Gracie Mae's Photogenic

About a month ago, a professional photographer stopped by my house to drop something off.  While she was here she had her camera and snapped a few photos of Gracie.  It is hard to believe how much she has grown up and how fast it has gone by.  Check out these comparison photos of Gracie from when she was a puppy to now. 

Ahhhh....How I love this dog.  She adds so much to our family.  She is a nut most of the time but we sure do love her. 

First Dip

Tonight was the night for the First Dip in our new pool.  Jon was not able to join in on the fun due to a work commitment but he gave us permission to enjoy it without him.  The kids loved it and so did Gracie. 

I can tell we are in for a lot of fun memories with the pool.  K did not want to get out tonight but due to homework he finally had to come in.  We had a great time for their first dip.  I decided to wait for Jon as I want to have our first dip together. 

We are so blessed to have this wonderful pool.   Can't wait for those 85 degree days when we can just chill pool side.  Who's in? 

Snow Snow and more Snow

The past few winters have been hard long winters.  Just last night it snowed again luckily for us we just had a dusting but north of us they got up to a foot or more of snow.  This winter it wasn't just the snow but it was the COLD!  The kids missed 5 days of school in January and February because it was too COLD to go.  It was crazy cold here. 

Here are some fun pictures I took of the kids and Gracie along with her friend Gus (we were dog sitting) out in the pool area having some fun.   Look at all that snow. 

Steamboat Springs 2014

I am way behind on this blog but I do vow to get caught up.  So we did our annual ski trip to Steamboat again this year and as always we had so much fun.  We flew in to Hayden, CO this year and that was much more relaxing than flying into Denver and driving up. 

Once we arrived, Grandpa Al picked us up at the airport and we headed to the house that we rent.  The ski rental company arrived and Jon and K decided that they were going to snowboard and the rest of us got skis. 

We went for our usual pizza that night.  Jon claims its some of the best pizza in the world.  The next day we got up early and hit the slopes.  The kids skied with us the entire 4 days of skiing and they did great.  K actually boarded the whole time and I was so amazed on his progress in those four days.  Jon boarded the first 2 days and then switched to skiing. 

Our days were spent skiing and our evenings were spent hot tubing, lounge in our comfy clothes and eating some great food that Grandma Mary mostly worked on. 

The trees were very snow covered this year and it reminded my of GG Del.  She loved the snow covered trees.  The pictures that I took did not do the beauty of it justice.  It really was breathtaking and wonderful to be immersed in this for a few days.

The whole trip was amazing and once again we were so sad when we had to say goodbye but so blessed to have the time we did together surrounded by the beauty of God's work. 

Ride in Style

We made it to Phoenix and I think we are all still in disbelief! When we got here we did not have a rental car so on our way to rent one, we ran into this limo. I was taking pictures of the kids in front if it joking around when the Owner offered us a deal we could not turn down! The kids first limo ride and they LOVED it! So fun!

 

Mom Gets Pampered

It has been very cold here this winter.  As of now there has been a total of 5 days that the kids did not go to school due to the cold.  The kids are happy but I keep reminding them that they will have to make up some of these days and hopefully it won't be during the summer! 

On Monday and Tuesday of this week the kids did not have school again due to cold!  I had to work on Monday so Jon stayed home and worked from home on this day.  He let the kids have some of their friends over for the day.  The girls played spa all day. 

They did each others nails, hair, etc.. When I got home I was in for a big surprise.  The girls with their friend E decked out the bathroom into a make shift spa.  I was treated to a pedicure and massage when I got home. 

They hung special lights, had fake candles going, signs were hung all over the bathroom and house for me.  They even cut out the letters in my name and hung them on the mirror.  They had a blast and well, it was a nice surprise to come home to on a very cold night!  The boys even got in on the action when we did a Paraffin Wax dip before bed.  SO MUCH FUN! 

Sledding in our own backyard!

Last spring, we decided to clear out the buck thorn from our backyard.  Our neighbor and good friend Tim decided to do the same.  It was amazing to us how much space we really do have in our yard.  Tim was surprised too.  This winter we have been enjoying our very own (well we share with Tim and his family too) sledding hill.  It is so nice to be able to walk right out your door and go sledding.  It is fun for the kids too as we don't always have to be out there with them either.  The kids have been busy working on building the best jumps and the neighbor has been helping out as well.  On Christmas Day the kids enjoyed some outdoor time.

Another great option is the camp fire that we can build down below (away from the sledding hill) so we can get warmed up and keep on sledding.  Such great memories being made!

Here are a few shots of the action. 

A Different Kind of Dance Party

This past Holiday Season, we were lucky enough to have tickets to see Cinderella at the Children's Theater.  We love to go see plays and this one was awesome!  It was a different spin on Cinderella and we LOVED it.  Here are the kids before the show. 

Rubba Dub Dub Three Kids in a Tub

Every year as we get our Christmas Tree out of storage, the kids LOVE to play in the large bins that we store the tree in.  This year was no different.  It amazes me that they will all fit in the tub but they make it work!  Such fun!

Santa is in the Hood ~ 2013

Last night we enjoyed an evening at the neighbors celebrating the holiday season.  The kids were thrilled when Santa arrived!  We had such a wonderful evening visiting and catching up and watching Santa talk with all the kids one on one.  He gave them kuddos, advice, and then they all got a stuffed animal and a gift!

Yesterday, I spent the day frustrated with all on my to do list.  Everywhere I went things were not going my way.  However, last night we started our evening with a program at our church and ended it with a gathering in our neighborhood.  Seeing the joy in our children's faces and catching up with our wonderful neighbors brought my attention back to what really matters this holiday season, the birth of Christ, family, love, and memories!  God Bless all of you! 

The Simple Things

I

I love this Little snow family. Every year when we take the Christmas stuff out I always smile when I unpack these. I placed them behind my sink in my kitchen and smile multiple times during the day when I see them. These were given to me by one of my very best friends from childhood and still today! Mrs. K made these for me a few years back and gave them to me for Christmas. Sometimes in life it's the simple things. I thought this was appropriate for today since we are having  our first snowy day here! 

Impact Academy

This year our school district decided to try a new program.  We were lucky enough to be at the school they selected to try this pilot program.  We were even luckier when AEK were selected to be a part of this new school.  It is called Impact Academy.  Here is the description from the web page:

Impact Academy is program based on the education model that creates a personalized learning environment where all students are taught at their individual level in the areas of reading, writing, and math.  Students and teachers together design a pathway of learning to maximize personal interests and talents.  Integration of content areas will connect all learning to real world problems in the service-learning module. Impact Academy focuses on incorporating three key learning areas, 21st Century Skills, Personalized Learning & Service Learning.

We are off to a great start to our school year.  Jon and I are both enjoying having all three of our kids in this program.  Best of all, the kids are really enjoying being in this program.  I quickly came to realize that as much as the kids are going to be learning in new and different ways to fit their learning style, I as a parent need to open my mind about how to learn and help my kids as well.  The kids first quarter report cards came back last week and as we expected they are all succeeding and exceeding expectations.   We are very proud of all three of them. 

Tomorrow we have our first learning celebration at school.  I cannot wait to help celebrate. The success and accomplishments of Impact Academy.  Big High Fives to Lakeville School District and the dynamic team of teachers who spent many long hours away from their families to design and make Impact Academy a reality.