Life and Death

We still LOVE to play in the car.  This takes place almost daily after returning home from an errand or whatever.  Owen knows where the hazards are, how to turn on the heat, is enchanted with the windshield wipers, and now likes to be buckled in too. 

I am catching up with a few photos I should have included in the Easter entry.  Nana and Papa were here, and they are elusive when it comes to photos, so can't pass up this opportunity to include some, despite their tardiness.  We went to the zoo- this polar bear is really too much.  That is Nana's head there and Owen's reflection in the glass.

Carousel- always a winner.

Mom got in her one and only day of skiing on the resort this winter at PCMR with Nana and Papa. The starts aligned- schedule was free, kids were in daycare, Chip was off, and the weather was beautiful. Yahoo!

Just a cute one. :)

Ruby and Owen came down with a quick 36 hour illness which included a fever and wanting to do nothing but sit on the couch.  This allowed for plenty of time to practice our doctor skills.  Video here too-

It is maybe 40 degrees in this picture.  In Park City, we feel like we are at the beach!  And, we are really excited for spring.  So excited that we are willing to freeze our toes off at a chance to get them wet and sandy at the park.

Another cute one.

Shoulder season does allow for fun activities like "puddle hunts".  On this day, we found the mecca of puddles.  Needless to say,  a change of clothes were in order after this hunt.

Ruby loves her hase (bunny in German- Oma made these for us...Mindy, Gus, Tina and I when we were kids).  This pink one was Tina's.  Owen sleeps with my red one.

Owen loves carrots.

 This is a photo of an evening ski tour and whiskey toast to Craig

Last week, a worst nightmare came true as we learned of the death of a good friend, neighbor, and inspiration, in an avalanche on April 11th.  Craig Patterson was a shining star whose energy and excitement for life was obvious to all who met him.  I am building the courage and thoughts to do a more extensive reflection on him and his impact on me on to add to the blog we started for him.  All I can say for now is that he will be missed and remembered and that we will live his legacy as best we can.  We love you, Craig.

Easter

Easter- another holiday to celebrate. The secular side of this holiday has been my least favorite of any so far.  There was way too much candy, getting, grabbing, and not much effort or involvement on the kid's part.  However, like many things in life, it was not all bad and the baby is not be thrown out with the bathwater.  So, we jumped in and enjoyed many aspects of it.  We did love the egg dyeing and Ruby and Owen now love eating the entire boiled egg, which is new for us.  I do love the idea of a hunt...I just plan on spicing it up with more of a scavenger feel next year (which Nana did this year and they loved!...she is sorta a pro at that. It is a skill I intend to weave into our family culture as well).  Our good friends, Team Kirby, have a tradition of making some amazing Eggs Benedict in conjunction with a potluck, so that was amazing too.  And, we also had an incredible meal with family (both from in and out of town) in the evening! So, here you have it- the first Easter Ruby and Owen really participated in.

First- egg dyeing.  We did a method that involved drawing on a warm eggs with crayons and then dyed the white space with a shaving cream and food coloring approach I found on pinterest or facebook or something.  You roll (or massage in Ruby's case) the eggs in the cream and let it sit for a few minutes, then wash it off (Owen headed up this part- the kitchen sink is his favorite place to "play" these days). It was a mess, but perfect for two year olds.  Owen was in a bad mood for this activity, so Ruby gets the stage for these pics.

 Easter baskets were pretty simple, but fun to hunt for.

 And then, the group egg hunt!  8 kids looking for 80 eggs in our front and side yard as well as the driveway and trail over to Kirbys'.  Broad range of ages and still, went over really well. Owen found one egg and walked around eating its contents the rest of the time.  He did not care about getting any more.  Ruby filled her bag and persevered in areas long after other kids had moved on to other areas.  So typical- their ying and yang approach.

Graham, Owen, Greta, Ruby, Griffin, Tait, Kaya, Aminata

 Brunch!

 Jess and I (mostly Jess- I was just some extra hands when it came to assembly) enjoyed passing out these beautiful plates of edible artwork.  The bloody mary that Stephen made me was pretty gorgeous as well.

 Dinner with the DuRoss'!  Some play with playdough before dinner.

 And, as usual...no great pictures from this part of the day other than this priceless one of Ruby and Owen sticking their fingers into the dessert (brownies, ice cream, and whip cream) while they thought no one else was looking!  Not sure where they would have learned something like this! ;)

Happy Birthday OMA!!!!

Happy Birthday to the woman who has had more influence over my life than anyone else.  And, I couldn't be happier about that fact.  I am fortunate and do not take it for granted.  Neither do Ruby and Owen.  They love their Oma.  Here is a little birthday wish/message from us since we could not be there for your birthday party today.  We CANT wait to see you here in a few weeks!  Love you lots!

https://vimeo.com/63538739

On One

We love to play with play dough.  Many times, this keeps them busy at the counter while I get dishes done.  Here, Chip was working on some "fossils" with them.  Pretty sure you can find a Koolaid Guy fossil somewhere for reals. :)

It was Dr Seuss' birthday this month.  We celebrated at the library with Tait, Graham, and about a hundred of our other Park City friends.  It was actually a great event and Ruby and Owen loved the "Cat in the Hat" hats they got to take home.

After bath...both adorable. 

 We watched Simon (the dog) this weekend.  Owen and Ruby LOVE Simon.  They kissed and hugged him all day.  He is really soft...and he sits still long enough for them to catch him and then tolerates the love. ;)...unlike our beloved Kessler.  Simon even slept on Owen's bed.

More Simon loves- https://vimeo.com/62044688

 We had a play date with our friend, Harper.  He has a great bin of dress up clothes. They were quite the crew to be reckoned with- Captain America, Batman, and Skeleton Man.  

 We have discovered that Owen has an incredible memory.  He knows the words to at least half a dozen songs, picks up on many rhymes after saying them twice, and can recall the words on the pages of books too.  Half the time, I am not even sure he knows what the words mean!  Anyway, here are a few not so great, but the best I could get for now, videos of him singing a few songs.

1)  https://vimeo.com/62044687

2)  https://vimeo.com/62044686

3)  https://vimeo.com/62044689

Papa was in town skiing with friends for a weekend.  Chip got to ski a few days with him and even Ruby and Owen got out for a morning with Papa.  It was snowing like crazy, but that doesn't stop us as long as we end in the lodge with some hot chocolate or a cookie.

St Patty's Day.  Yet another holiday that really didn't make a bleep on my radar before kids.  Now, EVERY holiday bleeps, sirens, dresses up, and gets in a parade, if you know what I mean.

Green food- Ruby and Owen took a few bites...better than nothing I suppose.

We joined Team Kirby and their daycare's float in the SLC parade.  We decked ourselves in green, looked for leprechauns, went out to lunch with our friends and completely enjoyed walking around downtown SLC on this warm spring tease day.

Ha!

Two parting photos.  Owen has become very independent when it comes to getting dressed for outside time.  He will walk downstairs, put on his hat, mittens, and boots himself.  Sometimes he even gets to his sunnies and a headlamp!

Owen- holding his favorite parts of the two seasons we are experiencing- a snowball in the right, and a stick in the left.  He is a happy boy.

“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” 
― Dr. Seuss

Epic Wedding

Meegan Addy- one of my best and oldest friends from college at the University of Montana....got married on Valentine's Day at the TOP of Loveland ski resort...with 99 other couples (25 newly married and 75 renewing their vows)!  It was exciting, hilarious, awesome, and insane.

Meegan, Adam, and Team DuRoss

Let me add that not only did all these people head to the top of the mt for the ceremony, but we joined them...all four of us, on skis, despite a 15 minute chair ride in 40 mph gusts, snow, and freezing temps.  Getting to the top was not my proudest parenting moment, however, once at the top, things went from a worst case scenario (missing the event because we were running late and/or freezing and traumatizing our two year olds) to a best case.  Thanks to some help and support from one of my other dear friends and old roommates (all four of us roommates were eventually together- you'll see), we made it in time, crammed into a jam packed lodge at the top to warm up, got to see Meegan and Adam before for some pictures, after to say congratulations, and at the end of their first run as a married couple!  The timing could not have been better.

Of course, also, like a story book, the wind stopped and the sun came out ONLY for our ski down.  Ruby skied all two miles by herself (mom behind her with the harness) with only a few falls, after which she laughed. Owen skied most of the run himself as well.  He likes to "hit jumps"...but then he falls and sometimes struggles to keep restarting. Chip picked him up and flew down a really choppy part, after which he also wanted to get down and ski it himself. It was fresh powder and somewhat bumpy conditions for two year old legs.  I couldn't believe how well they did and how much fun we all had being part of this epic wedding.

The Girls

And this was par for the course with this road trip.  We stopped in Steamboat to break up the trip and see Aunt Mindy on the way to, and back from, Denver.  Ruby and Owen got to run the halls of Mindy's gorgeous school and see where she is a teacher (which Owen says he wants to be...like his aunt Mindy).  We caught up with Mikey Amato for dinner and Mindy's roommate and friend from MT whom we also adore, Colleen.  Ruby and Owen loved playing on the playground and goofing around at home with Mindy.

Notice the open mouth

Hmmm...wonder where that open mouth mannerism comes from. :)

Owen, checking out the best lines at the resort.

In Denver we stayed with Jayne, Steven, and their son, Julian, who is only about 6 months younger than Ruby and Owen.  OT and Ru LOVED "Julian's House".  When we were out they asked to go back and they were sad when we had to leave for home.  They often pick up a play phone these days and call their new buddy.  His toys, his house, his mom and dad and Grammy and Papa...they loved all of it.  And, we did too!  We made and ate pizzas, had some hang out time, a lunch with just the Eddy Girls, and an evening kid free to celebrate with Meegan thanks to Jayne's AMAZING parents who watched all the kids (first time for us with a babysitter other than Oma or Nana and Papa)!  It was awesome.  The only rough part of the whole trip was getting the kids to bed.  It was nearly impossible and will limit our travel for a little while, but that being our biggest problem, we thought we were in a pretty good spot.

Amy joined the crew on Friday!

Steven did a little photo shoot with Ruby and Owen- got some really cute ones- thanks!  And, I love this shot because it just shows my little Shlavena (rascal in German) of a boy. :)

And here we are- The Eddy St Girls- together again!  We have done about 5 reunions since our college graduation, have attended three of our weddings in perfect attendance, and have added four children to the family.  I love these three people and everything we have all become.  It is my honor to still be connected to them.

The Eddy St Girls have a little game we like to play with the wedding couple as part of our toast...and then we couldn't resist doing a shot on the ski since skiing was the theme of this wedding!

Ruby and Julian enjoying a book on the couch.  Awww

Yeah, you!  Don't even think about taking some of our snack!

Amy left her own baby (Abraham- 4 months old) and brought our babies gifts!  She really is a special one.  Anyway, the boys got superman shirts and Ruby got a very stylish shirt as well.  These new duds were so fun and photogenic.  However, getting three toddlers to all look at the camera at the same time is a feat we did not accomplish.  

Just two superguys about to head out on their next mission.

Thanks everyone for welcoming our circus into your homes!  We are no small presence these days.  We love you all!