To Florida!!

For our mid winter break we flew out to Florida to visit the cousins and have some days at Universal Studios. We left around 4:00 in the afternoon and got in after midnight (which only felt like 9:00 to us). But by the time we pulled into the Glaser's driveway it was 2 in the morning and getting late for us. We slept in and then waited until the cousins got home from school.

I'm thankful we got this picture of the whole group because it was hard to get us all together.

 

Crystal Mountain

I have been working as a ski instructor at the Summit and one of the things I have really enjoyed is meeting new people. It is an eclectic bunch but I love hearing stories and learning about people. My friend Erin and I met a lady who actually lives close to me. She told us how we can get free passes to other ski areas and we all planned a day at Crystal Mountain. It was great because Carmen knows Crystal very well and she was able to take us all over the mountain. Both Erin and Carmen encouraged me to go down a black diamond and I did! It wasn't pretty but I didn't crash. It did help that we had great snow so I wasn't skiing on ice.

 

Birthday celebration

We met up with Papa Bob & Grandma Shari to celebrate our birthdays. We had dinner at Applebees so we could take advantage of their hamburger special.  Once again I'm thankful to celebrate this special day with her.  

 

Snow!

We had a crazy week a few weeks ago with freezing temperatures and snow. This resulted in 2 hour delays, snow days and only one full day of school.  A few of the days we only had a dusting so it was a little frustrating not having school but on Wednesday morning we woke up to a few inches.  It was enough to play in for a few hours and I'm glad my kids still like to play in it. 

It melted pretty quickly and we didn't get another round of snow so this might be all we have for the winter.

 

Birthday Hike

 I planned a birthday XC ski day with Karen and Sarah.  Karen ended up hurting her back so wasn't able to go.  Sarah and I were still going to go but the driving conditions at the pass made Sarah nervous (and me too) so we opted for a hike instead.  This also mean Karen could join us.  It was a lovely morning and we just missed the rain.  We also went to lunch on Mercer Island and then browsed a book shop which is one of my favorite things to do. 

I'm thankful for friendships.

Indoor soccer

Bo was asked to play on an indoor soccer team for the winter season. He was a little nervous but he did great. It's definitely a lot faster but he will learn how to get the hang of it.

 

Cold soccer morning

When Darby & Brad were in Hawaii I made sure to send Brad this picture of me freezing at Ollie's soccer game. It was so cold but I had my new Mambe on so I stayed warm. 

Ollie also had a few private training sessions but we had to stop because his legs were hurting him.

 

Lunch break

 Meanwhile back at home I was able to enjoy a lunch date with my friends Amy & Shea.  We went up to the mountain and ate at Dru Bru.  It's always fun catching up with friends. 

Aulani

Darby & Brad spent their last two nights at the Aulani Resort. It's the Disney themed hotel in Hawaii.  I mostly picked it because it has a lazy river and Brad loves a good lazy river.   He gave good report to this one but said it was so crowded it was hard to enjoy it.   (And this isn't the busiest time of year for this hotel). 

They spent most of the day at the hotel and did try to go snorkeling at a nearby Lagoon but it was dumping rain and the rain made the lagoon a little murky. 

 

 We missed them while they were gone but we are thankful they were able to make these memories together. 

Dole, Driving & Starbucks

On their way back down to the south end of Oahu they stopped at the Dole plantation and also Starbucks. They didn't get to do a tour of the Dole Plantation but were able to check out the gift shop.

They also had a fun time driving around in the convertible.