Ten Years!

Happiness is being married to your best friend! I know it's cliche to say it, but where did the past ten years go?  I feel like the first three decades of my life were an eternity, and the last ten years have literally flown by.  It's been a wild ride, but there is no one with whom I'd rather be copiloting.

To celebrate our decade of being legally bound to each other, we booked a night at the scene of the crime.  

We dropped the kids with their godparents, Tom and Cara, and set off for the slopes of Sugarbush, even though it was raining at the base.   I'd be lying if I didn't mention that we considered going to a matinee of Black Panther instead of skiing. Fortunately, we found out it wasn't raining up high and the slopes were relatively carveable.So, we ripped the groomers and skied more runs in 4 hours than you can ski in a day at Smuggs.  We mixed it up with a great lunch and a beer.  My sweet heart even carried my skis in the rain.

We arrived at the Inn with time to cozy up in our room and read the Sunday Times.  It was so wonderful to be in such a special place without a stress in the world.

And we had a delicious meal at Peasant, a wonderful little restaurant in Waitsfield village.

The next day was full of sunshine and corn conditions on the mountain.  First, we had a lovely breakfast at the Inn before heading out on the slopes for another day of skiing together.

When we picked up the kids, they had made the most amazing pie I've ever eaten with Tommy.  It was raspberry peach with an almond coconut crumble.  So with happy kids and a full belly, we continued the sentiment of bliss and love. 

I certainly had to wait to find my perfect match, but I'm so, so glad that I did.  John is the person who I'd pick to do just about anything (except maybe go to Disney World or some crowded, non mountainous place).  He knows how to make adventures fun and he challenges me to be the best person I can be everyday. Most importantly, he's made this adventure so much more fulfilling.  It's never easy to balance a relationship with kids and all the stresses of work, but I feel like we've done a pretty darn good job so far.  Here's to many more decades of celebration together.

Crazy Hair

Hazen's class has lots of celebrations.  His sister was thrilled to help him get ready for "Crazy Hair" day!

ON one of the last days before break, I got a call at school that Cal had cut herself with scissors and that the cut was deep enough to warrant a trip to the Urgent Care Center.  As we pulled up to the health center, I realized that most of the people in the facility probably had the flu!  As a self proclaimed germ phobe, I immediately made the kids put masks on.......

Turns out Cal didn't need stitches (the cut was too close to the tip to pull the skin together).  Meanwhile, Hazey decided to get his crazy hair cut while wearing his Hawaiian shirt for beach day.

Best House Guests Ever

 The kids and I don't get President's Day off.  We don't get the week after President's Day off either.  But when the Davidson's asked if they could come up for a ski visit, we were thrilled.  They are the easiest house guests ever.  They showed up with a cooler full of food, groceries, and good cheer.

We skied together in the sunshine at Smuggs on Saturday.  Cross country skied, skated, and swam on Sunday, and the kids took the day off to ski with the gals on Monday.

They brought their dog Koa up and Hazey is in love.

The kids have so much fun together:

Even though I had to work and grade and all that not-so-fun stuff, they made everything easy and fun for us.  They don't ask what needs to be done for a meal, they just start cooking.  They are always game for adventure and laughs.  I'm so glad they live so much closer than Montana right now.

February Fun

Aside from Hazey turning 7, Julius, Tom and Cara's grandson turned 2.  We went to hang out with him to celebrate his special day. 

Meanwhile, John and I went to see the Wailers (of Bob Marley) at the Stowe Performing Arts Center with the Mangos.  It was an amazing show.  I had no idea how much fun it would be to see reggae in the middle of winter.  It was so uplifting and fun!

Every Monday, my friend Lindsay has offered to watch our kids.  The kids take the bus to her house, eat a snack and then do something fun outdoors.  They quite like the new "go cart".

Every Tuesday the kids go to Poker Hill Arts.  They've been having so much fun building towers out of Keva blocks!

 And, of course, we are still skiing as much as we can.  The kids are becoming quite the little rippers, thanks to their lessons with the ski club: