Easter Part 1

We had a lot going on around the week leading up to Easter..here are a few highlights...

The annual egg "hunt" at Stew Leonards.

And this year we went back for the children's Good Friday service, just like we did last year.  Mother Cindy even gave each of the kids an Easter gift to open on Easter morning.

Stickers

The other day the twins asked me if they could open the Spider Man stickers we  have.  I said sure.  They were in the playroom  and I was in the living room and they called out "Mom, can we put the stickers on our shirts?"  I assumed they meant could they each take a sticker and put it on thier shirt.  So I said ok.  After five minutes of silence, I called them into the kitchen and this in what I saw....

The aftermath...

I would like to think that our trip had nothing to do with it, but shortly after coming home, Lucas' asthma got real bad.  It was acting up a little before we left, so we brought his meds with us and made sure he got them everyday.  But when we got home, his first night was real tough.  So we kept him home from school.  The next day, while he was home, Liliana's school called to say that she had a 102 degree fever and had to come home. Yikes!

Shortly after, we made our way to the doctor where both kids were diagnosed with pneumonia...Lucas had it a little more severe than Liliana.  They were out of school for the rest of the week, and into early this week.  We laid REAL low this past weekend...and the kids (while still on meds for about another week) are feeling much, much better.

Footage...

Here is some video taken from Pat's Peak..our stellar day!  Sorry its a little shaky, but I was skiing down right next to them.  A little dangerous, but I couldn't resist....

Pat's Peak...

Since Granite Gorge was a bust, we had to make a decision about where to go on Monday.  Do we go back to Sunapee which was great or venture out to find a new mountain?  At the end, our adventurous spirits got the best of us and we decided to try Pat's Peak.  

And we were so happy we did!  They had a great learning area for the kids.  

We basically had the whole lodge to ourselves!  It was Monday after all.  Here are the kids helmets.  They have started collecting stickers to all the mountains they go to.  I guess mountains all have stickers and happily give them out to kids. 

Studying the trail map...

There will be another post with video footage of their accomplishments, but both of the kids really figured out how to ski unassisted on this trip.  By midday on Monday, Liliana and I were up on the top of the mountain skiing down the greens side by side.  She was able to stop and turn and we just kept going up and skiing down together.  A lot of fun!

Lucas was a bit more timid.  However, in the last two hours or so on Monday he finally decided to let go of our hands and try it on his own.  He had a great time and was able to go down the hill by himself.    It was a great successful way to end the season.

And finally, the picture that I have been trying to get all season.  I always say I am going to get it before we ski, and then get so distracted by everything it takes to get these two on the mountain, that I forget.  At the end of the day, it's useless, they are exhausted and it isn't worth the hassle.  So I randomly remembered that I still didn't have a picture of all of us and got one before it was too late.  

I am very proud of these little ones (and I have to say of Felix and myself as well).  We weren't too sure how this whole thing was going to turn out, and I think it was way more fun than we ever thought possible.  Can't wait for next year!

Ski-cation!

We decided to take advantage of the remaining weeks we have our skis and make one weekend out of it.  We headed up over the weekend to New Hampshire, where we knew, despite the warm weather, there would be plenty of snow.  We had to leave at 5 am, but by sunrise, we were well north.

We actually went through Vermont to get to NH (since we were going to western NH)

We had originally intended to ski at a small mountain called Granite Gorge.  It was small and seemed perfect for the kids.  However, when we arrived, it was a joke of a mountain. They had about three slopes, one lift and none of them looked kid friendly.  So we quickly readjusted our plans and headed north another 45 minutes to Mount Sunapee...which was AMAZING!

They had about three or four beginner areas....all with magic carpets or tow lines.

It got so warm that we let the kids delayer a bit.  It was in the high 40s and plenty sunny.  

At the end of the day, we headed back to our hotel.  Unfortunately the indoor swimming pool we planned on using was under renovation.  The local Y lets the hotel residents swim for free while the pool is being fixed, but we were all too tired after skiing to trek over to the Y.  The kids were very good about it, I think we are just a little too tired to care.

Next up...Pat's Peak!!!

4 yr checkup

It's that time of year again!  The twins went for their 4 year check up and all was good.

They got to do this new hearing test, which they really got a kick out of.

Measuring and weighing them.

They both opted for these "gowns" since waiting around in their underwear was a bit cold.  

Doc reports that both kids are 90th percentile for height (is Liliana getting taller than Lucas?) and 75th percentile for weight.  My little babies....all big and healthy!  

Butternut

After all our fun at Hunter, Felix headed home with the kids and I headed due east to the Berkshires for a college weekend get together.  We rented a ski apartment, which was a two bedroom suite that was an extension of someone's actual house.  Suited all of us well for the two nights we were there.  Skiing at Butternut was fun.  We even found a nice man at the top who took our picture!

Roomates from freshman year (and three following years, mind you).  Are we really approaching 40?

Some other higlights..

Here are some random pics from the week at the house....

All geared up and ready to go.  We have gotten quite good at getting all our gear on.

Hot cocoa break on the last day...it was really cold.

Liliana all excited after Aiko french braided her hair.

Watching tv together.

The week was fabulous and just the right amount of time.  I think we will be back!

Skiing!

Surprisingly, Hunter Mountain did not consider the week we were there a vacation week, so all kids skied for free!  Here is Aiko and our gaggle of kids heading out of the house to the slope to snap into our skis.  We were right on the mountain, it was so convenient.

All set and ready to go!

When we got there, there was no magic carpet for beginners, so right from the get go it was on the chair lift!  A little intimidating for Felix and I, but the kids were great!  They said it was like flying!

The mountain was really deserted...see?  No one there!

This was on the big quad chairlift!  Lucas was thrilled!

Yep, no one on the mountain...

Still had the whole place to ourselves!  It was great!

Since the kids skied for free and we were so close to the slopes, there was no pressure to make a day out of it.  We were always out first thing in the morning, but if they got tired or cold, or simply said they wanted to go back home, we did.  See, our place is just there in the distance, to the left of Lucas.  We literally took the ski lift up, hopped off and skied over to the house....so wonderful!

Ski Vacation!

We are back!  Hunter Mountain was our home for five days and we had a blast.  We went with Aiko's family and stayed in a great house right on the mountain.  

Bunk beds!  (they didn't sleep here though)

Little Emme playing...

We had a nice roaring fire every night

Rei and the twins playing I guess their form of chess.

Meal time...

Surprisingly, the kids watched very little tv all week.  We did have movie night one night and all was quiet....

These two were so cute all week, always hanging out.

Our mud room with all our gear...

Stayed tuned for the details of our great adventures skiing!

Another day of skiing...

Well, it wasn't the 10 inches of fresh powder we had in the blizzard, but today was still nice.  Aiko and  I even discovered some new trails (and inadvertently had to ski down a closed one!).  It was very quiet on the mountain overall...maybe it all dies down after ski school ends.

The twins had their lesson, had a great teacher Carson who made it real fun for them.  I think they are getting a bit frustrated that they cannot stop, but they came out of their lesson beaming, which was all I needed.

While I skied with Aiko and the twins had their lessons, Felix was skiing with David and Giovanna.  They met us at the mountain for a morning of skiing.  Now we just have to get their twins on the slopes!