Feb/March Happenings

Macy & Bradley

We had Kari and Bradley over for lunch last week and Macy enjoyed making baby Bradley laugh! So precious. Signs of a good big sister to come???

Free Family Fun Fair

We love our town and all of the fun free things it has to offer families! The FFFF is a great annual event that we look forward to. Macy got her first full-face painting done...but she didn't like it! These smiles were gone quickly as other friends commented on it. She eventually said, "Mommy, can you take my kitty off? I don't like it." She was so self-conscious about it...so we whipped it off. 

McFarland USA

A quote I heard a lot this month was..."McFarland USA made cross country look cool!" What? We don't need a movie to make XC look good! This crew below already knows that! We went as a team on opening weekend. It was probably the most fun I have had watching a movie in a while! Now we are ready and pumped for track season! 

Track Season

We have begun! Bring on the snow and cold weather, just in time for track practice. Our kids have been troopers in the first two weeks though. I am maintaining my job as co-head coach until the baby arrives! 

 

Macklin Does Ski School

One of the local home-school moms organized a Learn to Ski day for our little ones! Normally this program is only offered through the local schools. It is $37 for two days of ski school! What a deal! Average ski school is about $120 a day. Even though the first day was hard and tiring for Macklin, he really enjoyed the second day (after stuffing his pockets full of candy!). I am glad that he had the opportunity from Vail Resorts. 

 Maternity Pictures

We were able to do some maternity pictures in the snow with Cara Leonard! Can't wait to get them back in a few weeks! 

Snow!

It is not coming very often to Gypsum nor is it staying very long, but we had a few inches last week that made the town look beautiful! 

Art Work

Macy colored the pic on the left. She is focusing for a longer period of time on her art. (Note: I colored the top bird and bottom trees, but then she did the rest.) I am just impressed that she colored most of the paper in. Macklin did the one on the right. His drawings keep getting more and more detailed. 

Cute Kiddos

Sunny Day

Snow last week and sunshine and 50s this week. Picnic time! 

Sylvan Lake Cabin Trip

Over our mid-winter break from school, we took advantage of time off with daddy and rented a cabin at Sylvan Lake for a night. It was a great break from the norm and the kids really enjoyed it! 

The Cabin

Ours had one large room. 

Daniel and his girls (along with their aunt) came along and they rented one with a separate sleeping room, but making the eating space a little smaller. Both worked great for each family. 

Sledding 

Playing on the Frozen Sylvan Lake 

Another group had shoveled off the ice (for an appeared ice skating rink) so we enjoyed playing on it! 

Nordic Skiing on the Lake 

The whole trip was awesome...except my wipe out! I feel trying to help Macklin with his skis and hit my lower back pretty darn hard. The damage is kinda unknown at this point, but I am for sure not doing anything active until further notice. I still skied with Mack for the rest of the afternoon, but I am still in quite a bit of pain at times. Boo to injuries. 

Finding a Snow Cave! 

Cabin Play Time 

 

January Happenings

What have the Brandts been up to this month? 

Sledding behind Costco - Baxter is not the best sledding partner! 

Justin took Macklin up for a full afternoon of skiing last week! He did awesome! They went all the way to the top of Beaver Creek. Then they completed two loops on the Drink of Water lift and skied all the way down. Macklin did a great job and Justin survived on a snowboard sticking close by (we wondered how the snowboard/ski combo would be). I think there will be more "Man Time on the Mountain" for these two. 

I finally grew something! I am really great at killing plants (hence the barely growing bamboo plant on the right). But the Paper Whites from Grandma were awesome! Since this picture, they have bloomed and look beautiful! 

Macklin loves his play time! He would choose to play with toys each day unless I peeled him out of the house to go do things! 

Yummy brownies and ice cream thanks to my sweet friend Emily! 

Picnics outside! We have had a few sunny and 45+ degree days! It feels like spring time! 

We have also been prepping for baby 3. We were given a white crib from a friend to fit our new decor. The crib, along with our dresser (still pending a finish), is making our room feel more like a dorm room. So we still have some work to do. Might try to move the dress into the closet. Then onto the wall decor and accents. We also changed out the fan for a standard ceiling mount light, which does open the room up quite nicely. It's a work in progress. 

Macklin Skiing 2014

Macklin did a great job on his first day back on the slopes. He remembered most of his talents from last season and even made Justin run down a run twice because he wanted to go (and Justin didn't bring his gear). We just hope that we can get him on the mountain this year between basketball and a prego momma. 

Mimi's Quick Visit

After a long travel day, Mimi finally got here! We thought that she wasn't going to get to come out this winter, but with Justin's last minute trip, she took advantage…and we were so happy to have her! She arrived with Ninja Turtles in hand and Macklin was excited for every minute with her from that point on! 

Sunday was filled with a morning at church, followed by lunch at Northside Cafe where Macklin decided he needed a nap. That left time for Mimi and I to have a couple hours of chat time. Then we ran a few errands and headed up to the mountain for a little skiing and Beaver Creek cookies! 

Macklin was a bit slow to get moving, but he finished on a great note! He was making "pizzas" and stopping on his own. Mimi even got stuck on the gondola with a perfect view of Macklin skiing down below her! I hope he is ready for Papa's visit later in the week. Any time on the mountain always includes a little snow play! 

 Mimi and Macklin with their Starbucks (first time for Macklin to get a Vanilla Steamer..he loved it!) 

Monday was filled with  more adventures. After a lazy morning, we headed to Glenwood for lunch at the Pullman (which was super yummy) and some errands. Then we ventured out to 4 Mile Recreation area near Sunlight Ski Resort. It was a beautiful drive and Macklin got a nap while we traveled. After testing my car through some thick snow, we parked and ventured around on our snowshoes (and without that caused us to sink!). It was a fun day! 

Mom - Thanks so much for making time to come visit! I cherish every moment with you!