Family outing to the ice skating rink.

Bob took Addison ice skating about a month ago just the two of them and she loved it and she was excited to go back today. This time Lucas and I joined them. Addison had a great time and was skating on her own just a little but had a lot of fun when we held both her hands and went fast. Lucas did ok considering he is not even 2 years old yet. He got on the ice a little but felt better when Bob or I was holding him. He also seemed more interested walking around on the carpet with his skates on and playing with the doors. I bet he will be a lot more interested next year. We might even put Addison in ice skating lessons next year if she is still interested.

Walking around and checking out his skates.

Addison was trying to be brave and not hold on to me.

A proud moment for Bob....his first trip ice skating with his boy (and hopefully future hockey player).

Our big girl.


Me and Lucas (he has a small addiction to his mommy).

We got SNOW!

It finally happened....we got some snow here in St. Louis. Maybe 2 other times this winter we got a dusting of snow, but nothing like this. It is funny because we might have 2 1/2 inches of snow and all the schools are closed! My friends in Chicago probably think that is nuts. But the schools have snow days and probably want to use them. Also, there are a lot more hills and winding roads here and we also have some ice mixed in with the snow.

(I had to come back and update this post....we are expected to have a total of 8 inches after tonight and of course the schools are all closed again tomorrow).

Here is a picture of our house with all the pretty snow.

Addison loved every single minute of playing outside in the snow.

Lucas on the other hand was not so sure. Half the time he wanted to be outside and the other half he wanted to come back inside. I tried to give him a break in the chair and it didn't help matters.

But when he was having fun, he liked it very much. Too bad the snow was not good for building a snowman....that would have been fun.

All bundled up and ready to FINALLY go and play in the snow.

Bob's Ski trip to Breckenridge, Colorado

For the first time since this blog was created, Lisa's wonderful husband (that's me!) is going to make a post. This past weekend, to Lisa's jealous displeasure, I had the privilege of traveling to Breckenridge, Colorado for a dual bachelor ski party. My good friend Kurt got married in Seoul, Korea this past September and was not able to have a bachelor party. Another good friend of mine, Steve is getting married this May. Kurt and Steve are the best of friends, so it only made sense to combine their once in a lifetime experiences. They wanted to do something out of the ordinary so they decided to go skiing. I had never been skiing before, but it was something that I always wanted to try. So, the weekend before the party I hit the hills at a local ski resort and loved every minute of it. I luckily caught on quick and mastered the local hills. We flew into Denver, CO on Friday and drove directly to Keystone for some night skiing. Most people thought I was crazy for having night skiing in Colorado be my 2nd time skiing. I probably was crazy, but I was not going to go to Colorado and not experience everything to it fullest extent. It was dark, cold and windy in Keystone, but it was absolutely amazing. I skied my ass off until 8:30 p.m. when they stopped running the lifts. That was probably not a good idea. For those that have never been to locations with a higher altitude, there is this thing called altitude sickness and it sucks. After skiing Friday night, I was so light-headed and dizzy that I had someone else drive to Breckenridge where we were staying and then I passed out at 10:00 p.m. Luckily I woke up Saturday feeling much better and did not suffer those symptoms again. We spent all day Saturday skiing Breckenridge, CO. I spent the entire day skiing the intermediate and advanced intermediate trails. After skiing I then spent the next couple of hours in a hut tub puffing on stogies and drinking beer. It was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, I was not able to go skiing on Sunday and had to wake up and drive back to the Denver airport. That ended my ski trip. I think I am now addicted to skiing and welcome any and all invitations to go. If Steve and Kurt are reading this, Thanks for planning an awesome bachelor party.

Me, Dan, Scott and Jason near the top of the lift for Peak 8.



Me getting ready to ski down one of the advanced intermediate trails.

Me riding up one of the Peak 8 lifts.

The beginning of the day on Saturday.

One of the trails on Peak 8.

The restaurant in the middle of Peak 8.

The outside of the amazing house at which we stayed.

The game room in the house.

The kitchen looking into the dining room and the great room.

The kitchen.

Kitchen again.

The great room. The stone fireplace went all the way up to the second story vaulted ceiling and there were discussions about climbing the fireplace. Luckily the discussions did not turn to actions.

Happy new year!

Happy new year everyone. We are now settled down from Christmas and getting back into a normal routine. We still have not gotten any snow this winter here in St. Louis other than a little dusting many weeks ago. The kids are getting anxious for some snow and hopefully it will happen.

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Lucas and Addison playing fishing!

On new years eve we went over to Bob's parents house for some food and cards. We spent the night as usual and we had a great night. I was going to let the kids stay up a little late but they were ready for bed at their normal time of 8pm and I didn't complain too much.

Bob and Lucas...Lucas looks so old in this picture.

Addison and her cousin Molly.



Me and Bob after the kids went to bed.

The kids have been enjoying their new toys from Christmas. Here is Lucas playing with his tools.

Addison was showing Lucas his new puzzle from Aunt Rina.

Here is Addison on her first day of gymnastics class last week. She loved it. Hopefully it will turn out to be more "her" than ballet ended up being. She did really well, loved her teacher and was a good listener...so that is a great start.