Ethan Meets the Tree at Breckenridge

Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to travel to Breckenridge Ski Resort on a Charter bus with a large group from Ben's work. Unfortunately, shortly after getting off the first lift and doing an awesome job skiing down a hill, Ethan had a close encounter with a tree. He was less than excited about Ben picking the bark out of his lip, and trying to clean the blood off of his nose and cheek with a used Kleenex. But, after a free ride down the hill from the emergency guy on the snowmobile...he settled into a nap at the lodge on my lap. Poor baby, I thought he would be traumatized for life. Not so, after he awoke, he ate a hot dog, fries, a bag of M&M's and was ready to hit the slopes again. Thankfully, it was time to catch the bus and we told him we'd try it again next time. Now he says that he's gonna show that tree who's the boss and the best!! He's gonna come down the hill with a chainsaw and cut all the trees down!

From the mouth of a four year old

Just after eating his blueberry pancakes this morning, Ethan found the perfect title for me. He said, "Mom, you're just like a butler...whenever we ask for stuff and say please...you give it to us." "That's right Ethan, " I said. "I am like the butler, but butlers are boys...and I am a girl so I would be the maid."

Last Christmas

Yummy (and easy) Chili Recipe

1lb. ground turkey or beef
Brown with 1/3 c. chopped onion & garlic salt

Then add :

2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can mexican style chili beans
1 chopped bell pepper

Simmer in a slow cooker for an hour or two. Serve with grated cheese & tortilla chips or cornbread.

FHE at the Johnson's

We had a great time Monday night for family home evening at the Johnson's home. We all liked looking at the stuffed animals on display in their living room. Br. Johnson really has a talent. Carter liked the ducks, Ethan liked the mountain lions, and Alec liked the bears. Claudia's cousin Claudia said afterward it was wierd being around all those dead animals. Even Carter was a bit disturbed at the huge stuffed animals that didn't move. Claudia, of course, thought it was a fascinating to teach the boys that these animals all have spirits that have moved on to heaven.

Trip to Copper Mountain

Here are some pictures of our recent trip to Copper Mountain. We had a great time. Now, when I say great time, know that I'm not denying that there were lots of falls on our butts, and the snow was packed, hard. Claudia, Alec, and I tried our hand at snowboarding, while Ethan went with skis. If we could do it over, we'd have at least Claudia or I on skis instead of a board in order to better help Ethan. We know Ethan was ready to go after lunch because when we made one more run after we finished eating, well, let's just say he was a bit emotional the whole way down, making it not a fun run for Claudia. He liked the ride up on the chair lift though. Alec did too, until he got partially squished between the chair and the support pole while trying to incorrectly get off the lift. What can we say, it was his first time. Ethan and I were riding two chairs behind he and Claudia. I thought I was going to lose my oldest boy right there. But, no blood, no problem. He strapped on his board and soon enough was racing down the mountain. And then the chair lift operator started the lift up again. Sound familiar, veteran skiiers?

One reason that we picked Dec. 15th at Copper Mountain was that it was Scouts friends and family day, which meant that we got lift tickets for $25/person, which was a screaming deal. And, Ethan wasn't old enough to require a ticket, so we spent a whopping $75 on tickets, and about that much on rentals. I know, it's still a lot more than the $13.50 dad said he spent on a lift ticket a number of years ago to ski at Sun Valley, but that was a while ago. Sorry dad. It looks like the lift tickets there are now $79, the same as resorts here in Colorado. Although our next trip will be to Breckenridge in a couple of weeks, I think we'll likely go back to Copper Mountain at some point. The resort seemed like an exciting place and the people were friendly. Many of the employees were from Latin America, since it is summer break down there. We said hi to a couple of people from Peru. As a side note, fifth graders ski free in Colorado, so hopefully that perk is still in effect when Alec and Ethan are of age.