Sleepy sick

After Emily got sick during the Arizona trip, the boys caught some version of it. They were mostly just sleepy which could have been the time zone shift, jet lag, late nights, early mornings or maybe some mild version of what Emily had. Needless to say, just a few pictures of the lively crew at home. 

Arizona

This weekend, we went out to Arizona to visit with Jeff's family and to get some warmth in this cold winter. The weather didn't cooperate too much at first with some cold and rainy days, but we made the best of it with the family and had a great time. 

Like we did in past visits to Arizona, we set out to climb Camelback Mountain. Last time we were there, Aaron was a baby. And the kids hadn't been to the top (to the best of my memory). This time, that would change. Jeff, Kyle, and Emily made it to the top on this climb. Aaron and I stopped just short of the top because Aaron was getting tired and we still had to be able to climb down. Nonetheless, he made it 95% of the way up. Not bad for a 4 year old!! Kyle and Em were thrilled to have made it all the way to the top. 

The next day, the cousins arrived and so we had a lot of family time. Kids played, swam, played poker, hung out. Emily came down with some sort of flu or cold or fever or something that basically knocked her out for the rest of the trip and then some. So she was pretty much couch surfing for the rest of the trip. When the rain cleared, a handful of us went to a new train which we called Coyote Trail because of the real life coyote packs that we could hear howling and crossing the paths!! We were a bit frightened about that but found comfort in the fact that there were many other people out on the trails. They basically advised us to stay together in a pack and to certainly keep smaller kids with us. We didn't quite make it to the top due to daylight fading and not wanting to be out there in the dark with the coyotes so we turned around just shy of the top. For me, it was my 2nd attempted and failed (though that's too strong of a word because they were wise decisions in both cases) at a summit. So I was going to make it to the top of Camelback the following day when we went again. 

With Emily still sick, Jeff, Kyle, Aaron and I set out to attempt Camelback again. About a quarter mile in, Aaron tripped on a stone and skinned his knee. He wasn't going any further at that point, well, unless he was being carried so Jeff turned around with him. Kyle and I scurried our way up to the top at a good clip. And we made it!! Wahoo!! Was a great cap to a fun trip to Arizona. 

BB gun

So Aaron had a milestone today. He got to shoot his first BB gun. It was just his size. And he certainly enjoyed this milestone. For a kid who loves his light sabers and nerf blasters, he couldn't believe he was able to use a BB gun. And no, he didn't shoot his eye out. 

Hockey game

Tonight we went to our first ice hockey game with some friends to see NC State play UNC. While we didn't grow up playing ice hockey and our kids certainly don't play (that's on the banned list of sports for our kids - football and hockey), it was fun to see a game up close. And there sure are a lot of rules to hockey, yet there are so many missing about not fighting and such. It's a bit crazy how the aggression and fighting is just part of the game. Entertainment I suppose. 

Duke gardens

The kids and I spent the day at Duke today enjoying the gardens, playing some soccer, climbing some trees and watching a women's basketball game. Jeff was still away on his work trip but that didn't stop us from enjoying his alma mater. Emily's friend came with us as well. 

Some monkeys in a tree

Our tree. Jeff and I had a tree while we were in college that we carved in the gardens. We have been unable to locate that tree and the carving through we do acknowledge that 17+ years of tree growth would likely cover it up. Our old one said JB+KB inside a heart. And now we have a new one. 

Beach boys

Tonight was a bucket list event for me. The kids and I went to see the Beach Boys in concert!! Jeff would have joined us but he was out of town for work. I know the Beach Boys are 'old school' music, but my kids thankfully know their songs and rock out to them because it's just great music! And it takes us back to our San Diego days not too long ago. 

We started off with dinner at Fosters and brought some over to the concert for Ross' friend who hooked us up with the tickets. 

Our seats were AMAZING! We were just left of center about 10 rows back. It was absolutely incredible and the kids enjoyed it as well. It was amazing to hear the songs that made up the soundtrack of my childhood car trips. I think there were 2 of the original Beach Boys in this tour. They started playing around 7:30 and played a good 3 hours. Needless to say, the kids were wiped out afterwards. And they had school the next day. :-) But it was totally worth it. 

Light Saber battle

Because some mornings you just need to have a light saber battle. 

Aaron preschool Christmas party

Aaron's preschool class put on a cute little Christmas / holiday party for the families again this year, complete with the cuteness of 4 year olds singing a version of reindeer hokey pokey. They had crafts, games, and treats for the family. He really has a wonderful preschool class with great teachers and great kids. 

Sleepy Aaron

Just some more snapshots of Aaron sleeping anywhere.

Two different days and he clearly has his sleeping position in this car seat. 

Mixing up the pose a bit. 

About to fall asleep next to Daddy. 

Aaron slept on me for an hour. He didn't budge even when I moved or was talking. This was the middle of the day. 

After skiing. Totally exhausted. We all were.

Skiing in Salt Lake City

We went skiing! The day before we planned to ski, there was a HUGE snowstorm that dumped 2 feet of snow and saw temperatures plunge into the negative and single digits. While we prepared for snow and cold, we didn't prepare for that cold. So we picked up an additional layer to help keep a bit warmer. After all, we've lived in San Diego for many, many years where it's just not cold (in any true sense of cold, but ask anyone in San Diego and they will tell you that 60 degrees is cold) and Raleigh where it has some colder temps than San Diego, but the city shuts down if it's in the 30s or any inkling of a snowflake or ice. Having been through snow and ice in Raleigh, the grocery stores and Costco are a mob scene and shelves are bare as everyone prepares to be stuck inside for a month. Salt Lake City on the morning of the storm was reasonably calm. We went to Costco to pick up some things for skiing (hand and foot warmers) and it really wasn't that crowded and certainly didn't have a sense of panic despite the big storm. Anyhow, I digress. 

We went to Brighton which we were told is a great local ski 'resort'. While it may not be as large as Park City or some other larger resorts, it was just right for us. There was plenty for each of us to ski, level and run wise. Kyle, Emily, and Aaron all did ski school on the first day to get their legs under them. This was Aaron's first experience with ski school. He did great as did Kyle and Em. Kyle and Emily had a great instructor who has his own adventure / climbing tour group back in Switzerland. He's also climbed the seven summits. Needless to say, they were in great hands. And it wasn't that crowded that their ski school was virtually a private group lesson with them, the instructor and maybe one other kid. Can't beat a 2:1 or 3:1 ski school ratio! Same thing for Aaron, he had 2 teachers and 2 kids (including him) in his class! Aaron made huge progress, easily graduating from the magic carpet after one run and spending the rest of his first day on the bunny green hill lift. 

The second day, Kyle and Em did ski school in the AM, Aaron the full day. In the afternoon, Kyle and Em skied with us, mostly with Jeff because they easily surpassed my green and blue level skiing. I shouldn't admit this, but that's fine with me. I have no business on a black diamond run, nor do I want to go on one. I enjoy my blues and enjoy skiing by myself as well. I was able to ski all the lifts and find a blue or green way down and also found my favorite run, California Highway I think it was called. The mountains, solitude, peacefulness, is wonderful. This isn't to say I don't enjoy skiing with Jeff and the kids, I certainly do enjoy it. I just don't mind skiing by myself either. 

Kyle good ski run - - video taken by their instructor Jean

Emily good ski run - video taken by their instructor Jean

Aaron skiing a long green at the end of the second day with me and Em

Aaron hanging out in ski school before the day started.

Emily ready to ski!

Kyle ready to ski! 

Aaron skiing!

Me skiing!

Kyle, Emily, and their one classmate. 

Me, Kyle, Emily on a lift

It was insanely cold. This was on the drive up the mountain that it was showing -4 degrees. That wasn't even at the top where it was colder. And thankfully our rental minivan made it up and down the mountain both days. That first day was very treacherous after the big storm the day / evening before. It was plowed mostly, but still had a good dusting and likely ice. On the way down the first day, the car directly behind us spun out, likely some black ice, to the side and thankfully didn't hit anyone or anything and slid safely to a parking lot. Very scary. 

It sure is pretty out there. 

Ready to ski!! 

Jeff and me skiing together. It was so wonderful to have some time together. A skiing date if you will. 

Top of the world! As we were skiing, Aaron told us that it was like we were on top of the world. We were in many senses of that. So much fun. 

Emily, Aaron, and me about to do a run down together. This was the end of the second day. Aaron's teachers had been taking him down the big chair lift green run. It's a long run (Mary's Back run). So we did one together. Now doing this at the end of the day, after two days of skiing in negative / single digit temps, is quite difficult. And one of us being a 4 year old. Taxing. Aaron did great though, showing off his skiing abilities. He will be better than me in no time. 

And headed back to Raleigh. We were just a little bit tired.