Happy Easter!

Hope everyone is enjoying a lovely holiday!

Last ski day!

How grateful we were that our family came over the mountains last weekend to stay with us and enjoy our favorite little ski mountain for a day! The snow conditions were not ideal, but everyone managed to get a good run in at some point and just being together made for a great final day on the slopes!

Aunt LaDonna & Uncle Jim at the top of the mountain!

family portrait ☺

Is it weird to say that I'm already looking forward to next season?!?!!

Connection

cousins!

I took a quick trip (36 hours!) last week to honor the life of my great uncle, who did not die suddenly - he had been ill for more than a decade - but nonetheless left behind a sad family and a reputation of telling great jokes, playing great golf, loving life more than most and loving family above all else. I felt compelled to go, mostly to see cousins I love dearly and had not seen in 12 years. In fact I got to meet my cousin's youngest daughter for the first time - she's 10! Even as I struggled with the idea of buying airfare and being gone from home even for a couple of days, I just knew that I would feel better having gone and hugged my aunt, my cousins, their daughters and talking to friends about how great my uncle was!

my girls!

The silver lining of it all for me (besides getting to spend some QT with my own parents!!!) was the five or so hours before my departing flight when I spontaneously called a couple of my nearest & dearest girlfriends to meet for a long lunch! What a breath of life to visit with them and connect - we have known each other for almost 30 years but our friendships seem to transcend time whenever we are together.

So I just felt moved by my latest adventure to remember to appreciate my family and friends while I can. It's important to stay connected to those who knew you when, and to those who love you now - the first group grounds you and the second group lifts you up. What's great is when you find all the same people in both groups!

March madness!

Hamp wrapped up his basketball season last weekend with a double header - and although he, and all the boys on the team, played their personal bests it wasn't enough to pull out a win at either game! Not the way we had hoped to finish, but a look at the season overall shows great growth and learning by the whole team. They were so fun to watch! And I will say it again, I know nothing about the sport... but even I could see how much the boys improved with their dribbling skills, their defensive skills, their passing skills. Their shooting skills were another story, but I guess we'll just have to work on that for next season! Best of all though, I think Hamp just loved the camaraderie of the team and playing the game!

OH - the agony of defeat! A couple of the boys were clearly not over the loss when this picture was taken! But these 6 were all there was at the last 2 games and they played their hearts out!!!!!
Thanks, Coach! ♥

Traffic in Meeker

Came out the front door the other morning to see that 3rd street was all backed up. 

Geesh... the traffic in this town. I gotta get these kids to school on time, ya know?!?!!

Fortunately, it cleared up pretty quickly.

Channel 9 news traffic report didn't even mention it...

sledding

What happens when you have some new snow on a good hill?

You cram 4 adults, 3 kids, 2 sleds and a large dog in the car and have some fun!!!

Super ski visit - part II

On President's Day last week, we splurged and spent all day loving the slopes of Steamboat!

We got really lucky because they had plenty of new snow from the weekend... but it continued to dump another foot of snow all morning while we were there and the boys all thought is was AWESOME to ski in so much fresh powder!!!

After a morning of plowing through the knee deep snow and laying down some fresh tracks on several runs at the top of the mountain, Hamp & Sam decided after lunch to take their momma on some green runs and ride the gondola again! (I did not argue with that one!)

Meanwhile, Jason and Alec hit some of the more challenging terrain and apparently had a fantastic time playing in all the snow!

At the end of the day, the clouds passed and left us with gorgeous Colorado blue sky... and Hamp & Sam just had to get one (or two!) more runs in before quitting. So they tried out the half-pipe!

(don't worry, you won't see them in the x-games any time soon!)

Happily exhausted and thrilled to get such a fantastic ski day at one of the best mountains in the state - we headed to the car to take off gear and get home to Aunt Jei & Allen!!!

But not before one last romp in the snow!