to the top!

And lastly, Elijah and Selah were looking out at the hill when we first got to the resort. Elijah looked at Selah and said, "I think it's too crowded today." Given that there was ONE individual on the hill, I am thinking he is a bit of a hill hog! But then, he does like to go as fast as he can and not have to turn as that slows him down.

I'm just grateful for a fun day with no major injuries. (Noah did a front flip off a jump and landed painfully on his leg. Selah ran into a metal fence for the chairlift and gave herself a goose egg. And then there was Micah's crash at the bottom of the black...but overall there only appears to be bruising and sore muscules so I call that a win!)