Calderado

Well, today I decided it was time to stop reading everyone else's blogs and update my own. Nothing makes me more depressed than when other people don't update their blogs... and yet it's been a full 21 days since my last post. Dear, dear. I must blame my lack of posting on the inevitable depression which hits every time I return from a trip back home. Suddenly upon arrival in NY, I realize that I am the one responsible for unloading the dishwasher, vacuuming, buying the food, MAKING the food, sweeping the floor... and that I have to drag my kids along with me while I do it all. So yeah, I've been re-adjusting to life without constant fun and entertainment, and unlimited babysitting. Sigh.

We started our trip up in the mountains. Our flight was delayed, so by the time we arrived at the mountain house it was 5 AM NY time. We slept about 5 hours, and awoke to the Fun Nazi (Rand) asking how long it would be until we were ready to get on the mountain. So we popped some Diet Dr. Pepper (who thought to buy that? I am hooked!), Advil, and decongestant for my raging cold, and hit the slopes. It was a beautiful day... warm, new snow, and almost half the family was on snowboards, a day I never thought I'd live to see. Even Rand was riding! Scout did great on skis and Calder stayed home with Nana and the babies, to begin his marathon TV watching. Life is so great with "channels".


The next day Rand declared our departure time for Vail at 7.30 AM. Luckily, we went to bed at about 7 the night before, but nothing could have prepared us for the day of unlimited powder and hard core boarding that Rand, Tanner, Carrie and Dave had planned.. I've never ridden in so much snow, and had a hard time staying upright at the beginning. On one run, I fell about 20 times in a row and couldn't get up, so I decided to lay in the snow crying, while yelling at the sky: THERE IS NOTHING FUN ABOUT THIS! Luckily, I figured it out and it eventually got fun. But we had a long, full day of riding and I was very glad when we finally got home and headed to the hot tub.

Sunday and Monday we decided to take it easy, so there was sledding and Scout snowboarding and conference and a trip to the Rec Center, along with lots of good food and hang time with the crew. We missed Ya Ya though... it's never the same without her! Plus no one takes the initiative to organize any games, and there weren't any chocolate chip cookies to eat.

On Tuesday morning Trav left (Rand and Co. had left the day before, since they had school) and Carrie and Dave left, but then Carrie got home and realized she didn't have much work to do, so she and Brig came back. Horray! I took the big kids skiing following the crazy huge breakfast Carrie blogged about, and Scout again was a rock star and Calder... well, Calder wasn't a huge fan. There was some whining and complaining and I tried to be patient, but finally called Nana to come and get him so Scout and I could have some fun. I decided to ski to make it easier to help Calder, and while at first nervous (my first time on skis in 14 years!) it all came back to me, and I felt like I was coming home again.

Nana and the kids and I headed back home that evening, since Scout and I had a dental appointment the next morning. Some think I should get a dentist in NY, but really... that's just a crazy notion. I'm pretty sure my mouth would explode if anyone other than Dr. Roper looked at my teeth.

The rest of the time was a blur of fun and games. We had an early b-day party with everyone for Scout, and Nana + Grampa gave her Molly, her first American Girl doll. Her aunts and uncles gave her tons of accessories for Molly... a hair care kit, clothes, camping equipment, etc. She was so thrilled to get her, and has played with her way more than I anticipated.

Nana pulled a miracle out of her hat and got a horseback riding lesson for Scout, and her friends took the kids to brush and feed their horse and ended up letting them ride it around... even Calder got on!

We went to Ocean Journey, and I took some photos, and then Scout took some photos. This was the best one of her batch... all the rest were super blurry.

Crosby loved it at first, and then I think he got scared. This is a fun shot of him trying to touch the water. He was constantly scanning the ground for rocks, hoping there would be an opportunity to throw something in the water.

Just had to include this picture of Croz in the t-shirt his Aunt Amy gave him last year. Could a Thrasher t-shirt be more appropriate on anyone else?

Here's Scout posing by a replica of the mouth of a Megalodon. Freaky... and, nice pose.

Here's Calder in a diver suit. Sort of.

This is the picture from Scout's horseback riding lesson. If we lived in Colorado, I'd totally sign her up for lessons. It was only $35 for a 1.5 hour lesson! That's less than what we pay for a half hour swim lesson for 2 kids each week.

Hanging out...

Oz and Syd had a fun love/hate relationship this time. They got along well unless Dora was playing, and then it became a wrestling match as they both jockeyed to be the one standing DIRECTLY in front of the TV. Here they are playing with a pop up toy, where Syd would open all the doors and Oz would close them. At one point, Syd decided that she wanted to be the one to open AND close the doors, and all heck broke loose.

The peeps and their newest little cousin. We all fell in love with Brig (Briggy, as Calder calls him) and he fell in love with us. He especially liked Calder, but Brig tried to maintain eye contact with me at all times, even when he was nursing. I think it's because my voice sounds so much like Carrie's. He would listen attentively whenever I was telling a story, and at one point I was on the top of a very tall staircase about to go down a water slide, and even then, could see Brig's eyes on me. He is the best baby ever!

Overall, a completely fabulous trip. We finally got some time with Ya Ya at the end, and I keep hoping Carrie is working on a post about the chocolate shower. I'll give her 3 more days and if she doesn't, I will. And then you can look forward to another tale in the adventures of homeownership where I'll in great detail describe how my fridge flooded my basement yesterday. It was awesome!


Peace out, playas.