Christmas Eve

We had a great time celebrating on Christmas Eve with my family although we missed Amy and Seth.  We also enjoyed our tradition of going out for Christmas Eve lunch.  This year we tried a new restaurant in Kirkwood that the kids keep asking to go to, Billy Gs.  It was pretty good.  Then in the evening we headed over to my parents for our dinner of apps and presents. The kids were so excited for all their presents!

The girls were excited to wear these dresses they picked out themselves

PaPa and Tommy

The girls love to pose in pictures

Me and Hadley

About to enjoy our dinner

A quick call with Aunt Amy as we started opening presents

Present opening excitement

Tommy was very excited the box this present came in had a handle

The actual present inside the handle box was also very exciting.  He loves to pretend to build

The new Cardinal hat was also a big hit

PJ pic in front of the tree

Madeleine learned this pose from our Sugar Plum Fairy lunch.  You could get pictures with the Nutcracker dancers and this is how they all posed

Tommy didn't want to cooperate for a family pic so we tried the upside down trick

Then of course the girls wanted in on the action too

Skiing

Back before Christmas, we took the girls out to Hidden Valley for a ski lesson.  They were blowing snow that day which wasn't ideal but they both had fun.  It was Hadley's first time on skis and did great.  She was nervous before but smiled the whole time.   They will have a couple more lessons this year and we are hoping to ski with them too.  Then maybe next year we can head out West!

Madeleine ready for her lesson 

Madeleine coming down the hill.  She was doing good with the snow plow and starting to turn.

Hadley all smiles

Silver Dollar City, Backpacking and Climbing

Tonight we headed to an indoor climbing gym with some friends so I was downloading pictures and thought I would post a few from the weekend and our trip to Silver Dollar City a few weeks back.  This fall has been busy with three different schools for the kids and all their activities.

On the way to Branson we stopped in Springfield and visited the Discovery Center.   Tommy loves Bob the Builder and was very excited to get to try this out.

Jim and Madeleine on a fun ride at Silver Dollar City where you pull yourself up the tower  as it spins.

Tommy was too little for most rides but he loved the hopping frogs.  He kept saying hoppy, hoppy.  They really do hop.

We tried to go back to ride the train on Sunday for Tommy because the line had been too long the day before.  But they were having some technical difficulties so instead we got this picture and made some candles.

Jim took Madeleine on a backpacking trip last night.  I have always wanted to do that and now Madeleine has done it before me.  They had a great time even though they had to hike back today in the rain.

Tonight we went with friends to an indoor climbing gym.  Tommy was all excited at first but then after his first attempt he wanted his harness off and just ran around.

That's Hadley on the wall... pretty impressive for having a broken arm and only having her cast off for a week.  She is wearing a splint for the next few weeks for any activities.

Madeleine is in the white in the picture.  She loves to climb and really enjoyed it tonight.  

Road Trip Part 2

Now for the pictures from the second half of our trip...

Finding some old trucks in Silverton Colorado after Jim had taken us over a crazy mountain pass.   It was a little frightening of a drive to say the least but very beautiful if you didn't consider the drop off.

Attempting a hike but it started storming right after this

Hadley might not have been very enthused by taking this picture

Tommy trying to fix a fire hydrant in Durango.  He loves everything to do with fire trucks

A scenic alpine lake on the way into Durango from Silverton

At Mesa Verde... Cliff Palace is in the background underneath the cliff

Hadley and Madeleine climbed down into this room in Spruce Tree house at Mesa Verde built in 1200 AD

About to start our tour of Cliff Palace

The starting point of the tour.  You go down 135 steep steps and then up a ladder to get inside

Climbing up into Cliff Palace.  Jim and Tommy skipped because Tommy would have had to stay in the backpack for the whole hour.  He is not really into that :)

This pretty much captures what Hadley thought.  She was not impressed learning about how this was built one thousand years ago

Amazing how this was built and has survived

Uncle Dave about to climb out of Cliff Palace

Hadley did enjoy the three ladders to get back out

My first mountain bike ride in 7 years on the Colorado Trail with Jim's friend Shannon.  Or now Hadley's friend Shannon.  I might have walked a little more than I rode but still very fun.

Road Trip Part 1

We headed West on a road trip with Jim's family at the end of July... I don't think we really thought through how much driving it would be.  

3300 miles later we had:

• Spent nights in Denver, Moab, Durango and Colby KS
• Visited 3 national parks
• Drove over crazy mountain passes
• Celebrated Jim's 40 Birthday!

We did more than just that but those are some of the highlights.  Madeleine's favorite parts: Arches National Park, having slick rock as a playground and enjoying a root beer float the Moab Brewery.  Hadley's favorite part: playing candy crush on my phone.  I hoping she got more out of the trip than just that :)  Tommy's favorite part may have been seeing the Durango train or maybe the monster truck at the Durango Fiesta Days parade.  Jim's favorite part was probably the mountain biking.  My favorite... hard to pick one but probably Arches National Park and going for my first mountain bike ride in about 7 years.  It was a more of hike a bike than riding but still fun and amazing scenery.

Now for the first round of pics...

Little windy on top of Loveland Pass

Butch's first time in the mountains

Tommy was excited to see a bulldozer in Castle Valley Utah

At Arches National Park

Balancing on rocks in front of Balanced Rock

Tommy wanted to sit on the "baby" rock

Attempting to balance the Balanced Rock

I love this pic because it looks like Madeleine is leading a race up to view the Delicate Arch

Viewpoint of Delicate Arch... hard to see in the picture

Hadley was not happy walking up to the viewpoint

Walking up underneath one of the arches

Madeleine was ready to keep on climbing

Madeleine really enjoyed climbing on everything she could

At Canyonlands National Park or Candylands National Park as Hadley says

I was hoping for maybe a Christmas card pic but Tommy was not cooperating with looking at the camera

Hadley wanted to pose with the canyon in the background

Tommy and Butch checking out the view

Madeleine, me and D at an overlook

Tommy looking into a canyon

All of us at Arches