Monday, February 14, 2011

Hidden Valley Ski Trip

Justin's Aunt Lorie & Uncle Bob have a condo up at Hidden Valley & Justin has 5 weeks of vacation to use, so we took a few days last week and went up to their condo. My family also skis so my parents came out Thursday and Neal & Kelli came out Friday and joined us. We got up there late Wednesday night. We brought the kids in and plopped them on the couch while we carried the rest of the stuff inside. No one moved a muscle. Tolan doesn't look happy in this picture, but he was excited. He would open his eyes, look around & smile then fall asleep. He did this every couple of minutes until we just carried them to bed.
Having some breakfast
they were excited!
they kept calling their bagels doughnuts
Logan & Tolan slept up in the loft
Ella finally figured out how to crawl last week, so she had some fun exploring
It was SOOO cold & windy! But we got ready to go swimming anyway
This is his posed smile
bundling up to head out. I can't believe we are going swimming, even if it is indoors!
Had to take a picture of Tolan crammed in his seat in his hat & shades
We made it. I love Ella's little swimsuit. So cute. Having a girl is so fun!


The boys said they were fishing with their noodles
This was Ella's first time going in a pool and she actually liked it! She loved splashing her feet in the water.
But when she was done, she was done.
It doesn't look like it, but Tolan had to be coaxed into the water.
Logan was a little more adventurous

making a few laps with Daddy
It was extremely cold! And windy too. (I was very happy to stay inside with Ella all weekend) But we were worried about the boys being cold. (I have no idea why this is underlined & I can't get it to stop...) anyway, there had been much discussion about what the boys would wear under their snowpants & at the last minute my mom grabbed some tights to bring for the boys b/c she had heard that NFL players sometimes wear nylon stockings to keep warm. So yes, our boys are wearing tights! And yes, they did keep them warm!
Here they are ready to get some skis! This was their first ski trip, by the way.
Out on the slopes with Grandma T
and Daddy too!
After a few hours Justin dropped them off & I made them some hot chocolate. Tolan drank every last drop. They both came back happy & smiling. They said they liked skiing and had a good time.
Justin went back out to ski kid-free.
Saturday morning my dad & Tolan built a fire
Then they hit the slopes again. The original plan had been for Logan & Tolan to only ski on Friday and then they would have Saturday to go without the kids. But Logan really wanted to ski again. There was no talking him out of it! Tolan was happy to stay inside with Grandpa, Ella & me.

They don't have the rope tows anymore! They use this moving walkway type thing. This would have been so much easier instead of wasting all your energy trying to hold onto the rope tow when you are just learning to ski!
My mom & Logan (again with the underlining! ??)
Saturday was even colder & windier than Friday, but Logan toughed it out, was happy to get to ski again & even got to ride the big ski lift
Fun times with Daddy!
I'm so glad we took the initiative to plan ahead and schedule in this little trip! It was a nice getaway and fun time with the family. Thanks to Aunt Lorie & Uncle Bob for letting us stay at their place and to my mom & dad who picked up the tab for the skiing part. Thank you!!

Logan's 5th Birthday

Logan turned 5 this year. His actual birthday was on a Sunday, so we had a Sunday birthday dinner with Justin's family - Erin & Gary, Grandma & Grandpap, & Uncle Jeremy. He said he wanted pizza, salad & Funfetti cake. So I made Grandma (Joan) Shook's pizza & we had salad and Funfetti cake for dessert.

Here's Tolan - he just wanted his picture taken
Logan is ready to open some presents!
checking out his cake
get ready
get set
blow out those candles!!
Present time! A Star Wars shirt (and new jeans & sweatshirt) from Mom & Dad
and a guitar from Grandma & Grandpap
We also got him a Batcave, but I guess we didn't get a picture of that. He specifically (& adamantly) asked for it and we had to go to 2 different stores to find it. But I'm glad we did b/c he LOVES it and it has provided hours & hours of entertainment for him & Tolan.

This was also the year Logan got to have a birthday party with friends. We ended up doing a Toy Story party. It's January in Pittsburgh, so we had to have it inside. I was a little stressed about that & keeping 12 4&5 year olds entertained but I found lots of good ideas for games online and I think it went pretty well. We did a Soldier Search & Rescue in the basement with little green army men, a Woody's Shootin' Gallery with Nerf guns, a Space Mission to save Buzz and a Musical Chairs-style Balloon Toss with Toy Story characters on the balloons. Then we had pizza & cake & presents.
He invited friends from church and preschool and the neighborhood. We invited 12 kids, all 4 grandparents and Logan had a special request to invite Aunt Lorie & the girls and everyone came! Some of the parents also stayed, so we really had a full house!

One of his friends had to leave early, so he opened that friend's present & everyone crowded him in the corner trying to see what he got! He ended up getting lots of stuff for his Batcave, a few Toy Story things and a couple of Star Wars items. He really made out on the gifts!
Next time I need to remember not to put him in front of the sliding glass door for the all the photo-ops...

I love this one of him laughing, having a little moment with his friends - this is why we do it!

I made Toy Story Aliens for the cupcakes. The eyeballs are Mentos with a little dot of melted chocolate.


Can you tell there was a Steelers game later that day? Everyone had on Steelers stuff.
and here's Ella, taking it all in
A few things about Logan at age FIVE (!!)

He loves his little sister. He is so sweet and protective of her all the time. It's very cute - I hope he will always be that way for her, she will be a very lucky sister!

He and Tolan are best buds. They really do everything together. Except preschool - Tolan is always asking if Logan is done at school yet. Logan did get some money for his birthday. He bought 2 Bionicles and said that one was for him & one was for Tolan. Logan is always first to back down in a fight over a toy & share. He has a very sweet disposition & doesn't like anyone fighting or yelling....

Speaking of preschool, he loves it. He goes to Rainbowland Preschool and is proud to tell everyone that! He has enjoyed making new friends there and learning new things. As soon as he gets home he takes any papers or little art projects he has made and saves them all in a little drawer in the basement. He has his own little stash down there. The only time they make it onto the fridge is if I carry them into the house.

He loves playing with friends. Lucca is the same age & lives next door. Every day Logan is asking me if it's 3:15 yet (when Lucca is done with preschool). He would play with Lucca all day every day if he could.

He could also watch TV all day if I'd let him. He's our little TV junkie.

His favorite color is still orange & he is still into Legos. He amazes me with the stuff he builds by himself! He plays with Legos every day. He also really likes his Batcave and he's a little bit into Star Wars too.

He is also a bit of a fashionista. He likes getting new clothes and is already picky about what jeans he will wear. There are a couple of pairs I have bought for him that he will NOT wear. He doesn't like the color & says they are not cool...

He likes to tell jokes. They usually don't make sense, but he tells them anyway & he and Tolan think they are hilarious.

Those are just a few things about Logan. We love him & love having him in our family!

Happy Birthday Logan!