Snow!

On the last day of February, after Gabi's princess tea party birthday, it snowed here in Little Rock! We took the girls outside when the snow first started falling, just before dinner.


Gabi making tracks in the snow


Bella watching snow on the deck


"Bubbles!" Bella exclaimed


Bella loving the snow/bubbles


Catching snowflakes on her tongue


Daddy with his girls


Gabi wrote her name in the snow with her feet!


Mom and Bella


Flying baby
After dinner, I took the kids back outside to enjoy more snow before bed. Gabi was very excited, as more snow had accumulated and covered up our footprints. Bella, on the other hand, thought it was too dang cold.


No! It's too cold! Let me back inside!


Sisters talking through the window


Snow fun from our chosen side of the window


Gabi wanted a snowball


Playing in the snow


Gabi and I built a snowman


Gabi with our snowman

Snowboarding in Colorado
Last week, Michael and I took a vacation to Winter Park without the kids. Michael wanted to learn how to snowboard, so we took a morning lesson on the first day and then tore up the mountain practicing our new board skills. Michael loved to head almost straight down the mountain to gain speed. I preferred to traverse back and forth slowly across the slope. At lunch on day 2, I traded my boots in and discovered that snowboarding is significantly easier with boots that aren't a full size too big! Michael was still better than me on the board, though.


Michael ready to strap in


Riding the slopes


Success on the snowboard!
After two days on the slopes, we were both sore and decided to take a day off. Day two had been very icy, which made boarding more difficult and falling more painful. Our day off brought 10 inches of fresh powder, although apparently high winds on the mountain that day would have been almost as difficult to ski in as the previous day's ice. We definitely enjoyed a break, as snowboarding is a serious workout!


In the snow on our day off


Hanging out by the hotel lobby fire
Our hotel had free hot cocoa and hot tea and games in the lobby by the hotel restaurant. We also had games and books in our hotel room. With that plus an excursion into town, we had plenty to do without venturing onto the slopes. Our favorite way to relax was the hot tub, which we enjoyed on our day off in addition to using it every day after returning from the slopes.


In the hot tub in the snow


Opposite temperature extremes


Relaxed and warm from the hot tub


Brr! It's cold outside the hot tub!


Warming up by the fire in our hotel room
On our last day in Winter Park, we returned to the slopes. Our hotel had a short bridge to the slopes which merged with the last portion of the Corridor ski run. The fresh powder combined with our two days of experience on the boards made this the best day of the trip. We were finally able to ride down the greens without falling. Michael liked trying out some new slopes, although I preferred the familiar runs.


Michael on the bridge from our hotel to the slope


Where our hotel meets the Corridor run


Michael showing off
On the shuttle from the airport, we sat next to an ND alum who has a condo in Winter Park. He used his annual pass lift ticket to get us a great discount on our lift tickets, and then he invited us to dinner at his place on our last night in town. He and his daughter were great hosts. Overall, I think we got excellent prices on everything; due to the slow economy, sales abound.


The view from Bill's condo


Our hotel room


The view from our hotel room


In the snow once more before we left