Monster Jam!

We went to see the monster trucks at Lucas Oil stadium.  The boys always look forward to this night as we have taken them the past few years.  Ben especially is a huge Monster Jam fan.  His favorite is Grave Digger who just so happened to win that night!

We went this year with some of the boys from Nick's Boy Scout den which made it even more fun!

The Globetrotters

The Harlem Globe Trotters were in town on Martin Luther King day.  I haven't laughed that much since, ever, maybe!  The boys, too!

We all enjoyed a fun "game" (performance) and then afterwards the players stuck around for an autograph session.  

Go Pacers!

The Cub Scouts had a special family night at the Pacer's game on Friday night and afterwards the kids were invited down onto the court to shoot a free throw!  Such a fun night!

Snow Play

Ruby and Louise enjoy the snow just as much as Nick, Sam and Ben!

Bedtime

Eric and I check on the boys each night before we go to bed.  It's so comforting to see them all peacefully sleeping after a long day of hard play.  Usually they are all in their own beds but last night I came across this.  Ben snuggled in with Sam.  These boys are all growing up so quickly!  I cherish sweet moments like these.

Nativity

I went to take down our Christmas decorations the other day and came across this.  Apparently the shepherds and 3 kings were getting cold and wanted to come inside the barn with baby Jesus.  

The kids have their own nativity scene that they can play with, I ask them to only look at this one and not touch.  Guess that's a tough rule to follow some days!

2015

Happy New Year!

School is back in session after a fun ski trip to Utah during the winter break. 

The snow seems to have followed us back to Indiana!

The kids are waiting for the bus on a Wednesday morning.  Most mornings there is time for a little basketball, regardless of snow.  

We do live in Indiana!

More from Deer Valley

The first morning, getting ready to leave for ski school.

The boys had breakfast each morning at the counter.

We took a day off from skiing and went bowling and played in the arcade.

We also went to Monkey Mountain for some indoor play.  We discovered this place last year when our return trip to IN was delayed by 2 days due to snow and very cold temps in Indy.  The kids remembered how much fun they had and asked to go again this year.   It was just as much fun this year as last!

Our condo was very comfortable and included a pool table!

New Years Eve.  The kids stayed up until midnight, EST.  We played Monopoly, watched football. ate junk food and rang in the new year with party hats and very loud Horns and more horns!

Brother snuggles after a long day on the mountain.

We dined at the seafood buffet at the Snow Park Lodge on our final night.  Nick loved the seafood!  He was pealing shrimp and cracking crab legs like a pro!

Sam and Ben enjoyed the bread and fruit....it might be awhile before we take them to that again!

Deer Valley 2014

We took our annual ski trip to Deer Valley Utah over the New Years holiday.  

This is the 4th year for Nick and Sam to ski and Ben's 3rd.  We all look forward to hitting the slopes each year.  It's amazing how much the boys improve each year and just how fearless they are!  

Getting fit for boots and skis!

The boys went to ski school each day.  Nick's Adventure Club didn't start until 10 and the lifts opened at 9.  That gave us a chance to ski a few runs with Nick, which was a blast and nerve racking for this mom, all at the same time!  

Sit still!!  on the lift.

At the end of a long day of skiing.  We would pick the boys up at 3:45 at the base of the mountain.  They were exhausted each night and full of fun stories from their days.  

Sam and Ben were both in the Reindeer Club ski school.  We would drop them off in the morning about 8:30 inside the lodge and they would be out on the mountain by 9 for a full day of skiing.  

This gave Eric and I a full day of skiing together!

It's a thrill to see your own child on the mountain, under someoneelse's watchful eye, which is a very strange feeling!  But it allowed me to take pictures of them!

Nick in the lift line!

Nick, showing off his style and love for his Cardinals on game day!

On our final day and our final run, we ran into Sam. 

and Ben!  This was the first time we saw Ben out on the big mountain!  He made huge strides this year with his abilities!