Just Like Daddy

Fun Stories of the Night: 

***Macklin butted his head into a team huddle and said..."Hi Dad!"

***From the moment Macy and I sat down across the court from Justin, Macy took one look at him and said, "Hi Daddy" in her sweetest voice while waving at Justin on the bench. 

We have been back and forth on the time we get to spend at EVHS basketball games this year. Some days the kids are able to sit and watch a bit. Others days (most) they have trouble obeying, get distracted with everything going on, and just want to run around through the crowds. I know that showing up supports Justin and helps to continue my relationship with my high school friends, so most game days, we load up and walk over to watch. 

Tonight was one of our best nights yet! Trevor (in blue above) does a great job with Macklin and they even got to sit on the bench. Macy was being sweet. We lasted three quarters...that has got to be a new personal record for us! I will say that C-Team games are much eaiser than varsity games (due to the crowds). The Devils won their game and it was fun to be present for. 

This shirt is a hand-me-down from Justin's closet. Who knew that color block shirts from the 80s/90s would be so IN right now! I think this shirt is sweet and it was one of Justin's favorites as a kid! 

January Happenings

Inside Playdates

Check out these super heroes flying into their pillow piles (only one lasting bruise after this). 

Dinner with EVHS YL Graduates

(Everyone has a tea party at the Chinese place, right?) 

Snowy Park Play Dates

 

Macy's Split Toe

Macy beat Macklin to her first set of stitches at 21 months old. She pulled one of Daniel's weights off of our bench in the living room and it smashed her teeny tiny middle tow on her right foot. At first I thought it was going to be just a bad ouchie. Then, when I grabbed her it started bleeding. Not until I rinsed it off did I realize how open it was. We rushed into the doctors office in Eagle to get some stitches while Daniel stayed home with Macklin (oh and we had three other kids over too!). After a little debate over doing the "glue", we finally choose the stitches, for which I am thankful. I think it gave her the best option for healing. She was a trooper through it all (even with 2 hours of crying). Of course it happened right before nap time, so Macy was tired at the doctor's office and definitely did not care for the "soak it out" series of events to get rid of the dried blood. Thankfully the removal process was much better than Macklin's was last year. 

The initial pic

Right after the stitches were put in. 

Right before we took them out. 

"Look, mommy!" 

A sticker makes everything better! 

Wee Basketball

Macklin's first day of an organized sport - Wee Basketball! He was about a 4/10 on the interest scale. He would do one thing and say he was not interested in the next activity. I learned a few things about taking him as well (eat before you go to avoid hunger, do not take in toys/stuffed animals even if they are in your stroller to avoid distraction, put Macy in childcare so I can focus just on him). His favorite part was the high five at the end as they shouted our their newly decided upon team name - The Dragons! 

He will get to go to the Gypsum Rec Center for the next four Mondays in a row. We will see how next week goes! 

YL Leadership Day

We had our Vail Valley Young Life Leadership Day yesterday. This is seriously one of my favorite days of the year. I get to hang out with awesome people (including my hubby) and I get to ski and play! This year was no exception. With a couple of hours on the mountain in the afternoon and ice skating in Beaver Creek at night - it was awesome! 

For the meat of our study, we had the opportunity to plan our schedule for the semester and learn about our strengths through Strength Finder. If your company/organization has not utilized this tool, I highly recommend it! It really helped us look at what we were good at and how we can best serve our team of Down Valley Young Life leaders. My top five strengths were Achiever, Responsibility, Includer, Learner, and WOO (winning others over). Sounds like me! 

Skiing with Kari in our VVYL jackets! 

I would love to be on a bus with these people all the time! 

Down Valley Young Life Team

Ski Trips with Macklin

Macklin got to ski twice over winter break after our Missouri adventures. We did one big day with Macklin's buddy Trevan. Trevan has more access to the mountain and had already skied about seven times this season already when we met up with him. He is stopping and turning and tearing up the mountain on his own. Macklin, on the other hand, has no interest in any of those just yet. We did push the limits and he did well though. We took a few magic carpet runs and then went down to the base of the 2-man lift. After that we skied all the way down to Centennial and took the big lift up! They wanted to do lunch on the mountain and Macklin said he wanted to go. So he ended up skiing (with the harness) all the way down Cinch! Great job buddy! After lunch it was tricky to keep the tired boy motivated. He fell alseep on the way down the mountain on the bus and I had to physically carry him from the bus stop back to our car. Note to self - that was hard, don't let him get that tired again! 

A couple of days later, we went up just the two of us and hit up the magic carpets. He worked on his turns, but still no interest in stopping. Just gotta keep it fun and be patient. His new skis will come in the mail soon and we will be able to go any time we can! 

Midwest Visits with Friends

IWU Friends

We took a Saturday out of our time in St. Louis to make a day trip to Bloomington to see the Braggs and the Twillers. I had not seen my college friends in nearly two years. There were new babies to meet and laughs to share. It is funny how I feel like we were just in college hanging out and now we have four babies between these three families. There is something about college friends that warms my heart. All of the fun track meets together and dorm room fun. I just wish I could live around these guys on a regular basis! 

Baby Linden

Jane and Macy

Family Stop

After our fun with the Braggs and Twillers, we headed to see my cousin Jenn and her husband Chris and their three girls in Bloomington. We have missed the Sprague gatherings in the last year so it was fun to see them! They have just remodeled their basement and it was a kid-haven! 

Macy, Macklin, and Kiley

Brummers in Effingham

We miss our dear friends in Gypsum, but what a joy it was to see them in Illinois! Macklin still talks of Cayle daily and they write each other notes in the mail. It was great to see their new place and hear about their new lives firsthand. 

STL Friends

We were able to host the annual Sprague Christmas Dinner/Open House at my parents house while we were in town. We love an opportunity to talk to people from high shcool as our group has become more intimate each year. We also had the opportunity to have a pajama breakfast party with the Olivastros the day after.

 

Mack, Macy, Luca, and Niko