Wordless Wednesday ~ A Boy and His Dog

Easter 2015

We were blessed with another beautiful sunny day for Easter this year.  We went to church and we sat with our neighbor and her boys.  The kids enjoyed sharing the pew with them.  We then headed over to their house for Easter Brunch.  It was a fun morning catching up with friends new and old and watching the kids have fun playing in the yard.  They even learned about Geocaching.

After brunch, we headed over to Grandpa and Grandma A's house for some more Easter Festivities.  The kids had more eggs to hunt and baskets to enjoy.  We had a wonderful meal of Ham with all the fixing.   We headed out for a walk after dinner to look for a Geocaching location near Grandma's house.  We had success and it was the first one we have found as a family.  Great day to find it.

We returned to Grandma's house and then had a mean game of Polish Poker.  Grandpa Al ended up winning the game but it was close.

It was a wonderful Easter Sunday.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful Family and Friends in our lives to share the time with.  We are so blessed for Jesus Christ has risen today....ALLELUIA!

Spring Break 2015 ~ Playa Del Carmen

This year The E Five headed to Mexico for some R & R for Spring Break.  We decided to stay in Playa Del Carmen and we had such a wonderful time.  Our accommodations were excellent and in a great location.  We enjoyed the warm weather, the awesome pool, great food, and even some adventure at the Xel-Ha park.

We even made some new family friends down there.  We enjoyed the pool and some meals with them and we hope that someday we could see them all again.

As we were planning our vacation and trying to pick a location, we were not sure how we would all do on a beach vacation.  We are happy to announce that we did very well.  It took us no time at all to get into relaxation mode and the kids really enjoyed hanging out by the pool and on the beach.  The girls decided to get their hair braided and I decided to enjoy a 70 minute massage while I waited.  It was very nice.
One of my favorite memories is when the girls were doing hand stands on the beach and we all got into trying it out.  I as you will see below did not do so great at it but we laughed and laughed.

Not sure where our adventures will lead us next year but we have no doubt that it will be exciting.  We are incredibly blessed to be able to share time as a family on vacation.  It really is a great time to bond and experience some traveling together.  Our kids ROCK at traveling and Jon and I could not be any more pleased.

We Have An All Star!

A few weeks ago, K was honored to play on an All Star Baseball team that was made up of some of the best players from five teams that were in our league this year.  He had a blast.  The even better part was that Jon was asked to help coach that team.  It was some fun baseball to watch and most of the games came down to a few runs and even some extra innings.

It was fun to be a part of such a special team.  K will always remember this as he gets older.  He had the chance to be on the field at the Saints Game the other night and is headed to the Twins game in a few days to walk the field and meet some players.

So proud of you K!  Keep up the good work.

Gymnastics

This past fall, E was invited to be on the MAGA Team at her Gymnastics Club.  She was so very excited to have made team.  Jon and I were so proud of her but a little unsure what being on the "Team" meant.
We have been through a handful of meets these past two months and well I guess you can say we are starting to "get" how all this gymnastics stuff works.  We are both so incredibly proud of E and how hard she works.  She truly loves Gymnastics and that is her passion.  As a child I was never very flexible and really did not have the right build to be a gymnast but both E and A are different than I am and they both have a love for the sport.  We enjoy watching them and hearing how excited they are when they have mastered a new skill.  They both are in great physical shape from it and they are strong girls.
Here is a clip of E's Floor routine...

We are excited to see how E finishes out her season.  The good news is that A was recently invited to be on the MAGA Team for next year.  She will have some big decisions to make between Ski Racing and Gymnastics as there is not enough time or money to do both!

Ski Racing

This winter, A decided that she wanted to try Ski Racing.  Some of her friends from school were going to try it as well so Jon and I agreed that it would be a great thing for her to do.  It reminds me of when I was a kid just a tad bit older than A is now and I would spend my Saturdays going to Ski Jammers.  This was not for racing but basically ski lessons all day long at different moutons/hills around the area.  It helped me to become a better skier and I do not regret that at all.

I took a "few" years off of skiing while having the kids and raising triplet babies but by luck of the draw, my brother won a silent auction to rent a house in Steamboat, CO and we decided it was time to get the kids into skiing.

Look at that smile!

We all now enjoy skiing and some of us snowboarding.  We live close to a ski hill and our kids seem to meet up with their friends at least once or twice a week to ski.  They also just joined their school's ski club.

We are proud of how hard A has been working on her ski racing.  She seems to really enjoy it and she was so proud that her first race ever, she had both sets of grandparents, Mom, Dad and K their to cheer her on.  She ended up with 7th place and was so proud.

Every Saturday we bring her to the hill for 5 hours of practice.  She has never complained and she really enjoys it.  As a family we all enjoy it and we continue to return to Steamboat year after year for a little ski vacation.  This year for Christmas, I received a new pair of skis and boots and they are AWESOME!  I am so excited to have some new gear.

Saturday A and I are off for another race.  I can't wait to cheer her on and also put my new gear on and enjoy some skiing myself.  Such a great sport and activity.  We are blessed to have the opportunity to ski so close to where we live.  So as my kids would say....."Shred On"!

Photos from Nicole

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