March is on its way out with a bluster. Sunny days warm enough to play outside are #1 on my wish list right now. Oliver has had a great month, starting with a ski trip, his first trip to the dentist, a few days of big boy alone time with Nana and Pa-Pa in Oklahoma, and a bittersweet trip to Indiana for Matt's grandma's funeral. Evelyn Coles was a sweet lady who was always tickled by hearing of Oliver's latest adventures. She will be greatly missed by her family and all that knew her, but we should not spend time in sorrow, for she has been joyfully reunited with her husband up in heaven, and we now have another guardian angel to add to our flock.
Here are some highlights from this month:
All smiles at the dentist. He went with Dad and did amazing I'm told.
Hanging with cousin Evie in Oklahoma (she's also a Cowboys fan)!
We broke out an authentic, vintage "Elect Ken Harris" shirt that I wore 32 years ago when Pa-Pa ran for the state legislature! I can't believe O is now big enough to wear it (I can't believe I still have it).
Well, we're back from our first family ski trip! Keystone, CO is a low-key, family-friendly resort, so it was the perfect setting for the three of us plus Matt's sister, Meghan, to get in some cozy, quality-time together. We managed to miss an early March blizzard and deep-freeze that moved through Kansas, so that in itself was well worth the trip.
Here's the thing about ski "vacations" though: They're not really vacations. They are a blur of getting up early; putting on 8 million layers of clothing; scarfing some food down; schlepping your skis (and your kid's) from the condo to the gondola (which only happened to be about 60 yards away in our case); creeping your way up to the top of the mountain at a snail's pace; skiing your fanny off to the point that every muscle in your body (especially your legs) is screaming at you like a teenage girl at her mother (sorry, Mom); constantly wondering if you have a runny nose b/c your face is too frozen to tell; literally falling onto the couch at the end of the day and not even considering moving until an hour later b/c, really, you just can't, oh but wait, you brought a 3 year old along so you have to move; looking forward to having that apres-ski drink, but not really being able to enjoy it b/c you're paranoid you'll get that particular kind of mountain headache/hangover that only happens at 10,000+ feet. But, at the end of the whole enchilada/whirlwind/shebang/"vacation", when someone asks if you had a good time, you think back and say yes, yes we did. Because we survived, and we all still like each other. :)
Oliver did great at ski school! Nary a tear at drop-off or pick-up. And by day 3, well, just look at this stud go!
And, I got to see my dear friend Marisa, who lives the good life in Avon/Beaver Creek!
Keystone Village Ice Sculpture.
Meg and I, just doin' how we do!
Best views in the whole country that day, I reckon!
