A Big Day For Will

This last Friday was a pretty big day for Will.

First he got the ‘”Pawsing” to Praise’-award at school. His teacher gave him this award because “He is expected to do a lot outside of my classroom and he still never gives up, even when things get hard. I am very proud of him!”

He had lunch with the principal and vice-principal as a reward.

And then later that day Will got his Green Belt in Karate!

With Talon, Will’s friend from his Kindercare-days.

And with Master Miki.

Will has been working very hard at Karate these last few months, practicing his focus and concentration, and his forms, weapons and sparring. It is nice to see him being rewarded for all his work.

These Two…

…keep me busy and entertained.

And I love them for it.

Bryce National Park

This past weekend (President’s Day weekend) we went on a quick road trip to Bryce National Park. We stayed at Ruby’s Inn for 2 nights. Kris and Keelie came with us for one night. The plan was to go snowshoeing. Bryce had gotten a lot of snow the previous days (which caused most of the park to be closed, unfortunately).

The kids and I actually didn’t get to snowshoe. We had accidentally left the baby carrier at home. (Yes, that should have been the first thing to pack!) We tried carrying Tessa in a sling, but she is starting to get too heavy and big for those. So Trevor went with Kris and Keelie. Will, Tessa and I played in the snow for a bit, then in the car, and then we just went back to the hotel and watched movies. Ruby’s Inn has a pool, so Will had a great time practicing his swimming. Tessa LOVED the water. She would just float on her back and let the water run in her ears. It made her really calm. If Will would pick up a few pointers from her, his swimming would improve.

Will and Tessa both reading the first evening there!!

 

Waiting for Trevor, Kris and Keelie to come back from their hike.

 

Dinner time! Tessa pretty much finished everything on that plate. She used both hands, spoon and fork. Will showed her his love for ketchup, so now she wants ketchup too. She licked it of the fries and even dipped the mac & cheese in ketchup.

 

Monday we drove back home, taking the scenic route, along Hwy 12. (For my family that was here for the wedding, it’s the road where we got out and threw snow balls, and where we stopped for lunch.) It is such a pretty drive this time of the year. We saw a herd of elk, a bald eagle, and hundreds of deer.

It was a fun trip, but I’d like to go back again. To go snowshoeing. Maybe without kids next time!

 

There She Goes…

After weeks of almosts, taking 1 or 2 steps by herself, Tessa figured it out.

(You might hear me in the background, talking to Trevor on the phone. Yes, I am that excited!)

Almost!

Tessa is really close to walking.

She’s now able to stand up all by herself and has even taken 2 tiny steps.

New Year’s Eve In Eden

A quick post about the days around New Year’s Eve.

Dean and Kris invited us to Eden for a few days, where Dean has a timeshare condo. We had dinner at Happy Sumo for Kris’ birthday and after that we drove north.

It was bitter cold, but that didn’t stop Will from going to the hot tub as often as possible.

We rang in the New Year with Keelie, Josh and Natalie. (Keelie made the most amazing Jalapeno Poppers!)

And New Year’s Day we had to walk off all that good food (and some their hangovers). We went snowshoe-ing, for the first time with Tessa. She was wearing so many layers that she could barely move, but she seemed to like it. Will had a blast, although he was happy to be back at the condo with a hot chocolate, and made another trip to the hot tub.

 

Going Down

Tessa has now mastered descending the stairs as well.

Fun for her!

For us? Not sure yet…

Sorry, the video is a little dark, but you get the idea!

Christmas 2010

Finally, more than a month overdue, some pictures of our Christmas celebrations.

We had a great Christmas Eve; deep-frying turkey in the snow (courtesy of Dean), eating way too much other food before the turkey was done (7-layer bean dip (Kris), chips and artichoke dip (Keelie)), unwrapping a Christmas book (Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus), and watching movies.

The next morning both kids were extremely patient. Honestly, I don’t know how Will could wait until 10.30 to unwrap presents. We had breakfast and then it was finally time. Tessa wasn’t too interested in it all. I guess she didn’t really understand all that paper yet. Will got some surprises, so all in all it was a good morning. Later in the day Kristi came, as did Jim. We had dinner with the Wood’s and Stephanie dropped by for a little while.

One of Will’s gifts was very appropriate…

“Watchoo talkin bout Willis!”

Bekkentrekker