Slices of life, May 2015

Last night I had the realization that Josh was no longer going to be a toothless grin child for long (one of his front teeth has broken through), so I thought, "I'd better capture this stage before its gone."  But every stage seems like a fleeting moment.  My favorite Ben and Josh statements this week are...

Kissing Josh good night on Saturday, "Good night Josh.  I'm so proud of you, did you know that?"  "Yes mom, I've known that since the day I was born."

Ben spies the Penn Valley Northridge out the window on our way to the Kuk Swool Won black belt testing and says with excitement, "Mom, did you know there's a Northridge here, we have to go for pizza."  And I reply, "Everyone I've talked to says the Penn Valley Northridge isn't as good as the Nevada City one, we don't need to go there."  And then Ben replies, "Mom, I want to make an informed decision and not make my decisions based on what everyone else says."  Gotta give the boy credit for creative bargaining.

Other photos include Josh reading a new book from Ruth and Skip about National Parks.  The boys at the black belt testing, this was Josh's first (of 12) tests for his black belt and Ben's second test.  Both boys did a great job.  The week before Josh had his Guhm Moo Hyung test and did a form 100 times.  The photos below are from a quick trip to Camp Augusta, the boys had a field trip with school and then we went for a quick visit for an Outside Inn blog post.  And it was great fun on Monday to see the Tour of California speed through town, click here for those photos. 

School work

 

There are many photos from the last 2 months that really should be added to the family blog, but in the spirit of not worrying about things, I'm sharing these photos from today's math homework session and admitting that I don't enjoy homeschool as much as Dan does.  I think it's the nagging of the boys to stay focused on what they need to do that gets to me.  But, I will say that once they sit down and do it, they're actually rather efficient.

Al Johnson Uphill/Downhill Event

The 41st annual Al Johnson Uphill/Downhill Telemark race in Crested Butte was visited by the Incredibles!  After last year's event the boys decided they wanted to participate, so Dan was able to find them both telemark gear (Josh's set up required a bit of Dan-fabrication) and while we'd practiced a bit before the event, it was really the first uphill skinning the boys had done.  Our family themed costume was a hit (although the whole event is a costume affair, so we were just one of the 150 well dressed individuals out there on our skis).   Check out the photo on the Crested Butte blog. Josh won the award for the youngest participant (and he proudly told everyone he could that he was 7 years old and the fastest one in our family to the top of the hill).  The boys did great on the uphill and didn't bat an eyelash on the down.  Due to snow conditions the race did not go down the Last Steep, so we ended the race on the boardercross underneather Paradise lift and Josh went for the kicker before the finish line.  A fabulous day, the only downside was that we all got really sunburnt.    

Josh, March 2015

The tooth fairy has been busy!  

Winter snapshots

You know these two goofballs?  Here's a collection of some photos over the last couple of weeks.  While we wait for winter to return we've been eating ice cream, losing front teeth, participating in Poetry Cafes at school, Kuk Swool Won testing, spring skiing on High Beaver, figuring out telemark skiing in preparation for the Al Johnson Ski Race, floating down the Mardi Gras parade in a row boat, reading comics in SPD, cruising around the grocery store in a bathroom and handcuffs (not sure if there is an explanation for that photo) and doing just day to day life.  

Ice Skating

What do you do when Junuary hits the ski slopes?  Go ice skating!  This is the second time the boys have gone to High Camp at Squaw this month and tried ice skating.  I can't remember the last time I went ice skating, college maybe?    I wouldn't say any of us are any good, but it was fun to try something new and the views are amazing.

Happy Birthday Josh

The birthday crew (and Nora) at Alpine Meadows.  Josh turned 7 today and his toothless grin was smiling ear to ear as he spent the day telling us where he was going to ski and at the end of the day said his legs were a bit tired.  Happy Birthday Megan!  Josh dragged Grandpa over to F tree, took some laps on South Face and Sherwood Face, decided that now that he was 7 he needed to tick High Beaver off his list and after he managed to make it over the cornice and live to tell the tale he decided that "was the scariest thing I've ever done, I don't want to do that again."  I went looking for some early photos, click here to see the photos of Josh from his first 24 hours in this world.  Oh how times has gone (1st birthday, 2nd birthday, 3rd birthday, 4th birthday, 5th birthday, 6th birthday).  His favorite birthday present was his new bow and arrow and he's excited to put together his My Monopoly set and go ice skating at Squaw.  All in all I think he's a pretty happy kid and while Megan, Dan and I were slightly traumatized by Josh going down High Beaver, he held his calm under pressure (even with shaking legs).  He also decided that since it was his birthday he was going to get as many snuggles as he wants, so he asked for hugs all day.  Gotta love this little guy.   

The birthday Beaver run, at the top...