Another day in the snow.

On Tuesday last, we went out to play again. Michael had taken Jonathan out to shovel the sidewalks, then started to shovel the driveway and I took over when he left for work. The kids were happily playing in the snow, staying cozy warm in their new long underwear from REIs super sale! WooHoo! I had to remodel Jonathan's a bit. The pants were about a foot too long, so I folded them up and tacked them. I think he'll wear them until he's at least about 8! Anyways, that underlayer followed by fleece pants and topped with snowpants and coats and the kiddos were great! It was somewhere between 10 and 20 degrees F. First order of business was snow angels. Jonathan knows how to do them, but I had to teach Annisia! Here they are!

Then the neighbor's dog came to visit! He is a kick! His name is Igby and one of the first times I remember seeing him after Aaron and Shari moved here he was outside picking up a rock with his mouth (obviously!), tossing it for himself, then running across the yard to get it! I laughed so hard!! So Igby came to visit. He is so good with the kids because Aaron and Shari have kids too. Anyways, some of the snow I was shoveling was compacted from being driven on. So the kids were picking these compacted pieces up and throwing them at/to Igby. The rest of the snow was too powdery, really dry. I occasionally got in the action, especially after I remembered Igby's abilities with catching and throwing! Here's a video to share...



Then Jonathan wanted to ski. I had made a pile of snow that Igby had packed for us. (Take a 150# dog jumping on a snow hill and you get a pretty packed pile!) So we got J's skis on him, then I placed him on the top of the hill and down he went. He thought it was pretty fun!

Skiing at Red Lodge

We went to Red Lodge; we drove on New Year's Day and met our friends, Pam and Bryan who had so generously gone to Costco the day before to get us lift tickets. They were only $35 per adult ticket compared to $47 at the resort. Sweet! So! A huge thank you to Pam and Bryan!! Well, Friday morning, we had rain in Red Lodge and it was windy. So we were concerned about what the mountain was like. We drove up there and found the lifts were not running because of the wind. Jonathan's ski lesson was postponed, but they let the kids play in the day care area if one of us was there too. I think it was about 10:30 maybe 11am before things got rolling. Michael and Bret went off on their snowboards and Jonathan started his ski lesson. He did great! He has been so excited ever since Michael came home with the rental skis before Christmas. (We leased skis for Jonathan for the entire season for $99! sweet deal!) So, off Jonathan went with the rest of the kiddos, with nary a look back at Mom. You can see from the first of the pics that the wind was blowing and the snow was swirling. Jonathan loves his new helmet and goggles. He was pretty cozy.

First time down the bunny slope...

...making a turn.

Riding up the magic carpet.

Here he comes with the rest of the kids.

After the lesson, the kids gathered in a circle and did something (I can't remember what.) Jonathan isn't a big group participant, so he just looked around. But when Benji, a ski instructor, asked them for their little aprons, Jonathan got spunky! He grabbed some snow and threw it at Benji. He was getting such a kick out of that! What a rascal! Benji was a good sport. He stood up and said, "You want to have a snowball fight?! Do ya?!", walked over and grabbed a big snow shovel. Ha! He asked who wanted in on the snowball fight. Three or four of the kids raised their hands. He lined them up, scooped up a shovelful of snow, and tossed it into the air above the kids' heads so it would rain down on them. They giggled and jumped around like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

After a little lunch, we went back up. I had asked the ski instructors if they thought he was ready. They said, "Oh, yeah, he's ready. Just ski off the Miami Beach lift." So we went up and he did great. We did two runs, I think. He was having so much fun. Michael skied backwards in front of him. Jonathan had learned "french fries" for pointing his skis to go faster, and "pizza" for snowplowing to slow down. He kept yelling, "Pizza, Daddy, do a pizza, you're going too fast!" Then we went up the triple chair...big mistake. He was tired by then, and the longer ride and longer looking hill bugged him. He quit. period. The only way we got him down was to give Michael one of my poles and Jonathan skied between Michael's legs holding onto the pole all the way down. Then he and I got hot chocolate! YUM!

Friday afternoon, it started snowing. And it snowed, and snowed. When we got up Saturday morning, we had about 6-8 inches of powder on everything. Michael and Bret had stars in their eyes and were itching to get in first tracks on their snowboards. So they went up and the kids and I stayed in our room. I packed up the car while the kids played and watched "Animal Kingdom" on the TV. Then we went up around noon. Annisia went into daycare again and Jonathan and I hit the slopes with Michael and Bret. It was only about 12 degrees, but we were pretty bundled up. We did the Miami Beach lift again, only once though. Then Michael headed to the triple chair again. Uh, do you think this is a good idea? Here's Jonathan on the way up...it was cold, a little breezy which meant probably a slight minus wind chill. So...what do you think happened?

Jonathan actually had a meltdown at the top. He was cold and remembered how long it took to get down yesterday. I am not sure why Michael didn't just take my pole and do the same thing, but he didn't. It was awful trying to get him down. He bawled and screamed all the way down. Uncle Bret took over at one point. Usually Jonathan really listens well to Bret, but that was even a challenge. Even promising him a "Mommy and Jonathan hot chocolate date" wasn't good enough. So, we moseyed our way down the hill listening to our cold little guy beller and excusing him to other skiers.

Here I am trying to smile my encouragement to my little guy. I enjoyed skiing with him...it meant I could stay on the bunny slopes! heehee

Getting Ready to Ski...

Well, the Sports Lure had their annual Ski Sale. Michael got himself outfitted for snowboarding and we got Jonathan a helmet and goggles. He gets to learn to ski or snowboard this winter if he continues to listen well. After we spent a bunch of money at the store, they gave us some passes to the Teton National Research movie, "Under the Influence", a ski moving similar to the Warren Miller ones. (Notice I said "similar", not "as good"...) Anyways, it was fun enough. Jonathan loved it. He really enjoyed seeing the crazy guys doing jumps and all that other stuff that scares the life out of me. Here he is modeling his gear and acting like he's in the movies.

Want to go Skiing?

Last Saturday morning, Michael asked Jonathan if he wanted to go skiing.
Jonathan said, "No." So we carried on with getting breakfast ready.
A few minutes later, I asked him, "Do you want to go at 9 o'clock?"
He said, "Nope! 70 degrees." OKaaaay...
"Well, I think the perfect temperature to ski in is 33 degrees", said Michael.
"Nope! 70 degrees!" At this point, I am giggling, and Jonathan has discovered he's made a joke, which is pretty cool in itself... Now, my question is where did he come up with that whole 70 degrees business? He is so funny sometimes. Then he decided mid-morning he didn't even want to get out of his PJs today. BUT, I offered him an option. He took it. Look at the video.


Yup! Bob the Builder! On the treadmill, no less!

I remembered a few more Annisia words. "Hold me, help, Elmo, moo, shirt" Why am I posting these? Because I am not writing them down anywhere else because I am not scrapbooking , and have not even started her book, because I don't get the time to get everything out and work. One of these days, I am going to do the whole Snapfish thing. Has anyone tried that? How do you like it?

Office work vs. skiing

Michael didn't really have much trouble deciding where to be, in the office or skiing, but it looks like Jonathan had a little office work to get done.


Michael has been home since the 21st. So the kids and I are getting some quality time with Daddy! We went up to the ski area and sledded one day...Daddy had been there skiing with Uncle Bret for a couple of hours already. It was a cold one, so we did a little sledding then came home. Jonathan is really fascinated with the whole skiing thing. I think we're going to take him up this year and put some skis on him. I think he'll be a natural. The video below is him wearing Daddy's ski boots. He goes into our bedroom, turns around and comes "down the hill". He is really an imaginative little man. Enjoy!