Spring Break: CO Springs & Skiing

 Our first couple days of actual Spring Break were so fun in Colorado Springs with the Baileys. Games, exploring, cave tours, Garden of the Gods, and just fun being together!

Plus setting up St. Patrick's Day was so funny -- my favorite thing was trying to put green mustaches on our sleeping children with Jamie. Everyone tolerated it (too well?) except Asher, who was not going to allow such a thing, even in his sleep. Green milk, rainbow fruit, Lucky Charms, coins in shoes, and green pee in the toilet (!) plus some leprechaun traps that might have better luck next year!

Garden of the Gods is such a gorgeous place. Seeing an emu there was unexpected. I'll probably never trust one again after being chased last time I met one. But this one was well-behaved.

We made it home Tuesday night and then spent Wednesday skiing with the Schmidts. The older boys had so much fun skiing together all day! Their lesson went well again and Camden is totally a natural. Truly he's better than I am, which is not hard to be, but still impressive after just a couple trips. He got bored with me and wanted Michael to take him on some more exciting runs :) I'll probably never keep up super well with my family on the ski slopes but we'll always have the lift rides! And I did fine on all those slushy blues today so it's all good.

After skiing we were BEAT. We went from one trip to the next to the next, and we were ready for a couple down days of Spring Break. We had one pretty empty day and one day full of make up tennis lessons before our last lessons on Saturday. Jamie took my kids to the Greeley Library (which is a total destination, I never knew!) one day and I got some much needed work done, so I was grateful for that.

In the end I just laugh at our "empty" spring break -- it quickly filled up with friends and fun even though we had planned on not traveling anywhere since our year has been busy with family plans and our Florida trip. This break was so fun! We all loved it.

Sleeping Queens, classic.

Cave of the Winds tour

That time Joseph was chased by a goose.

Setting up St. Patrick's Day

These pictures will forever make us giggle.
They just accepted this, 
but no one woke up with it still on :)

Asher was NOT having it. He's just rub it off instantly every time.

Walking her Emu. ?????

Meeting the Emu!
Wild.

What a warm winter.
This was a slushy ski day but still so fun!

We love the Schmidts!

Greeley Library.
I had no idea it was such a happening spot.

Ski Day & Lunar New Year

Our first family ski day! Westin and Bennett have been a few times, but this was our first time getting everyone on the mountain. And we had such a fun crew from our ward go up to Snowy Range together:

Geoff made breakfast for everyone in the parking lot before skiing -- pancakes, eggs, sausage. He's so nice to always be up for feeding a crowd. And we're the luckiest, because it's always delicious. The three older boys did a ski lesson together for a couple hours while Michael and I took a whiny Asher up and down an easy hill :) By Michael and I, I mean Michael. The way he carried Asher off the ski lift looked like a magic trick to me, I do not have the skills.

The boys were apprehensive when we dropped them off, and loving life when we picked them up. What a magical ski lesson. After lunch Asher played some cards with friends, and the 5 of us skied blues together! We were shocked at Camden's first time skills.  

Haha looking cool for his mountain day.
Westin so bright and chipper back there.

Camden started his science fair project -- why do we put salt on roads in the winter?

And Bennett started his, too -- can we grow plants with liquids that aren't water?

A new tennis racquet for lessons!

Protein snacks for my friend that was just diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
Food is so hard, even when it's straightforward.

I made bows with Diane for our doors and it's really making me happy.

Stake young men's basketball tournament.
It's crazy to me to look at these boys and know that there's going to be a LOT of growing in our future in the next few years.

Did we show up ON TIME to tennis lessons for all four boys,
just to learn we were one week early?
Yes. But still a win in its own right.

Science time.

Westin and Forest are out to prove if the 5-second rule is myth or fact.

 

We went to a Lunar New Year celebration and it was fun to learn about some different traditions. The boys loved those red envelopes :) And we all loved the food!

Struck big at Lunar New Year -- one dollar for all the boys!

Watching the dragon :)