Winterpalooza

Last month before Christmas, (another late post--imagine!) the kids participated in their very first Winterpalooza at our gym! The program was staged as a competition, where the students in the recreational programs (who don't normally compete) have a chance to perform routines on the different events, and experience some friendly competition with scores and medals and ribbons and jazz. 

I was coaching my own class during the event, so I didn't catch Marie and Erik's routines in their entirety, but I was able to sneak a few peeks while waiting to switch events...I caught lots of smiles and at least one good wipeout!

Wipeeeouttt!!
(I got to witness it first-hand!)

They did four events-vault, bars, beam, and floor:

(He did awesome on his second attempt!)

And I found out that I make some pretty awesome faces while spotting:

Full credit goes to Peter, who took on the task of snapping lots of pictures in my place (you know how painful that can be for non-picture-takers) which made me happy since I got to see on the camera what I missed in person. Also many thanks to Gran, Granddad, and Ethan, who were present to cheer on the kids during the competition--all four hours of it.

Both kids had a blast, and Marie even chose to get on the podium for a photo-op after the gym had cleared out, and begged to take her medal to the pizza place (the clear lunch of choice following any Winterpalooza) and school the next week to show it off to everyone she saw.

The whole program showcased the many reasons I am so thankful for our gym. With all the years I spent in a gym, I've seen many different environments, and it's clear that this isn't just any old gym--it's got something special going on. I appreciated the fact that they concentrated on the little things at the Winterpalooza (a personalized score card and ribbons for everyone, scoring so that every child could stand on the podium at least once, handmade 'bouquets' made of Dum-Dums just like the bouquets of flowers Olympians get)--but even more than that, I am so encouraged by how much they care about each and every gymnast. As I watch my own kids in this environment, it's obvious how both are just flourishing in the programs and gaining confidence to help overcome their unique challenges. We weren't sure that a certain someone would even participate in the program because it was so performance-related, but we all agreed to give it a try; and aside from not wanting to receive an award on the podium, it was all smiles and full-out participation. That, in itself, was monumental for us. I'm so thankful for the accommodations and understanding of the kids' coaches (one of whom is the owner), and their ongoing willingness to work with the kids and adjust to their needs, regardless of how much out-of-the-box thinking it may take. As an staff member, it's a great feeling to be a part of. And as a mom? It's priceless to know that my kids have a safe outlet where they are comfortable, loved, cared for, and understood. It's the best thing ever to watch them overcoming obstacles and gaining confidence, one accomplishment after another!

I loved the look on Erik's face when he was presented with his medal--and we had to coax him
off of the podium because he was so busy showing the crowd his very own bouquet of candy!

Yet another one of those little things about our gym: the owners are constantly decorating for the current holiday--Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, etc.--and as Christmas rolled around, they set up a tree and made little stockings by hand with the name of every child in every class, which they got to hang on the Christmas tree prior to Christmas. Then they filled the stockings with candy canes before the last class of the year so the kids could take them home. It was fun to participate in the tradition with my class, and awesome to watch my own kids delight it it--especially Marie!

They're very bummed that they have to wait a whole year until the next Winterpalooza. But in the mean time, Marie has grand schemes to have her birthday party at the gym, and we spend lots of Saturdays at open gym where Ethan also gets to bounce and flip around.

I'm currently searching for fail-proof ways to protect my eardrums from all the shrieking and cheering that happens when I remind them it's a gym night. But truth be told, I have the same reaction whenever it's my night to coach. It's funny to think that none of this was even on our radar at this time last year, but turns out it's exactly what we all needed most!

To Carlisle and Beyond!

Alternate Title: Remember that Other Holiday??

So, almost a two months ago (as in last year) we took an amazing trip "home" to Carlisle, Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving...but between school and work and winter sickness and programs and Christmas, my billion-picture post got delayed till now. Lucky you!

Ever wonder what it looks like to pack up a family of five and fly them across the country?

No?

Well you get to see anyway:

Clearly, the only way for an uber-disorganized brain (like mine) to possibly prepare successfully for the monumental task of remembering all the things that all the people will need for a week of travel...is to start the process seven days in advance, and put notes on everything. (Mind you, I have friends with many more children than I who do this with far more grace and far less chaos than I ever could, God bless them). But I did it--and we only forgot two minor things on the way back!

It was the first time the kids had been on a plane since we'd moved here, so the day was filled with Great Big Exciting Things like security and the airport train and escalators and their very own seats with grown-up seatbelts and tray tables that go up and down (and up and down and up and down) and ears that pop and big noisy engines that suddenly launch us waaay up in the air where we can see tiny little cars and trees and roads!!! To their credit, the kids did SO well the entire trip, and we got so many compliments on their behavior (guess my prayers worked!) which makes future prospects of family travel slightly less intimidating. Slightly. We packed a backpack for each of them with new toys and activity books and snacks to help keep them happy, which also helped a ton.

Now for the rest of the trip in pictures:

We made a quick trip to nearby Hershy Park to see Christmas Candylane [aka "The Chocolate Factory"] to tour the factory and see the Christmas Candylane lights!

The same day we got to see Aunt Joyce, who made a long drive up from Virgina just to say hi (she's my dad's step-sister who is the best--she used to be a teacher, and would take us cousins on week-long educational trips called "Camp Joyce" to D.C. and historic Williamsburg, despite the almost certain insanity that would result).

Everybody loves Aunt Joyce!

We also had fun playing, bowling...

Bowling shoes: most entertainment we've had all year.

We're petitioning the Olympic committee to make synchronized bowling a new sport.

Strike dances...

...and jump contest!

 And baking (to include a whole second gluten/dairy-free Thanksgiving feast to bring with us to Thanksgiving dinner with extended family in Philly)...

Making cranberry sauce from scratch and memories filled with giggles.

...taking family pictures, visiting Yabba at the high shool where he works, 

For some kids, pictures are a downright stressful event. So we allowed her to dictate some poses.
(Mommy couldn't quite hold her handstand long enough for the timer to go off...).

Fun at Yabba's office!

...and enjoying some good old-fashioned quality time together that we miss so very dearly when we're not together!

SO much fun with Uncle Q!

My sister and I got to steal away together for a
day of massages, lunch, a little shopping, and my very
favorite part--a  special visit to adoration together.
Miss my sis!

We also had fun traveling some more to meet the Philly clan at my aunt's house, celebrating as per the usual with dinner for a crowd, playing games, going to the zoo...

And of course, enjoying all of the innate silliness that comes with the territory of a true-blue family gathering:

Where there are animal hats...and masks...

It was a whirlwind--one that was worth every last second, and it reminded me how dire the need is for someone to invent a mode of travel that is a billion times faster and cheaper than airplanes, or figure out how to remove all that extraneous land in between our house and Grandma's. Or both. I'll even copyright it for free!

Despite our travel-weary crew, all they've talked about for weeks (now months) is how much they love Grandma and Yabba's toys, all the fun things they did with Aunt Chica, and all the funny things Uncle Q says and does. And above all, the kids' constant chorus is how they can't wait to see everyone again!
Me neither, kiddos! 

Merry Christmas {2013}!

For those of you who we might have missed on the Christmas card list due to moves or address changes or disorganization or carrier pigeons getting lost in snowstorms...

And a wonderful year it was for us!

Christmas Eve...

After Mass

A Christmas Eve gift exchange with the cousins & grandparents

With [Santa] hat hair...

And back at home, preparing for Santa...

Her note: "Does Rudolph have a red nose? From Marie Hjelmstad." (She's been asking me for months if it's really
red, and I keep saying that I don't know because I've never seen it). Santa's reply: "Ho ho ho, thanks
for the cookies!  Yes, Rudolph's nose is red, and when it's extra cold it gets extra red!  Be good this
year, and have a Merry Christmas! From, Santa."

After the kids were in bed, the big kids got to play Santa. 

A word of advice: Say your doting husband got you the sewing machine you wanted for Christmas last year, then mentions how nice it would be to have matching family stockings for next year...don't just pin pretty stockings on Pinterest and procrastinate for 364 days before actually starting them. Otherwise you'll have to hold yourself back from punching the clock on Christmas as it rings in 3am while you try to make good on your promise. I'm sure one day I'll look back and laugh. Yesterday was not that day. Thankfully, despite the sleep depravation and a few poorly-timed machine jams, they turned out a-okay!

Meanwhile, in the next room, "Santa" was also losing sleep during the assembly process...

And on Christmas Morning...

It was all worth it!

Putting baby Jesus in the fluffy Good Deeds Manger! Then adding Mary, Joseph, and the angel
because sweet girl didn't want him to get lonely.

Neeeeeeerooooom!
(banished shortly thereafter to the garage)

The boys in heaven...

...all of them!

Bacon! BACON!!!!

Part of Peter's 12 Days of Christmas from yours truly:
A coupon for Board Game Night, "Scrabble not included; other marriage-killing games also subject to veto."

 And finally, Christmas Dinner with Gran & Granddad

 I must've jinxed myself before by mentioning the birthday cake for Jesus...because guess who has two thumbs and totally forgot about it until we sat down at the table? Fortunately, there were plenty of cookies to go around. Sorry, Jesus!

Merry 2nd Day of Christmas--we hope the first day was full of joy & love, and pray that the next ten days of Christmas will be filled with just as many blessings, if not more! 

(And sleep, too!)

Bums in the Making!

For the first time this past weekend, we headed up the hill for an intro to skiing for the kids and some prime powder time for us!

Last year...

Least year at the tail end of the ski season, we took the kids to see how long they could stay upright on a pair of skis. Our experiment turned out better than anticipated, so we invested in family season passes this year, hoping that it would be an investment in fun quality time as well. We have access to five local moutnains through our season passes (The Vail Resorts Group includes Vail, Breckenridge, Keyston, Arapahoe Basin, and Beaver Creek...also a few in other states and three French/Swiss resorts--in our dreams), so our plan is to do the grand tour-de-resorts throughout the season and enjoy the unique benefits that each hill has to offer. The mountains are all within a half an hour to an hour of each other, so we have the luxury of staying in one location and skiing different hills in the same trip if we want to. The passes also have RFID technology that will record stats like what level the kids have achieved during their lessons, what types of runs we've skied, the amount vertical feet we've climbed, and it will even beam free pictures to our account that photographers take while we're on the mountains (although half of our pictures from this weekend never showed up-bummer).

One of the pictures that made it...

Aside: Peter promised that never again would he plan a ski weekend right before Christmas. It was definitely crazy trying to get ready and packed, and not exactly the best timing with so much else to do. Like making last-minute Elf on the Shelf accomodations because we found out the night before the trip that the kids were super anxious about what would happen to Elfie while we were gone, asking a million questions about whether or not he would be in the car or at the hotel to 'watch over' them. But once we finally got to the resort, we conceded that the timing wasn't that bad, especially since the the resorts were surprisingly empty on Friday night and all day Saturday!

Elfie, photobombed by one
very dedicated golddigger.

Let the record show that Elfie indeed made it after all...and that kids in pictures are extremely unpredictable.

We picked Keystone for our first trip of the season because we've skied the other resorts before (aside from A-Basin), and heard that Keystone was a good place for kids. It certainly was, as we found out, with both free front-row family parking and a gondola line for families with small kids--score! We stayed in town and booked lessons and daycare for Saturday, leaving Sunday open for skiing with the big kids...Ethan is still too young for real skis so he went to daycare both days.

Sleepy time and getting ready in the morning. (You know you're
in ski country when the pack n' play goes next to the ski rack!)

We arrived Friday afternoon just as the snow started to fall, and dropped Peter off at Breckenridge so he could work in half a day of skiing with a friend from school who happened to be in town on vacation.

Views from our hotel, including a gorgeous Saturday sunrise over the slopes!

Saturday dawned bright and snowy, and we headed off early to drop the kids at school and hit the slopes. We enjoyed freely skiing grown-up runs and nervously spying on the kids, as we had no idea how they would actually fare during their first full-day "school" experience. We skied past the ski school area a few times, and were thoroughly impressed when we caught Marie going up and down the kids' slope with the the magic carpet (moving sidewalk) a few times, looking like a real ski bum! She also had a blast playing with Ripperoo the Dog (one lucky instructor got to dress up as the dog mascot), whose tail she felt obligated to go pull after every run. We could hear her giggling all the way from our hiding place at the fence, and later at pick-up time she was mad that she had to leave already!

Spying on Ski School from the lift, and zombie Marie going up the magic carpet.

The instructor caught me in the midst of this mom-arazzi moment;  it's hard to hear, but he asked, "Is that little troublemaker yours?" to which I replied "Yup!" and he said, "Sweet kid!" 

Proud mama right here!

According to his report card, Erik had lots of fun and skied a little, but also had an accident toward the end of the day (we normally have to tell him to go to the bathroom in public because he won't ask), so we spent that night digging up quarters for the hotel laundry. Because life can't ever be too dull, now can it? Thankfully, we still made it to church and a quick dinner before all crashing in our room from exhaustion!

An "epic" ski date!

On Sunday we dropped Ethan off and and got the kids all geared up for their first round of skiing with us. We were delighted to discover that the beginner runs at the top of the mountain also had a separate learning area with a magic carpet open to the public, so we headed straight for that. But the kids weren't having it, and after listening to Marie whimper for thirty minutes about being cold and wanting to be at ski school instead of skiing with her boring parents and not liking the "big" ski hill that was like .0002 degrees steeper than the ski school one, we finally plopped them in the gondola and headed over to one of the less-crowded back peaks to have lunch and warm up.

Pouting in the gondola on the way to lunch...

...and smiling on the way back!

That did the trick, and by the time we finished lunch and loaded the gondola back to the easy slopes, the kids decided happily that we would be their pretend ski instructors, we would play "follow the leader," and they were happy to try one more run on the bunny hill.

One run quickly turned into ten, and that single afternoon made all the difference--we both had so much fun skiing with the kids! They were both delightful, giggling little ski bums who not only made it down the "big" bunny hill, but the even bigger beginner-level slope next to it with a real chair lift, as well as the kids' "terrain park" with a tunnel that Erik kept begging to go through run after run. (We only wiped out once)! I didn't get any good footage of Erik skiing, since both of my hands were tied up using the harness and straps with him, but even on the last run in whiteout conditions, he kept asking to go again. And Marie totally blew us away with her newfound skill:

We both agreed that the transformation in less than 24 hours (which you can clearly see from the first video to this last one) was just incredible.

Little speed demon really didn't want to stop!

(And yes, I was filming while skiing--but I went 

slowly and made sure not to crash into anyone)!

And those last two hours of joy on Sunday afternoon made it unquestionably worth every single second of lugging gear around and shoving frozen fingers into mittens, and every last penny dropped from our aching bank account to get the passes and lessons and lodging for the season. Marie even told me this morning that she wished she was back up skiing and she is totally bummed that she has to wait soooo loooong before our next trip.

Wagons: the magical solution to carting around 200+ lbs
of gear and kids!

So despite all of the hard work and stressful moments, when put to the test, it appears our master plan to make fun family memories and ski bums all at once is working like a charm. I'll be counting down the days till next time right along with Marie!