I totally skipped Christmas…sorry faithful readers! 

Last weekend we went to Durango to go skiing- it was one of the best times we’ve had as a family!  It was especially wonderful  to see Jacob growing as a skier, and to see Caitlyn up on skis for the first time!  We look forward to many more times skiing as a family!

Caitlyn was so cute.  She thought she got to keep her skis- since Jacob has his own.  I told her they were rentals- like how we borrow books at the library.  It was cute.  Next year she gets Jacob’s skis and Jacob will get some new. He’s outgrown his first skis.

Wayne braved the slopes solo on Saturday, which was good, since he likes to ski scary stuff that I won’t touch!  Jacob was in ski school- aptly named “SnowMonsters”.  Caitlyn and I laid low- she was still recovering from an ear infection.  She and I were lazy around our suite all morning, met up with Wayne for lunch- and then headed into Durango for a little drive and of course, some shopping!  When we got back, we hit the so-called “heated” pool, although it still seemed pretty cold!  Wayne and I took turns between the hot tub (toasty) and the pool with the kids (not toasty).  The kids had fun!  We all crashed out early.

Sunday, we all decided to hit the slopes- Wayne decided to ski with me all day, which I loved- and he even thought I had improved since Christmas in California when we skiied at Big Bear.  Yahoo- I’m getting better!  Both kids went to ski school, and it was a special time, since it was Caitlyn’s first time on skis.  She was really excited, and I was really nervous for my baby!  She did great- and even went all the way down a beginner run with Wayne and I at the end of the day.  It was snowing hard, and she was so great! 

So, by the time we had to leave, snow was dumping on the mountain…Wayne and I wanted to stay one more night, but sadly we had to go back to work!

We had a wonderful visit with Wayne’s mom, Kathy, for Thanksgiving.  We showed her a lot of New Mexico while she was here.  Wayne and the kids took her to Santa Fe, and then all of us went on a roadtrip to Ruidoso and White Sands.  We celebrated Thanksgiving early with a delicious meal made by Kathy and Caitlyn.  Caitlyn was quite the helper, even making the green bean casserole all by herself!  She loves to be in the kitchen!

This past weekend, we celebrated Caitlyn’s birthday with a little party. The kids had fun, and Caitlyn loved playing with all of her friends.  We had princess plates, princess games, princess wrapping paper and pink lemonade!  Very Caitlyn, indeed!

Finally, today we have a snow day!  No school!  Hooray…the kids were bundled up early and playing outside.  Jacob hasn’t come in all morning, and Caitlyn goes out for 5 minutes, then back in, out, then back in.  Needless to say this involves a lot of “bundling up” and then “undbundling”.  I suppose when you are the birthday girl (today is actually her birthday), you can drive your mother crazy with such requests! 

We are anxiously awaiting Saturday, when we get to head out to California. It will be a much needed visit with my family.  My biggest prayer is that the roads are clear so we have a safe and easy trip.   

Enjoy the pictures! 

We also walked up Canyon Street, which is a long line of artist studios…some of which are exremely creative.  Caitlyn had wanted to see a giraffe earlier in the day(she thought we were going to the zoo) and we told her we didn’t think we would see one.  Well, imagine our suprise when we did see a life size giraffe in one artist’s yard!  So Caitlyn got to see her giraffe after all!

We ended our day by driving up in to the mountains, hoping to see the Aspens with their golden leaves before they fell for the winter. I think we were a couple of weeks too late, as they were all bare!  We still enjoyed the beautiful drive.

http://7-bar.aps.edu/Cartoon/index.html

My sweet Ariel princess and fierce, red-ninja…the cutest kids on the block, for sure!

I have never been to such a pumpkin patch!  We were there for over four hours.  There was so much for the kids to do.  They rode the cow rides, had rubber ducky races, played in the pumpkin jump house, jumped on the pumpkin trampoline, watched pumpkin slingshots, petted and fed animals…the list goes on!  That was before the hayride out to the pumpkin fields.  The only thing we didn’t do was the giant 16 acre corn maze.  I suppose we’ll have to just wait until next year!  We were wiped out after all the playing.  

Enjoy the pictures!

Yesterday morning Wayne got up at 6 and quickly woke me up…my alarm was supposed to go off at 5!  We needed to be downtown by 6:40ish…and it takes 30 minutes to get there!  We jumped up, got dressed, got the kids dressed and were out of the house in 11 minutes.  That’s impressive, if you ask me!

It was an absolutely beautiful morning, and I met up with some of my Better Together Mexico friends so we could at least start the race together.  It is very exciting up until the start!  Everybody is crowding around the starting line and a big countdown!  I turned on some good Christian rock and headed down the road.  The race was through Downtown, heading toward Old Town.  The entire race went really well, and I was hoping to complete it in under an hour.  Imagine my surprise when I made it in 39 minutes! 

So, today I am sore and achy- but in a good way.  I am so amazed by my body and what I am able to do!  This year has been such a year of “firsts” for me and I thank the Lord for each and every one.

This is the first state fair I have been to!  We took the kids, along with Blake, one of Jacob’s best buds who just happens to be in my class this year.  Jacob had Blake sleepover (his first sleepover…oh he’s getting so old!) and when we got up the next morning, we headed off to the fair.

One of the big highlights was the pony rides, where Caitlyn rode around the little ring like a rodeo princess.  She waved to all the people walking by and was calling out “hi” to everybody who caught her eye.  It was precious!  Another highlight was the backyard circus, where the kids got to participate.  Jacob and Blake were a lion and tiger.  Caitlyn got to be a butterfly ballerina, perfect role for her!   We also saw a diving show with Pirates and a Mermaid.  It was pretty cool- although a little bit scary when the guy dove from way high up!   Jacob’s favorite part was the highest dive, and of course Caitlyn and Wayne both enjoyed the mermaid! 

Here are some pics from the fair, although the pics from the diving show are on my camera and I can’t figure out how to download them!  I’ll try and add them later.

And yes, I survived having a bunch of parents in my classroom today.  I think they were surprised at all we do during our day.  Second grade has changed so much since we adults were in school!