snow trip.

We took our first snowboarding trip as a family in February too. There are times when I am grateful for a small family of four and that the boys are older. Snowboarding as a family was for sure one of those times. Jer was patient. Very patient. The boys and I stayed on the bunny hill all day long. Jer stayed with us until I demanded for him to save himself, and ride the real mountain ;) There were plenty of frustrated moments and nothing is quite as awkward as trying to help your kid while you can barely help yourself. And have a huge board attached to your feet. Brayden was feeling (too) confident and for his first ride down, he didn't want to wait for all the instructions and advice. Before we realized what was happening he was speeding down, way too fast, and had no control once he reached the bottom. He wiped out two kids. We watched, horrified, but weren't able to do anything but yell desperately from the top. Luckily, the kids were ok. But Brayden wasn't too pleased with himself. 

Kosty ended up doing really well, and even felt confident enough to ride the lift all by himself. He never once fell getting off the lift. I wish I could say the same. Although I have been snowboarding once before, it was a very long time ago, and I think I was much better my first time than my second. Kosty burnt out quick. He wanted food. And to go back to the hotel. We were happy with our decision to buy half day passes that day. Whew! It really was a fun day, but it wasn't easy. 

We were happy to go back and sit in the hot tub at the hotel and grabbed pizza for dinner. The next day, Jer had to work from the hotel so I took the boys sledding. We found the perfect spot. A big steep hill that had years of sledding tracks, and lots of fluffy snow at the bottom. We spent hours sledding, snowball making, snowman making, and walking around in the forest, ooing and ahhing at how beautiful the winter scene was. One of those days you want to freeze and never forget. 

february.

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February highlights:

-Took Brayden out for a special date, where we discussed the wonder and miracle of LIFE!(in great detail ;) He chose Red Robin and gelato. This was a really special time with him.

-Hiked the wind cave trail as a family

-Kosty chose to go on a date with me instead of going to Supercross with Dad and Bubba. We had a fun night that consisted of (all his choices): Chick Fila, Target, and Goodwill. At Target he decided he needed a bottle of Mr. Bubble. What kind of a mother never buys a bottle of Mr. Bubble until the kid is seven and offers to pay for it with his own money? I swear I had no idea he ever had an interest in it. We went straight to the counter with the biggest bottle, and I gladly paid. He gladly came straight home and had the best bubble bath of his life.

-Brayden and his friend Thomas participated in the science fair at school. Their experiment was about cooking hot dogs in a small shoe box. Something like that. See what happens when you try to remember 6 months late? 

-We enjoyed as much time outside as possible, and the boys got plenty of use out of their Christmas toys. Also, Koston developed a sudden obsession with kickballs. He kicked that yellow ball every day, all day, inside and out.

-I was walking behind Jer while he was holding and kissing on Kosty, when I snapped a picture and realized that the "baby" of the family always gets the royal treatment, even when he's seven.

-Running Club race! So proud these two stuck with running club again and did their best. Brayden has never been competitive or upset until this year in 4th grade. And he got VERY upset when he didn't place. But he did his best, all that matters.

-Oh, I should mention that I wore "the ball" hair do to the race. Brayden came running towards me and started tugging at it. He said it was so embarrassing and to please take it down. Mr. Yosh and Mr. Hoppal saw the commotion and told him how much they liked my hair just to tease him. It seemed to work, he hasn't been embarrassed by it since.

-Loved peeking in on this little moment at bedtime. Kosty laid out a spot for Daddy on his rug and read a book to him just the way his teacher does.

-I was proud that I was calm when Kosty split his chin open. I was getting ready to go to a dinner for one of my close friends and I reaaallly didn't want to take him to the ER and sit for hours in the flu infested waiting room. And I didn't want to miss the dinner. And I didn't want to pay the copay. And And And...my friend happens to be a nurse, and gave me some good advice. I ran to Walgreens and got steri-strips, came back and washed it out and closed it shut. We stayed clear of the ER and I made it to dinner. And it healed amazingly well. Can't even see it. 

-Brayden took a polar bear plunge and stayed in the pool for far too long. 

-We spent several hours at the park trying to learn cartwheels. I'm not sure why I think every kid needs to know this skill, cause Jer sure disagrees, but its a pretty tough thing to teach. Kosty eventually got it down, but Brayden still can't quite master it. 

-Dairy Queen opened up across the street. Had to pay a visit for family night with our friends the McConkies.

-For FHE we made family valentines and hung them up all over the cupboards. The boys put so many thoughtful words on them that I left them up till April. And still hated taking them down.

-Valentines Day was the usual kid celebration. Breakfast for the kids. Volunteering in their class parties, (Brayden's teacher had me bring our keyboard), and we even had soccer practice that night. Jer and I snuck in a lunch date later in the week though, and I got sweet cards, flowers, and chocolate.