Cold chillin'
Snowmobiling and tubing with Uncle Ben yesterday...followed by hanging out at camp and then hot chocolate back in town...great fun...
XO
PS. When I asked Zo last night what she thought of tubing she said, "Great! And next time, I want there to be jumps!"
A hot tub in the woods
So, Uncle Ben and his friends have this tradition to camp and snowmobile up on Rabbit Ears Pass...and, oh yeah, hot tub.
These are the tubs all set up, and Zo getting things started by throwing some ice chunks in:
Here's Ben getting the wood fired-heating system (of his own design) set up...
The water truck arriving from Steamboat, 10:30 AM:
Joe and Toby and Ben, the guys responsible for this:
Getting the pools filled...3,000 gallons...
Ben talking to the forest service guy, who asked if he could come back once he got off work: :)
And, the kids the first ones in at 5:30 PM...98 degree water still on its way up but perfect for them:
They splashed and bounced and laughed for an hour...such fun...followed by Mexican potluck dinner (thanks, Joe for including us!) and then we headed home...but I'm sure the hot tubs got and will get lots of use all weekend long.
Uncle Ben is the coolest. :)
XO
Grace in small things, February 26, 2016
- So much fun hanging out with Uncle Ben today up on "Bunny Ears Pass" (what the kids call Rabbit Ears)...we went up twice, morning and evening. Morning was so nice and warm...
- Perfect amount of work this week...so hard as a freelancer to get that balance right...but sometimes the stars align...
- Fun and mellow family day planned for tomorrow (we've had a lot of company lately...which I've loved...but good to have some "just us" time), then seeing Uncle Ben again on Sunday...looking forward to the weekend!
- Kids are asleep early and I'm going to bed too with my stack of library books...psyched to read and get a good night's sleep...
- Kids running around the house "talking" and "texting" on their play cell phones all day...hilarious...
Happy Weekend!
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 25, 2016
- Zo and Luke chasing each other around the house and hiding behind Mommy...and their delighted shrieks when they would finally catch up to each other...
- A full day at home...I love getting out and about with the kids, but there's something so relaxing about being home with them...and, I feel like I get to watch their imaginations at work all day long, which is so fun...
- Cleaning, laundry, organizing...feels good...
- New yoga pants in the mail...
- Luke, in need of a band-aid, explaining why he wanted a Hello Kitty one and not a superhero one: "Well, Hello Kitty reminds me of Sissy, since the Hello Kitty band-aids belong to her...so when I look at it, I'll think of my Sissy..."
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 24, 2016
- I took both kids to the bunny hill today for ski practice...Luke in the morning, Zo in the afternoon...Luke and I rode up in the gondola after just for fun...got a hot chocolate at the top...drank it as we rode back down...
- Working such weird, random hours this week (eg up at 5:30 this morning, 2 early calls), but it's allowing me to do some special stuff with the kids mid-day...
- There's a very imaginative game going on with the twins with a rubber duckie, and jail, and a video watch on which Luke is getting calls about a gopher problem happening downstairs...
- Earlier, the kids got under chair cushions, pretending to be baby dinos. They had me set the timer for 10 minutes so they could incubate before they hatched...
- Kids have both been asking me to rock them before bed lately, and sing...in my grandmother's rocking chair...love...I want this kind of thing to last forever...
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 23, 2016
- Kids and I were going to go to story hour this morning, but last minute they wanted to stay home...which gave us the morning to relax and play and read...nice...
- Luke's very interested in taking pictures lately...he took these of me and Sis this morning...
- Work deadlines had me working late last night/super early this morning, but I have some breathing room this afternoon, which is lovely...
- Good workout with my husband at the gym this morning...
- Mint tea at Starbucks...and chipping away at my never-ending "To Do" list...
Luke and Bella
Ben and I took the kids skiing Sunday, and on the way home Luke asked if he could hold new puppy Bella. We were skeptical about how it would work out, but the puppy rode content in Luke's arms the whole way home...
XO
Grace in small things, February 19, 2016
- A wild storm last night left us with snow all over our covered porch...unusual...kids and I got it all cleaned up though for electric-blanket-warmed-stargazing tonight...
- My brother and his family are on the way up for the weekend! Yay!!
- Date night with my husband earlier...so lovely to have dinner just the two of us...
- I ordered books through the library for the first time this week...super easy. And when I went to pick them up today I was sans kids, which meant I had a little time to browse (usually it's controlled chaos and I never make past the first stack or two of adult books because...you know...two 3-year-olds...)
- A new workout routine started with my husband this week...we've been trying to figure out the right fit since the move...I think the plan we've got is going to work...
Happy Weekend!!
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 18, 2016
- Zo playing sweetly in the early morning light...
- Princess Elsa and Luke-the-caped-superhero returning library books...an unseasonably warm morning...
- Kids giving each other some love
- The start of a true blizzard as dusk begins to fall...
- "The Ninja show is starting again!" my kids are informing me...off to watch...
XO
Grace in small things, February 17, 2016
- The lovely gifts our friends who were visiting last week got our kids...here's Zo with her new llama; Luke loves his new lion too...
- Luke, coming downstairs halfway through naptime: "Mommy, I'm allergic to sleep!"
- I took Zo to the place where I get my hair done because she needed a bang trim and I haven't been pleased with anywhere cheap we've taken her...not only did they squeeze her in right then and there, but when I asked what I owed them they said, "Oh, nothing, it took 2 minutes, don't worry about it."
- Work is going so smooth and easy this week...wish every week were like this...
- Wonderful news from my best friend today...
XOXO
Grace in small things, February 15, 2016
- Daddy and Zo making a huge snowball at Howlson Hill this morning...
- ...while Luke and I practiced skiing...he made some great turns today :)
- Zo in her pink fuzzy monster slippers this morning...with pink polka-dot jammies...too cute...
- French fries at McDonald's...yum...
- A couple hours on the mountain, with a few runs I hadn't been on before...not ideal conditions but still fun...
XOXO
Grace in small things--Valentine's Day edition
- A morning spent cooking a nice dinner for Valentine's day (pulled pork in the crock pot, roasted parsnips, beet and arugula salad, spice cake) with the kids helping
- Kids sitting at the breakfast bar finishing their Valentines this morning...they did them 100% themselves this year with paints, markers, crayons, glitter, feathers, sequins, paper hearts...they turned out so cute...
- Nice long talk with my mother-in-law tonight...doesn't happen that often but I really like it when it does...
- Daddy coming upstairs during pickup tonight and boy do the kids get moving when he asks them to. I don't care if they make a mess if they pick up like they did tonight...
- Luke got a stuffed Marshall from Paw Patrol from his Me-Ma for Valentine's...he has a fire truck just the right size for the stuffie to ride on top of and he and Sis raced around the upstairs before bedtime putting out fires, Luke saying "Spray, spray, spray!" and Sis saying "Fight, fight fight!" I'm just praying they don't decide to use real water in their fire fighting missions while I'm not there, LOL...
- Luke promising us a (Broadway-style singing and dancing) show tomorrow. "It's going to be all about ninjas!" he says...
- John Oliver's back on TV tonight...
- Another day off tomorrow...psyched to play with the kids and hopefully get out on the mountain...
- Heavy snow today. Beautiful...
- A lovely family to share Valentine's with...so blessed...
XOXO
Fish Creek Falls, Winter
Gorgeous and warm little pajama hike today with our friend from New Orleans, Keith West. Such fun!!
