Easter 2013

Happy Easter from Maida, Skogen, Klaasen Burke, and T!

I was feeling so very blessed this Easter.  We were able to spend Easter with Erik at my parents' house up north and it was so perfect.  It's so nice to be close enough to spend holidays with family.

Last Ski of the Season

Me and my love :)
I couldn't think of a better way to spend his day off, than skiing with our babies.

Keeping busy in the lodge waiting their turn to ski

Daddy and Maida on the chairlift

Here is a video of Maida and Daddy coming down the hill!  It might be hard to spot her, but if you watch it to the end, she gets closer to the camera...

Skogen went skiing second, but he was working on stopping and turning and so the videos are really loooooong and kind boring since there is a lot of stopping and instruction by dad.  He did awesome, though, and loved every minute of it!

Klaasen on the chairlift with Daddy

Here is a video of Klaasen!  He's making progress...

Having fun watching his siblings ski.  He'll be out next year- he's already got a season pass!

My sweets

Stopped for dinner on the way home and the kids wanted to sit at their own table!

Klaasen was so wore out he fell asleep on the stairs while we were unloading the car!

 "To Klaasen  From Maida
Klaasen you're the best brother"

Life gets stressful, but most of the time the kids keep me laughing.  

Some times it's just the little things, like how Klaasen smelled the air at breakfast yesterday and then exclaimed, "Tum-ten tinks!"  

Or when I overheard Skogen telling Klaasen, "Rule number one: Listen to Skogen.  Rule number two: Do what Skogen says."

And today when I was dropping Maida off at school for, "Dress Up Like What You Want To Be When You Grow Up Day," Maida said, "The school should really plan some dress up days that I've been thinking about.  Like, 'Wear Your Bathing Suit to School Day,' or 'Take Your Little Brother or Sister to School Day,' and 'Stay Home From School Day,' which is where you have to drive to school and then turn around and go home for the day."

I'm sure everyone probably thinks their kids are funny and half the time what my kids say might not seem that funny to anyone else, but today, above anything else at this moment, I am extremely thankful that my kids can make me laugh on a daily basis.

St. Patrick's Day 2013

Family Ski Day

I don't know about other moms, but for me, watching Erik share a favorite hobby with our kids is such a special moment.  I got to enjoy one of these moments last Saturday when we took the kids skiing!

It was a beautiful sunny day and Maida and Skogen enjoyed the freedom of skiing as much as they liked, all on their own, up and down the Bunny Hill.  Klaasen enjoyed his very first time on skies.  Torsten hung out in my front pack while I stood at the bottom of the Bunny Hill, enjoying our much-needed family time.

All ready to go watch his siblings ski, fur boots and all!

Skogen and Maida - loving life

T hanging out with mom at the bottom of the Bunny Hill

A video of Skogen and Maida practicing their stopping with Daddy...

Klaasen all ready to go skiing!  He had been talking about this moment all winter!

Look at those happy, kissable cheeks!

This picture reminds me of the picture I took with Erik and Maida on her first day skiing (20 months old)...

Daddy teaching Klaasen how to put skis on

One quick trip down the Bunny Hill...

and off to the chairlift to tackle the bigger slopes!
(We've never used the Bunny Hill until this year! All of our kids learn on the bigger hills.)

Video of Klaasen and Daddy skiing...

"Hi mom!"  He made it down to the bottom and was all smiles, asking to do it again!

Welch Village happened to have a pond skipping event while we were there.  We took the kids down to watch and we were all very entertained!  Here is a video that we took..

And here is a video that someone else made from the same day that I found on the Welch Village website, which was shot a lot closer to the water so you can see what it all entails...

And if you're still reading (Hi Grandma!), here's a blast from the blast from the past for Throwback Thursday of Maida skiing at 20 months old...