In case you're wondering....

...here's an update on us.  Bob and I went skiing to Steamboat Springs CO earlier this week.  It was super nice, but the last 2 days were super super cold there.  Tuesday we skied in sub-zero temps, and it was 20 below yesterday when we left.
Miraculously our flight wasn't canceled with all the weather drama in the rest of the country, so we made it back, just delayed a bit.
But then, we had to make it back from the airport with the roads covered in ice.  Luckily, we rode with Bob's boss, who has a big 4wheel drive truck, and grew up in Iowa, but it was still pretty dicey.  There is literally a thick thick layer of ice on every paved surface, and we saw very little sand/salt.  I guess they're saving it all to coat the path to the Cowboy's stadium?

Ski pic.  I'm honestly not sure if this is from this year, or 2 years ago.  Ski pictures all look the same unless you get a new outfit.  We had 3 great days of skiing...there was a ton of snow and 2 of the days were sunny and beautiful, although cold. 

Parker is on day 3 of no school.  Her district shuts down fairly quickly, but even the Dallas isd is closed for the 3rd day, which has never happened before.  She doesn't seem too terribly stir crazy....her Gigi has been her entertaining her.  She was very happy to see us and the gifts we brought her.  All along she's been asking "how awesome is my present?". 

More ski pics

(this is a little out of order, but I'm sure you can still follow the chronology).
Since this was a special occasion, we used our airline miles to upgrade to first class. This is my first flight in first class (actually, business class). I walk past the first class seats all the time and think "what's so great about that?". Well, in case you haven't tried it, IT IS GREAT. Here's the lunch:

This is a salad w/ buffalo chicken and big chunks of bleu cheese on it, chips, dressing and dip for the chips. Prior to that we got hot wet cloths to clean our hands, and before that, WARM mixed nuts. And they bringing you drink refills until you say whoa. It's more like being a guest at someone's home than it is having a flight attendant wait on you.
Folks in economy class got a free softdrink and could purchase chips or granola bars.

Back to skiing....

Here's a group picture taken at Lake Louise. It's sort of hard to tell, but the sun is shining on the top of the mountain behind us.

Scenery picture at Lake Louise.....the actual frozen lake, not the ski area. We did a little sight seeing on the way home from skiing one day. Again, pictures don't do it justice. I think I forgot to mention earlier, but all of Banff and the area we were in is in a National Park.

Other ski pics of interest

Last group of ski pics.....

Here are some sheep that were on the side of the road. I don't have a picture of it, but there are all these small bridges going across the highways, but they aren't paved, they have grass, etc growing on them. They are for wildlife crossing. More info here:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/banff/docs/routes/chap1/sec1.aspx

After 4 days in Banff, we went back to Calgary for 2 days. They have a really neat downtown area and we stayed at a nice hotel. They Dallas Stars also played while we were there, so we had to go. It was really neat to attend a hockey game in Canada. They love their hockey! One of the most amazing things was that nearly EVERY person in the crowd was wearing a red Flames jersey. Not just a t-shirt or something with a logo on it, but an actual (replica) jersey. I'm used to seeing about 20% jerseys at Stars home games.

Part of the neat downtown area. There is one street where all the shopping occurs, and they close that down to traffic on the weekends. They have very pretty lights strung across the street, and you can't tell from the photo, but there are long lights that hang down and appear to 'drip' like an icicle. Super pretty!

And as per usual, nearly every time we go skiing, Parker gets sick. I guess it's just a typical February thing, everyone has colds or worse around this time. We usually do a good job of dodging illness compared to a lot of kids her age, but at some point the law of averages catches up with us I guess. In this picture, she's not sucking her finger, she's doing the elementary school child 'check for wiggly teeth'.

She's better now, by the way. I'm not looking forward to the double detox after being pampered by Gigi and then catered to by me while being sick.

Canada Ski pics

This year for our ski trip, we decided to go somewhere extra special to celebrate Bob's 40th birthday. Since Whistler, our first choice, in Vancouver was going to be busy with Olympics, we chose to go to Banff, Canada. We flew into Calgary, and had a 2 hour drive to Banff. It's a very easy drive because with each passing mile, you are getting close and closer to mountains and there is beautiful scenery all along the way.

We went with our usually ski companions, Nick and Cindy. Nick also happens to be Bob's boss, so they also go on the work ski trips.

We went to two different ski areas, Sunshine Valley and Lake Louise. They both had an ok snow base, but really needed fresh snow, so the skiing was pretty good, but not great. Lots and lots of icy conditions, so you couldn't ski very hard or fast. Luckily, there views and scenery were UNREAL. The temps were in the teens, and the sun was usually out and shining on the mountains which made the snow and any falling snow TWINKLE and sparkle. It was amazing.

Here are some random pictures, but they just don't do it justice. Most pictures were preceded by "oh wow, look at that! take my picture!"

Traditional lift picture. Bob takes these by holding his phone out.

One very cool thing was the layer of clouds or fog that would hover over the valleys. After this, I skied down a different direction, not in the direction of the black diamond on the sign behind me.

For whatever reason, the cold maybe, the snowflakes would land and keep their perfect shape. I'm used to clumpy wet Texas snow...I've never seen this happen before.

More pics coming soon....

Snow Pictures

What? You were expecting some other kind of pictures? Not ski trip pics? Ok ok, I'll do ski trip later.


But to put the other ones in context, all of the RECORD SETTING SNOWFALL in the DFW area happened while Bob and I were in Canada skiing and celebrating his 40th birthday. Ironically, there was nearly zero new snowfall where we skied in Canada.

These are mainly pictures from Thursday, after school. Bob's mom, Parker's "Gigi", stayed with her while we traveled. I was so happy to know that Gigi was able to reach the sled on the hook in the garage.

Our snow angel

It snowed all night, reportedly, and school was canceled. Here's the view from the front walk:

There aren't any pictures of Parker playing in the snow on Friday because it was too cold...both indoors and out. Around midnight on Thursday we lost power along with many many others (180,000?). Gigi and Parker stuck it out for part of the day until they were rescued by Bob's Dad, Parker's "Papa". He drove up, packed everyone up, and they all took the 2 hour trip back to their (cozy, heated, electrified) house for the night.
I can't imagine what a PITB all that was for Gigi and Papa, but Parker thought it was a great adventure.

Ski Trip

We've just returned from our annual ski trip. This year we went to Steamboat Springs with a group from Bob's work. It was a great trip - Bob and I could really tell that we have improved our fitness levels. I even skied down a Black slope (the hardest) with out getting stuck.
We had Texas-like weather...in that it changed frequently. The first day of skiing it was sunny and relativly warm, but with high winds. The next day there was about 6" of new powder (see trees in background) and it snowed most of the day, with VERY poor visibility and much colder. The third day started out like the day before, but ended up sunny. On the day we left, the temperature at the base was 10F....I'm glad we missed that.

I still haven't mastered smiling with ski goggles on. They smush your cheeks down.

Ballet, soccer and skiing

Today was Parker's first soccer game. She's had 2 practices so far and today was the first game. At her first practice, she threw a fit and refused to get out of the car. At her second practice, she got out of the car, but cried at one point, and stayed by Bob on the sideline. Today, she cried while getting dressed, but didn't cry at the game (she may have been bribed with candy). She didn't play, but watched again, and participated in the team picture. So we're getting there. This will ultimately be good for her, I hope, once she gets over her anxieties and actually plays. Here she is in her uniform. I made her hold up 3 fingers because she's 3 years old. It's my way of date-stamping the picture, and it looks nicer than holding up today's newspaper.

In contrast, here she is on the way to ballet lessons (leotard is under the fleece, and ballet shoes are in her bag). She continues to LOVE ballet, and pays close attention to the teacher and does very well considering her size. A big part of why she loves it is that all the other girls are older....4's and 5's. They are learning their dance for their recital in May, and at their class this week, they performed it for the older jazz class girls, which was a big thrill for her.

And more ski pictures are trickling in. Bob found a ski rental place that would bring the skis to you, instead of having to go get them and lug them back to the condo. This is really the way to go. Here I am being fitted with ski boots. The condo we stayed at was the Highland's Lodge, by the way. Super super nice.

Combo pics - skiing and homeschool

Here are more pictures....combination of a ski pic and a Parker pic.

At the top of the first lift at Beaver Creek, they had a guy serving hot cocoa on a silver tray. (I took this picture, so I'm not in it. ) The sign says "Cocoa and Corduroy". Corduroy refers to the ridges the snowcats make in the snow when they groom the slopes. They advertise that these are the best groomed slopes around, and I agree....although I haven't been 'around' that much. They even had the snowcats running during the day - lined up in formation with their lights flashing so you didn't run into them.



On Thursday and Friday, Parker was sick AGAIN with a fever. We did a little homeschooling and practiced tracing letters. She loves to trace letters, but won't write them on her own. Since she's been sick 3 times since Feb 1, we went to the doctor today to have her checked. She was diagnosed with 'a cold'. I asked if it was ok to send her to school, because I was worried she might be contagious. The pediatrician said not to worry about it...since she caught it from kids in the class, we might as well pay them back.

We're baaaaaack

We're home from our vacation! We went to Beaver Creek, Colorado on a ski trip. It was just me, Bob and our friends Nick and Cindy. We had a really wonderful time and did 3 days of hard skiing. The views at Beaver Creek are incredible, but you can't really tell from this pictures. And for some reason, in this picture, we all look really short but we're not. Actually Cindy is. I'll post some more trip highlights later.

Parker stayed home with Bob's parents. She was not the least bit bothered when we left either. When we would call in the evening to say goodnight, she was only interested in talking to one parent...not both, so we'd have to alternate who talked to her each day. She had a great time with her Gigi and Papa and is totally worn out I think. Here are some pictures I haven't gotten around to posting:

Cooking for 4. Parker has really been enjoying the kitchen she got from Santa. Here, she's cooking and setting up the table for a party of 4 apparently. Notice all the condiments set out. And notice potholder on her hand. She set the table herself with forks and napkins underneath the bowls. She's all about details.

Pink boots - She's finally reached the cowboy boot stage. These were an impulse buy from the Target clearance bin and she wears them everywhere (except school). We have a conversation every morning about why she can't wear them to school (too slippery). Otherwise, she wears them constantly, whether they match or not. Although what really does match fuchsia metallic princess boots?