Last Visitors of 2017

Part of the Michigan Kerschen's came to visit us and boy are we having fun!

They flew in Thursday afternoon and we headed up to Loveland to ski first thing Friday morning.

Long lines are terrible, Joseph enjoyed making snow angels while we waited!

 The 4 and 5 year old lessons were sold out for the day.  So the kids and I spent some time in the lodge while Johnny & Layla took lessons and Daddy & Aunt Cathy took some turns together. 

 Boy, these two can have fun anywhere.

 The free face painter sure helped pass the time too!

 By the afternoon, Daddy was ready to give his own private lessons. 

As you can see from this picture, Lillian was pretty darn pleased with herself at the end of the day!

We stayed in a hotel in Silverthorne for the night and enjoyed the indoor pool. 

 We "hit" the hill by the Silverthorne Rec Center for some fierce sledding, sometimes the free activities are the best ones!

 Then we hurried back down to Denver for a horseback ride.

Do these kids know how lucky they are?

Finally, We rang in the New Year with a small group of friends here at the house. 

And yes, we WERE all in bed long before midnight. 

Welcome 2017, What adventures do you have in store for us?



Brenna comes to play!

Brenna came over to play today!  It was her first time at our house and we had so much fun.  The girls included Joseph very well.  I was trying to cut up some veggies for lunch, but the kids wanted to eat their carrots whole.  They didn't get my Bugs Bunny joke. ...LOL



Gettin' Out and About over Winter Break

The Nature & Science Museum had extra staff on hand for the busy holiday break. 

 Joseph, Graceyn & Lillian enjoyed exfoliating their hands in the Space Odyssey exhibit. 

 Then Lillian got to perform a test.  The volunteer put a virtual screen over her eyes that made her feel like she was spinning counter-clockwise, while she was watching it, he spun her clockwise.  Then he asked her to raise her hand when she thought she stopped spinning.  The audience had a great time watching her "Mess up" the results.  And she loved watching the video of herself afterwards. 

 Joseph loved digging for fossils of course. 

 And all of the kids enjoyed the homemade ice cream.  We took the recipe to "try this at home"!

Another great visit!

The Gifts Keep Coming!

We spent the whole day opening and playing with presents from various relatives and friends!

 

 Joseph and Lillian love their new ski gear, I wish I could upload the video of Joseph running full speed at the front door wearing his new helmet.  He was acting like a crash test dummy without even knowing what one is!

Graceyn came by to bring Lillian a "Hatchimal" which was all the rage this Christmas season.  Her brother Wyatt didn't want his and said he'd prefer it go to Lillian because she'd really enjoy it.  What a sweet Christmas gesture!  The thing hatched in 10 minutes and instantly lost it's appeal.  I hope Graceyn's grandma didn't spend too much on that thing!

 

It was overall a nice relaxing Christmas weekend!  Now Mike and I have to go back to work for a few days to take some time off next weekend when Cathy, Johnny & Layla come to town!



Santa!!!

 Guess they were nice this year more often than they were naughty!



Christmas Eve Fun

Love the Christmas Eve tradition of opening presents.  I think the kids like it too!  They really have been so patient.  They haven't asked if they can open the presents that have been sitting under our tree for weeks now.  They pick them up and feel how heavy each one is, they read the tags and compare whose is biggest, heaviest etc.  But they never try to peak or beg to open them.  But if you ask Joseph what he thinks is inside, the answer no doubt is, "Hot Sauce!", with a smile.  That is his go to answer for everything these days.  Joseph do you want juice or milk, "Hmmmm, Hot Sauce!?"  Joseph do you want to wear the blue or the red shirt, "Hot Sauce!".  He eventually answers appropriately, but not before being a goof ball first!

 Everyone wants to hold sweet Natalie.  She is simply the sweetest baby ever!

Grammy & Opa love their "Welcome to Golden" survival pack we put together for them. 



Christmas Break Has Begun!

This little girl is out of school for 2 and a 1/2 weeks!

School is out for a little while, so today was Lillian's turn to come to work with mommy!  She had a little fun shopping at Albertsons this morning....I think that ape is trying to kiss her!

 One of my residents gave her and Joseph a little Christmas Gift, and Lillian waited to open it when she got home.  I think they're pretty excited about their new jewelry box and coloring books!

 



Still Enjoying My Gym!

I'm amazed - the kids have made great progress at my gym lately. They are performing and playing at a much higher acrobatic level than when they started taking classes here.  I love how they expose the kids to so many sports, flag football, volleyball, hockey, zip lining, tumbling, bars, aerial ribbon dancing and more!

 I love that toothless smile!

  And I love those wiggly toes!

 Joseph flips over and over and over again on this bar, and it drives Lillian nuts!  She just can't get up the nerve to turn herself over.  I know once she does it she'll never want to stop!

 Lillian is the special person again at school.  She was able to bring home Annie this time.  So we took Annie to my gym and she wrote a story about it.  Here she is showing Miss Alex her work.

 

 You can't tell from this picture, but Lillian was standing on the balance beam, jumping off and catching the bar to swing.  She loved it and did it over and over until her hands were sore.  How is that easier than flipping? 

 Here she is spinning in the aerial silk ribbon.