Apple Valley

Since Bryan and Carter are in Florida, Cassidy and I decided to take a little trip of our own!!  We headed to Grandpa and Grandma Capper's house.  And while the temperatures were a tad bit lower than what the boys were experiencing, Cassidy had some wild adventures just the same:)

Helping Grandpa clean the bird bath.

On their hunt for hotdogs...(Grandpa had thrown some hotdogs out into the woods and Cass wanted to see if they had been eaten.)...they found something even more interesting!

The bones of some small creature.

And there's nothing better than a little extra cuddle time!!

Florida fun, day 2

Day two in Florida involved feeding some turtles, playing on the playground, beating his Dad at checkers and a trip to the beach with Dad and Pawpaw.  While we thought the water would be too cold to go into, Carter proved he was tougher than the rest of us by not only going out into the water in the ocean, but then going swimming in the pool after we got back to the house.  Carter was determined to get in the water.....and he did.

Flying to Florida

Today, Carter and I flew to Florida to visit Pawpaw for the holiday weekend.  It was his first flight since his flight from China four years ago.  He was very excited about this trip with Dad.  He did well on the flights and enjoyed seeing how small the houses were when we were up in the air.  That excitement only lasted so long and thanks to technology, he was kept busy in the plane and in the airport by watching movies. 
Once we got to Florida, he enjoyed the bus-ride to get our rental car and then exploring the car we got.  He is always exploring.  After finally making it to Pawpaw's, he took Pawpaw on in a game of checkers.
We are happy to be here.

Brother's Birthday

As we mark my big brother's 2nd birthday since his passing, it is still hard to believe he is gone and this is yet another reminder of how much I miss him.  With an art project she did at school, I see that Cassidy misses him too.  Her inventive spelling and drawings say so much.

It's my birthday...

and I'll ski if I want to...
After being awakened by both kids and treated to a my favorite bagel with a candle, I enjoyed a day off from work on the slopes.  The sun was shining and the snow was perfect.  It was a great day.

Bales of Fun

Our trip to North Carolina over the holidays allowed for some wonderful time spent with family and a first for our kids....playing on Hay Bales.  With more than 100 large hay bales stacked in long rows towards the back of their property, the kids loved climbing onto and running on and jumping from row to row with their cousins in games of freeze tag. 
When not playing on the hay bales, the kids loved hanging out with their cousins inside....Carter playing video games with the boys while Cass hung out with the girls. 
While it was only a weekend, it was time well spent.

Old traditions and a new place

While this was our first Christmas in our new house, we celebrated it in our usual fasion with Christmas Eve with my side of the family, followed by Christmas Eve candle-light service.  Christmas morning was seeing what Santa brought to our new house followed by an afternoon with Jenny's family.  It was a very nice holiday with family.

Our late night reading of "Twas the night before Christmas"

Santa found our new house!

Trying out the new air hockey table