Suzanne McGrath Photography

Six on Sunday

Hello!  It is so beautiful outside today; I'm just tickled pink.  How was your weekend? 

1.  We had a sleepover last night.  For #1 + seven of her friends.  (Two couldn't spend the night.)  I have to be honest here...I detest big sleepovers.  I mean, they are the worst.  I truly don't mind one or two girls.  Maybe even three.  But seven?  Nope.  They are so LOUD.  They *think* they are whispering.  They are NOT whispering.  And they *think* it's a good idea to come up to #1's bathroom together.  At 11:30pm.  NOT a good idea.  And they *think* it is acceptable to scream bloody murder at 2:30am due to a spider viewing.  NOT smart.  Regardless...

There were some fun moments.  (All before 10pm, of course.)  We had pizza and watermelon for dinner.  Plus lots of chips.  We had Small Cakes cupcakes and a chocolate fountain for dessert.  Seriously, the girls were not hurting for food!  It was fun to listen to their teenage conversation - eavesdropping is awesome!  #1 got some really funny and thoughtful and nice gifts.  I am glad we let her do this.  I am also glad we are not planning to do this again any time soon!

2.  #2 had a soccer tournament this weekend.  Yesterday's two games were not great.  Not gonna lie and make it sound better than it was.  The first game was at 7am which I think may have a played a part in their lackluster performance.  But the second game was at 1:15pm and I don't think there was really any reason for their not-so-hot game.  But this morning?  Whoa!  They won 7 - 1.  And I missed the best half - the first half.  I was so disappointed not to see the awesome performance but I was still so happy for the team.  They needed that little boost!  I am really hoping they come out Friday night and play like they did this morning!

3.  These girls just make me smile.  They are seriously like little besties at home.  They do argue occasionally but it is not that often.  And it usually when #4 is tired.

This is a big week for each of them.  #3 starts guitar lessons tomorrow and #4 starts swimming lessons on Wednesday.  That means our weeks just went from manageable to crazy!  I love it.

4.  I was cleaning out the big drawers in our window seat when I found a bunch of leftover fabric (from my bedroom).  And you know what?  I think it will be perfect to use for new pillows for Karl.  I have some older pillows I could recover but they are kind of shot.  I think it is time for some new pillow inserts.  As excited as I am to move on to fixing up the family room, I need to finish my master closet first.  I told myself this year I was only going to work on one project at a time.  And it's KILLING me.  

Anyway, here is the fabric on top of my new ottoman.  Pretty, huh?

5.  I ran 12 miles yesterday.  I hadn't gone on a long run in two weeks and my last long run was only 8 miles.  I only have one 10 mile run logged this year.  So 12 about killed me.  

Thankfully, my friend, Sarah, ran the first 4 with me and the hubby ran the last 4 with me.  Wasn't that nice of them?  I have to admit, I am a little out of shape so my legs were pretty darn tired yesterday.  (I had to take a naproxin to alleviate the restlessness.)  And today my knees are just a touch sore.  But I am still glad I got that one in because my half marathon is only two weeks away!  I won't be setting any PRs but that is A-OK with me!

6.  Last but definitely not least...the hubby had a birthday!  It was yesterday but we actually celebrated it Friday night by having dinner at his favorite place, Tanner's.  (For those of you not in the KC area, it is just a bar and restaurant.)  Yes, he's a classy fella!

We had a great time and the girls loved snuggling for this picture:

We are so lucky to have him for our own!  He was such a sport to give up his birthday so #1 could celebrate her 13th with her 9 closest swim friends.  Plus, he also ran 4 miles with me to get me through my 12.  I love him!

And there you have it!  My six on Sunday.  I hope you have had a great week and are set for another good one - especially with warmer weather than last week!  

TEN on Sunday...Spring Break Edition - Week 2

I'm back!  We pulled into the driveway yesterday afternoon around 4pm.  Am I glad to be home?  I suppose - but I do so love the mountains.

As you probably know, I did blog last week but since it was without pictures - and with a few adult beverages on board coupled with very little sleep - it may have been a bit lacking.  Bear with me because I may hit on a few things again.  And also?  Grab a beer.  Or a coffee.  Depending on what time it is while you are reading this.  Because my entry tonight could get long!  And if you'd like recaps of prior years - you can see them here:  2013, 2012 and more 2012, and 2010.

1.  I just want to show you how crazy it can be to pack a family of 6 for a week of skiing.  And this was ONLY the ski clothes!

Luckily, we have a Yakima for the top of our car or we'd never fit everything!  And I've learned the hard way that if I don't do this I forget something.  One year we were AT THE MOUNTAIN when the hubby realized he forgot to pack his SKI JACKET.  Yep - his SKI JACKET.  How does one forget his ski jacket?  Well, he thought I packed it and I thought he was going to wear it in the car.  I have not made that mistake again because that was one expensive mistake!

2.  As I talked about last week, we hit the road to Breckenridge at 5:15am.  We didn't actually get to the condo until about 4pm but it was a great trip!  The girls were fabulous and there were NO TEARS!

Sunrise:

I always love looking at the windmills.  This year I took a bunch of pictures and then turned them into watercolor paintings through the Waterlogue app.  I realize I am late to the game - but it doesn't mean I love the app any less.  It's awesome!

I can't wait to print some of my "watercolors"!

If you know us you know the hubby and I love us some Starbucks.  Unfortunately, we have passed the love down to our children.  (No, they don't actually drink coffee drinks.)  Here they were at Colby:

Yep - all four of them had a Starbucks drink.  That was one pricey gas stop!

This is what our car looked like for 10 hours:

As usual, we stopped in Idaho Springs for a little pizza at Beau Jo's and a bit of shopping.  The nice thing about stopping there is we know we only have 45 minutes left when we get back in the car!

And that was our first day of our trip - not bad.

3.  We stayed in Frisco this year for a couple reasons.  First, we didn't book our condo until very late so the selection was not great.  Secondly, we thought we'd try to go a little cheaper by not staying in Breckenridge.  The verdict?  No dice.  First, the condo was not great.  Second, it was a lot more driving than we usually do on ski trips.  THIS is where we stayed.  I would NOT recommend it!  To sum it up with one sentence; because the owners had so many threats/rules of further charges, we felt like they were being forced to rent it out against their will .  I am going to write my comments on their vrbo page soon.  It will not be nice.  (And I am usually fairly laid back on rental units.  Not this one.)

4.  OK.  Onto the rest of our stay.  Sunday we headed to Salt Creek again for breakfast.  The hubby's parents sent us a little cash and told us to have breakfast on them.  Of course we had to oblige!  The girls loved it - again!  So did we.

After we rented skiis the hubby and I headed up to A-Basin:

Please note:  I look like a dork with four eyes!  I accidentally had the wrong lenses in my goggles and rather than act like sunglasses they acted like sun reflectors - right into my eyes!  I practically went blind so I had to ski in my sunglasses.  And I had nowhere else to put my goggles.  OK.  I'm done.

5.  How did the girls do skiing?  Absolutely great!  We kept #1 with us the whole time because she doesn't really need ski school anymore.  It was really fun to be able to ski with her for a day!  She is so busy these days with school, swim, and friends that we don't get to spend a lot of time with her so it was really nice.  And she will go anywhere we take her - all over the mountain.  

#2 - #4 only went to ski school for a day - Monday.  #2 and and #3 had a great time.  #4 cried most of the day but actually learned to stop.  Who knew you could actually learn through tears?!  We were ecstatic, though.  After we picked up the 3 little girls we took them all to the top of the mountain (Peak 9) and skied down and they were GREAT!  Even #4!  Honestly, my only hope/goal on this trip was that #4 would learn how to stop and actually enjoy skiing.  And we accomplished that goal on the FIRST DAY!  I can't tell you how happy that made me and her dad.  Seriously ecstatic. 

Of course nobody wanted to do ski school a second day which was fine. The hubby took the big girls out Tuesday morning and the little girls and I joined them after lunch.  The big girls were such troopers because it was COLD that morning but they never quit!  And they were such great cheerleaders and helpers with their little sisters that afternoon.  The little girls were so excited to get to ski again!  It was so much fun!

Here are the big girls:

And here are the little girls:

Don't you love #3's ecclectic outfit?!  That is what happens when you have hand-me-downs and new coats all mixed together.  But I absolutely love it and one of the ski instructors even commented on it - he loved all the pops of color!

6.  So we didn't ski every day - my legs couldn't take it!  On Wednesday we took a break and went ice skating and shopping.  The girls had been begging us to try skating so we figured, why not?

I don't have a picture of #3 (Whoops!) but I assure you she was there!

They had fun but they all need some practice!  (Note to self for next winter.)

7.  One of the highlights of the trip was a visit from my friend, Tiffany, and her two kids!  I was so excited they were able to drive up from Denver and spend the night with us Thursday and then go tubing on Friday.  Her kids are one year older than #3 and #4, respectively.  And I'm not kidding when I say they were in the condo less than 5 minutes before all the kids were all running around and playing.  (Well, except #1 who is too cool for school, don't ya know!)  And they haven't seen each other since 2009 back when #4 was only 6 weeks old.  It just warmed my heart to see all the kids get along so well together.

Funny story:  When Tiff and her kids walked in the door, #3 was upstairs.  I introduced her two kids to my three kids when her son, Louis, looked at Tiff and said, "I thought you said there were FOUR of them!"  That made me laugh. 

Tiffany and I were able to catch up over a few glasses of wine - the best kind of catching up!

No - I don't wear make-up when I ski.  That just takes too much effort which is why I look like I do in that picture above.  Forgive me:)

8.  Friday morning we all went tubing!  It was a blast.  The best part was how we got to hook up with each other.  These two were inseparable:

That is #3 on the left and Tiffany's daughter, Sophia, on the right.  

Here are all the kids playing on the "mountain":

And here is the only photo of our entire family from the trip.  Thanks, Tiff!

9.  You know how I said we were trying to do this trip a little cheaper than past years?  Well, that included bringing a ton of groceries and frozen dinners.  I packed lazagna, taco meat, spaghetti sauce, and crab cakes which were all frozen.  They traveled really well!  I also had some snacks and breakfast items packed.  I also brought a few recipes knowing I could buy the ingredients rather inexpensively while we were there.  I have to say we will definitely be going this route again.

First, it's really expensive to eat out a lot when you are a family of six!  Second, after skiing a full day the last thing I want to do is go back to the condo, change clothes and get ready, THEN go out for dinner.  No way.  That doesn't sound fun at all!  Having all the meals more than halfway done was great!  All I had to do was pop it into the oven or warm it up on the stove.  That way I didn't feel like I was spending my evening in the kitchen - it was just very easy.  

I have to say cooking in the mountains does take a little getting used to but I did just fine.  Check out these cinnamon rolls - they never look like this at home!

They were huge but oh, so delicious!

10.  We made a big decision on this trip - kind of like a spur of the moment decision.  But whatevs.  WE BOUGHT A TIMESHARE!  We did not go on this trip with the intention of buying a timeshare but it just kind of happened.  Let me back up a little...I have always thought that when we were done paying daycare we'd just funnel that money into a timeshare.  And well, #4 is almost 5 years old and therefore we only have two and a half months left of paying for daycare.  So the timing was right.

We definitely don't view this as an "investment" in money-making terms.  We view this as an investment in our family vacations forever and ever.  (The property is deeded to us - we don't have to give it back in 25 or 40 years.)  And since we have gone on a ski trip the last 4 out of 5 years and about every other year before that - we think it's the right thing for our family.  And we are just thrilled!  It will take the guess-work out of where to stay from here on out.  And we just love it and are so excited to get to stay there next year!

We bought a Winter Plus week at the Grand Lodge at Peak 7.  

Here is a view of it from the mountain:

It is true Ski-in, Ski-Out which will be fabulous for us.  No more hauling skis all over to get to the mountain!  No more shuttles and paying for parking.  I cannot tell you how excited we are and how giddy we feel.  We truly never thought we'd have a place here - not in our wildest dreams!

Here is a shot of the outside pools:

We were able to use it as Day-Users on Thursday which meant we were able to enjoy the whole facility!  The girls made good use of the pools:

And I enjoyed the outdoor hot tub!

Seriously, I have to keep pinching myself.  I love that we will always have a place to stay for spring break.  If we decide not to go some year we can rent it out or trade it for another week or even another location (Hawaii, perhaps?).  But we are all just giddy with excitement for next year!

And that folks - was our week!  I think I said a few years ago that every year would get easier and I was right.  The girls were at great ages this year!  We all had fun and thankfully, we all love to ski.  I know I am blessed beyond measure.  I don't take that for granted.

I hope you all had a great spring break, too (if you were off as well)!

(I have to say - I finished just in time.  I need to get the little girls into bed!  Have a great week, everyone!)   

 

 

 

 

 

Six on Sunday...Spring Break Edition - Week 1

OK.  So I have pictures to show.  However, I've had a couple of beers, a couple glasses or wine, and a Colorado Bulldog.  That means I am no longer technologically savvy (not that I ever was)!  I I cannot configure the pictures properly.  (I am not at home and therefore on my laptop.)  So sorry.  That means we will have to deal.  But whatever, right?!  I am here.  On Sunday night.  Blogging. THAT is dedication, Yo! 

1.  It was a short week for the girls - 3 days of school.  Thank the Lord!  I was done on Monday and I had to follow through for two more days!  That meant I had to fake enthusiasm for school when all I wanted to do was crawl back under the covers due to damned Daylight Savings Time!  So seriously, I would prefer to just never change the clocks and always have more daylight at night. Duh.  You two?! 

2.  The hubby and I ran 8.25 miles Friday afternoon.  It was such a gorgeous day that I was way too excited to go out for a long run.  However, I decided we should run WEST on the bike trails from our house.  (El Diablo, anyone?)  We were so sore the rest of the night it wasn't even funny!  But we perservered and packed the car for spring break!

3.  Saturday morning (yesterday) the hubby and I got up at 4:30am (that's crazy, by the way) to get ready to hit the road.  We had all the kids in the car by 5:15am.  They slept (or tried to sleep) until about 8:00am.  It was awesome!  We had Dunkin Donuts, cut up apples, and chocolate milk for breakfast.  IN THE CAR.  I am always a fan of eating in the car because it takes up time!  So by the time they started asking, "How much longer?" we had already been traveling 3 hours!  I felt like a genius.

4.  We made it to Hayes where we stopped for gas and to switch drivers.  (My turn.)  The three little girls all got ready for the day - changed clothes, brushed hair, and brushed teeth.  (#1 got up when we did and truly got "ready" for the day before jumping in the car.)  Then we headed to Colby, KS (the Oasis of the Plains) where we stopped for Taco John's and Starbucks.  Because what goes better with a latte than a taco? 

5.  Today we had a great day!  (Well, the hubby and I may have had more fun than the girls.  But then again we are footing the bill!)  We went to breakfast at Salt Creek which is awesome!  It was our third year in a row and it did not disappoint.  Seriously, if you are in Breckenridge (or Frisco) you have to go there!  After brunch we rented skis at A Racer's Edge.  Again, can't highly recommend these guys enough - they are seriously awesome!  We then headed back to our condo to drop the girls off and get them settled.

6.  The hubby and I skied a half day at A-Basin.  It was a beautiful day!  We headed to the back bowl and we had so much fun!  Meanwhile, the girls had a fun afternoon back at the condo.  They played outside in the snow, watched a movie, played "tag', etc.  And just as they were getting bored we were on our way back.  

Now before you think we are selfish, just know this - we have four girls.  They are all very different ski skill levels.  And our oldest needed to watch her sisters.  So I think it was a fair trade.  They had fun without us and we all jumped in the hot tub when we got back to to the townhouse.  The hubby and I don't spend a lot of time together with just the two of us so it was an awesome afternoon!

And that's it!  We are excited to spend the week out here - hopefully with a couple of my girlfriends from college.  I know that no matter what we do we'll have a blast!

And with that - I'm signing off.  Time to get the little girls to bed and then I'm shortly behind. Have a great week!        

 

Six on Sunday

We survived jumping ahead an hour. I have to say, tomorrow will be the true test, though!

1.  We had a milestone birthday this week.  #1 turned 13!  Can you believe it?  We have a teenager in the house!

We don't go out to eat on my kids' birthdays.  We make it special by eating in the dining room with our fancy china.  And the birthday girl gets to pick the dinner menu.  #1 picked breakfast for dinner.  I thought that was so funny - she could have picked anything and she picked breakfast.  Of course I obliged her with bacon, sausage, apples, pancakes, waffles, and OJ.  The hubby was out of town but her sisters and I sang her happy birthday and let her open her gifts.  We gave her pearl earrings and a gift certificate for a massage.  (She was thrilled!)  #2 gave her a painting for her room.  It was so cute and #2 spent a LOT of time on it!  #3 gave her a handmade card and #4 gave her a handmade picture.  They were so adorable.  As soon as we sat down to eat the three youngest girls zoomed out of the dining room to go get their presents for their big sister.  I melted.

Right now I love #1 at this age!  She is definitely not acting like a stereotypical teenager.  That is not to say she doesn't have her moments but overall she is fabulous.  She pitches in and helps out around the house if we ask her to do something particular.  (Today it consisted of cleaning the wood floors.)  She is a great big sister!  Just yesterday she picked out all her sister's clothes and did their hair for them when we went to a friend's house for dinner.  Today she did their nails!  Nothing ruffles her feathers.  She is so calm, cool, and collected.  She just sort of sits and waits for the storm (that can be middle school girls) to pass but never gets caught up in it.  She is a fantastic student - studies and does all her homework without me saying a word.  I really can't say how fantastic she is - we adore her and are so glad she is our oldest!

2.  We leave for Colorado on Saturday.  We are all so excited!  We were going to hit Weston (our little ski hill - more like a bump) today but opted out.  There was too much to do around the house to get ready to leave that we didn't want to spend an entire day away.  I have to yet to even begin to think about packing.  And let me tell you, it is a LOT of stuff to have to remember - from ski socks and layers to boots and helmets!  Packing for a summer vacation is a breeze by comparison.  But I really don't care - I am just so excited!

3.  I finished the building phase of the closet.  Our next step is installing the floor, trimming it out and adding lighting.  Lastly I'll have to paint.  I think I am just going to paint it in phases so I don't have to take everything all out at one time again.  Anyways, I don't care about all that stuff right now.  I am just glad my clothes are not strewn across my room anymore.  And I am LOVING the "L" shaped shelves I made.  They are AWESOME!  

As you already know, my closet is small so it's nearly impossible to take a decent picture.  But these will give you an idea:

And my "L" shaped shelves:

Overall I am happy and relieved.  I am so thankful the hardest part is over and I can leave for vacation without anything hanging over my head.  WooHoo!

4.  Yesterday my niece and nephew came over for the afternoon and then we headed to our friend's house for dinner.  We have been friends with these guys since #3 was just two and #4 was a baby.  It's so fun to watch their kids grow and change, too!  Here is #3 and her friend:

Aren't they so cute?  I love how Reese towers over #3 - and they were both born the same month.  I think it's a combination of #3 is a little on the short side and Reese is a little on the tall side.  Regardless, they are adorable and really get along SO WELL!  

5.  I owe you an updated picture of Karl.  Here he is with the new ottoman:

I have to tell you, I am DYING to update this room now!  But I am forcing myself to hold off until my closet is completely finished.  And that is HARD, man.  This room desperately needs some new pillows, a new throw, the table I mentioned last week, new lamps (which, admittedly, I already bought.  Oops.), and artwork.  I am seriously using major willpower not to spend any money in here.  I suppose that is motivation to finish my closet, then, huh?  I am so NOT looking forward to painting that bad boy, though.  

6.  So I'm still training for Rock the Parkway in April.  My long runs have been really sporadic due to the rough winter.  If I can't run long outside, I just don't do it.  That said, I've missed quite a few.  So this past Friday afternoon Christi and I headed out for 8 miles.  We made it about four before she started having pain.  Suffice it to say, she couldn't walk - at all - yesterday and we walked the last four miles of our run.  I got my eight miles in but I feel awful for Christi.  Having been injured a few times I know how heartbreaking it can feel.  She was doing so well in her training and I was having a blast running with her.  So I am crossing my fingers she has a quick recovery!

And there you have it!  I hope you all have a fantastic week!  I'm not sure if I'll be blogging or not next Sunday.  I'm just going to go with the flow.  Laters! 

 

    

 

 

 

Six on Sunday

It's only 3:30pm and I'm blogging.  The house is quiet so I thought I would take advantage of this time in anticipation of the Oscars tonight.

1.  This was definitely a swim weekend!  #1 had a 3-day meet in Topeka.  She qualified in all events (I think) so she swam 3 events every day (that is the max) plus the relays.  To say it was a long weekend for her would be an understatement.  The hubby took her Friday and Saturday and I took her today. 

Friday was not her best day.  I'm not sure why?  I'm not sure even she knows what happened but that is life.  Not every meet is going to be her best.  And not every meet will she be able to drop time in every event.  Friday was just a life moment and she's already moved on from it, thank goodness.  She ended up making finals in one event and consolation finals in other - so it wasn't a total loss.  But neither finals were her best swims.  Friday was just a super long day - they left at 6am and didn't get home until 8pm.  The hubby was ready for a beer!

Yesterday was a much better day.  She swam better and overall had more fun.  She ended up making finals and consolation finals in two events so they didn't get home until 7pm.  Today they changed the meet structure.  They decided to time every heat and eliminate the separate finals.  (She did very well today.)  By making those changes they were able to allow the meet to start later and end earlier which was really nice.  We were all a little nervous about the weather - snow and ice - but it wasn't bad.  And I was grateful to get home with a decent amount of time left in the day!    

2.  The hubby took the three little girls to see the Lego movie.  (That's why the house is so quiet.  A rare phenomenon.)  They have been dying to see it!  I'm glad they found something fun to do today since it's too cold and crappy to play outside.  

3.  Yesterday the middles went with their friends to work at Harvesters.  They both had so much fun and really enjoyed their jobs.  When they got home they ran in the door and didn't stop talking for a full 10 minutes afterwards!  Meanwhile, I took #4 to a birthday party out at Ernie Miller Nature center.  She LOVED learning about the animals.  She told her dad and sisters all about it last night!  It was really cute to see how much she had absorbed when she was informing them now a snake smells (it's tongue).  

4.  I am a coffee drinker.  Plus, I have a mug collection of sorts.  I try to buy one from every destination I visit.  Well, it woul only make sense that I have a Kansas City mug, right?  I have looked and looked for one but was never successful.  Until recently!  Check this out:

Don't you love it?  It makes me giddy when I use it!  Seriously - it's so fun.  And what a great way to start my morning!

5.  I spent yesterday afternoon working on our closet.  Again.  Here's what my day looked like:

But - all my hanging clothes are IN!  Yes!  Major progress.  I just need to finish a few shelves and it will be time to paint.  I can hardly wait - it's gonna look so good!

6.  We got our slipcovers back and Karl is together again and he looks awesome!  I ordered a new, smaller ottoman (this one) to replace the current one so hopefully I'll be able to show you pictures next week.  And I think I am going to make this table but shorter to replace my mid century dresser that is back there now since it's too tall.  

I know this was short - but there it wasn't a very memorable week.  Have a good one and stay warm!