Skiing Powder Mountain

We had an amazing day of skiing on Powder Mountain as a family. For the first time we were all able to go together! It was a such a great feeling to have all the kids with us and do a fun, bonding activity together. This was Paisley's 1st time on skis and Luke decided to skip the board this year and try out skiing as well. Luke took right to it and was flying down the mountain with us trailing behind him. He only rode the lift up with me about 2 times and then didn't want to wait for us so he was riding all by himself or with Ethen. Paisley only needed a few times on the bunny hill and had pretty good control so we took her up the lift and she had a blast. She would go most of the way herself and only needed to a little help down the steepest parts. It was so much fun and no one complained all day! Paisley started crying at the end of the day and didn't want to leave. The only way we got her to take off her skis was when we told her that John and Liz would be at the house when we got back. Thankfully they were there when we arrived. We are looking forward to many ski trips back to our favorite resort, Pow Mow!!

Waiting for the shuttle

Paisley all bundled up in her cute snow jumpsuit! It kept her cozy warm all day.

Ethen on top of the world

Scott in his element

Taking a little break to refuel. Paisley had to put all her gear on by herself.

Luke and Mama on the lift

Phoebe and Mama on the lift

Our incredible kids at the top of Powder Mountain

Paisley riding her way down

Ice Skating Fun

We had a fun afternoon ice skating one day in Utah. Phoebe and James worked on some sweet moves and I think only Luke and I succeeded in injuring ourselves. Mine was from trying to get too confident in my skating ability and crashing on my knees. Luke's was more ligitimate and he suffered a skate scrape to the side. Luckily they happened at the end of our skate time. Sorry no footage of the wrecks, but here is Phoebe and James!!!

1st Banditz gig

Phoebe's band The Banditz had their 1st official gig this past weekend. We had some sound/technical difficulties in the beggining, but they performed great. I mostly took video so I don't have very many pictures. They all did such a great job and lots of people come out to support them. It was a great night with yummy food at Petra Mexican Restaurant.

Halloween 2011

This year Halloween was a busy night. Not only was it on a school night, but Ethen had a football game as well. Scott, Grandma, John and Liz all went to the football game to cheer Ethen on, and I took the little kids out to trick or treat. Phoebe was out at 6 with a group of friends making quick work of the neighborhood and I didn't see her til 9. She is beyond loaded with candy now. Thank you to Grandma Bergen for making a great Spirit costume for Phoebe! Luke and Paisley were with me and some friends and Paisley was done pretty early on, however after carrying her for 2 blocks she got a second wind and made about 8 more stops. She was more concerned with eating the candy than getting it :) ! I had fun doing the makeup again, but next year I am hoping they won't all want full face makeup as removal is very time consuming. Here are pictures from our night.

Luke's loot

Paisley's loot

Phoebe's loot

Happy Halloween

We had our annual Trunk or Treat activity last night and here are some pictures of my creepy goblins. Everyone wanted to be something scary this year. Ethen wasn't into dressing up for this one this year and he has a football game on Halloween. Paisley is Lady Dracula, Luke is a skeleton and Phoebe is a Spirit. It was fun doing their makeup.

Crazy Hair Day

It was crazy hair day at school for the kids. I had fun coming up with these crazy hairstyles!

Tractors On the Square

Our town square had some cool old tractors on display one weekend, so we ventured out to have a look and play around a little. There had been a large pumpkin display, but they had already removed it so we just took some funny pictures by the stand.

Fall Sports X 3

This Fall Ethen is playing football, Phoebe is playing volleyball, and Luke is playing soccer. Ethen made the A team at his school for his 7th grade team. He is starting defense and plays some offense as well. We play in the high school stadium here and all his games are at night, so I am unable to really get pictures of him on the field. They turn out too dark. He is doing great and I just love watching him play. He is number #35.Phoebe decided it would be fun to try out volleyball this year and she is having a good time learning how to bump the ball. The rules are a bit different than when I played in school so we are learning together.
Luke is back on his team Speed. Soccer is such a fantastic sport for him with the constant running around. He had a lot of energy and chases after that ball like no other.

Slip N Slide Trampoline

The kids say the ground is too hard for sliding so they came up with the brilliant idea to stick it up on the trampoline. Here are some pictures of our sliding fun :)

1st day of school 2011

Summer free time ended and school has started. You wouldn't know it by the triple digits we are still experiencing every day here in Texas. The kids were all excited for the 1st day. They would never admit that to you, but Phoebe had her outfit picked out for at least a week. Ethen was anxious to get 7th grade started and looking forward to playing football for his school. He had no interest in fulfilling my need to take 1st day of school pictures so these were all I got. He has to be up at 5:50 a.m. to get to school for practice so that is a bit tough on all of us.

It is still pitch black outside! I almost feel bad for him.

Here is a fun picture Phoebe took looking serious. I did a cute inside-out side braid for her hairstyle.Luke 1st grade, Phoebe 5th grade