Sledding

Cory only has a few more days of leave and the kids have been dying to go play in the snow that we can all see in the mountains. So yesterday we ventured up by the local ski resort, Mountain High.
We laid out all of our gear the night before to take stock of what we had and realized we were a few items short of what we needed. Clay still needed snow boots, I needed sunglasses and some kind of waterproof pants.

We headed into town to pick up our items and then headed into the mountains. I had packed lunch for us, so we ate on the way up there (which was about the only thing we planned that went as scheduled).

We had never been up to Mountain High before, so we needed to scout out the joint. We didn't really want to pay $30 per person to go tubing at the resort. We wanted to find some snow and a hill that we could just play on.

We finally found a little pullout that wasn't too crowded and decided to start suiting up. I was so excited to take a picture of Vivi all suited up in her snow gear, I got her all fixed up and I set her to the side to help Carter zip up his suit. But before I could do anything else, Vivi fell face first into a mud puddle...which was the start of her bad mood.

We got to the hill and Carter immediately went down. I was really impressed. He's never been sledding before and in fact other people were standing around deciding how best to go. But, he just..went!

We were able to get about 40ish minutes of sledding in, before Vivi decided she was DONE. We're still not totally certain what happened. She just started losing it. Arching her back, screaming, inconsolable. So....we packed up and went home. And of course Clay was angry and tired and refused to walk back up the hill (because we were at the bottom). Cory had already taken Vivi to the car and I was responsible for getting the boys, 3 sleds, the camera and everyone's gloves - that they had taken off - back to the car. Luckily, I found a nice person willing to watch all the stuff at the top of the hill while I went back down to get Clay.
I have to say Carter did really well, and while he was upset about having to go home so quickly, he didn't throw a tantrum and took it all in stride.
Here's a few pictures of what we were able to do in our short time:

Trying to recover from the mud puddle

Carter with his ice ball.

Cory coming down the big hill with Vivi

snow angels!

Carter dutifully carrying his sled back up

Me and Vivi

Here's Carter coming down the little hill

Cory and Clay going down the little hill

The Problem with Hair

Most of you know that Vivian, my ONLY daughter, is bald. Ugh. She's been bald since the day she was born. Did you know that some babies are born with hair? Did you know that some can sport pony tails or pig tails before they are even a year old? We still aren't even close. We're creeping up on 2 1/2. 

To be fair, she's starting to get some hair, but only in the back really. And, it's CURLY! I don't know what to do with curly hair! It's beautiful, but curly hair is an art...one I am not familiar with. And also, it would help if the FRONT of her head had curly hair. But no, it's perfectly straight....

This is after having completely wet hair, putting mousse in it and having it air dry. If I don't fix her hair, she doesn't have curls, she just has a rat's nest.

This is the front view, with totally straight locks. Everything from her crown forward is straight.  Everything from the crown back, is curly.

Carter Turns 6!

Dear Carter,

It is so strange to me that these last years have gone by so fast, yet a the same time, so slow.

Yesterday we went out to eat in Tehachapi at Domingo's (a favorite local Mexican place) and Daddy was telling you about the day you were born. I could almost barely remember that day. Maybe it was the insane amount of drugs I was on or the pure adrenaline that fogged my memory of the day you were born. But it seemed like so long ago. Like, a fuzzy memory already. Is this normal? Is this how the rest of my adult life will be? Will I only have memory in 5-6 year spurts? Maybe I should be taking more pictures...or see a doctor.

Other times, like our time in Korea, seem like just yesterday. We had such a good time there. You had so many friends and we played on the playground everyday. I didn't know how good we had it there. Like most things, you never know what you have until it's gone. We had a cleaning lady...who did our laundry! What in the heck did I do with all my free time? I don't remember that either. I suppose we played at the playground and browsed the Bx everyday.

But since all that, you've grown into such a great young boy. If someone were to have asked me 5 years ago if I thought you'd ever be able to sit still for any length of time, I would have laughed in their face. You are quite the trailblazer (at least in our lives) and have burned a deep trail of trial, tears, joy, frustration and excitement. I often use you as an example to other moms who exclaim how tired and exhausted their 'full throttle' boys make them. I tell them, "It's okay, it gets better! Just wait a few more years!"

It's not to say that some days are not without difficulty, but these days you have been so delightful. You are a great helper. You constantly help me by bringing me things, letting the dog out, YOU MAKE YOUR OWN BREAKFAST AND/OR LUNCH! You sacrifice things like your pick of movies, reading time, what seat you sit in, plates you eat off of to help satisfy your siblings or rectify a desperate situation. You have empathy and courage. You're brave and FUN  and honest and funny. You love to tell jokes, mostly of the butt/poop variety. Jeez.

You are doing wonderfully at school. You have almost perfect behavior (you did get a yellow card last week for talking during class). But I am still so proud of you. You are so smart, so loving, so...emotionally present. I know, that sounds weird. But whether your angry, or sad, or excited or happy or confused it shows. It's so clear and you're not afraid to show it. And although sometimes me and your dad get frustrated when you're in a bad mood, we at least know what you're feeling and why. I hope you are always like this. I am so afraid that in 10 years when you're a sullen teenager I won't know what you're thinking or feeling . I am really trying to soak up the time of you needing me. I try to remind myself that it won't be much longer that you will want to spend time with me. It won't be much longer that you will seek my advice, or need my help. You won't want me to walk you into school and kiss you goodbye. I am trying really hard to enjoy these times. Even when the days are crazy and the hours are long. Even when you scream at your brother or argue with me, even when you complain about homework or brushing your teeth. I know you're only (already) six, and this time is going to fly by quickly. 

I love you big boy.

Love,

Mama

ps. If you'd like to reminisce, here is Carter's 2nd Birthday, 3rd Birthday, 4th Birthday and 5th Birthday.

I'm No Meteorologist

But I'm pretty sure this is the forecast for Edwards everyday...

*those brown pointy things are mountains. And the blue wavy lines are wind. And that's us, blowing around in it.