5 months and counting.....

Here I sit, 5 months and 5 days since my last post, trying to decide what all I want to catch you up on. So much has happened in that time: we celebrated Kellan's first birthday and Cason's third, Kellan is walking, Cason has grown 3-4 inches, Chris and I went to Vegas, our family went snow skiing, and on and on and on. You see my dilemma. So, I will take bits and pieces now and spread some of the others out into their very own post...which will not be 5 months from now. Promise.

Let's talk about our vacations in this post, shall we?

Chris accepted a new position as the higher education manager for the Chickasaw Nation in October and has had to travel some with his new opportunity. First, he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota. (He wasn't a fan.) Next, they asked him to go to Las Vegas for a training. Thankfully, he asked me to tag along. It took me about, oh...2 seconds to make up my mind. LOL We had so much fun, but wish he didn't have to spend the days in class. I took full advantage of that though and did absolutely NOTHING!!!! It was so nice and definitely an answered prayer with impeccable timing. About two weeks before we left, I was talking with my cousin Ashley and half-heartedly joked that her and her husband should join us in Vegas. Little did I know, they had both already asked off for the week we were going, and hadn't decided what they would be doing during that time. I couldn't believe the way that worked out. They joined us in Las Vegas on Wednesday (we were there from Monday-Friday) and we made the most of our evenings together with them.

In December, we went snow skiing at Copper Mountain, Colorado with my parents and sisters. We had so much fun!!! It was the boys first time to fly and they passed with "flying" colors. (Pun intended) We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon and hit the slopes Thursday. Mom stayed with the boys while we all zipped down the mountain. Friday, I stayed home with the kiddos and what a blessing. After a long day of Cason needing mama's arms, cuddles and attention, we realized he had altitude sickness. However, Friday was also the day we took him up on the mountain and rented skis. Of course, this was prior to diagnosing him with altitude sickness. I thought he was throwing a two-year-old temper tantrum, so, as you can imagine I felt about two inches tall later that evening. It wasn't until we were walking back to our condo after eating that night and feeling our son as a limp noodle that I realized he wasn't just being a toot. I thought he had fallen asleep as his head fell off my shoulder while carrying him. Though, he was awake, he had no energy. After getting back to the condo, mom looked up his symptoms and all fit nicely into the diagnosis of altitude sickness. No energy, no appetite (he had maybe eaten 5 bites that day) and headache. Thankfully, our spirited, fun-loving Cason woke up the next morning raring to go.

Chris was new to the slopes, and it had been 10+ years since my family had gone. After a ski school lesson and an afternoon with my dad, Chris picked it really well. He and Kortney were masters of the green slopes, while dad, Kelsey and I took turns on the green and blue runs. Saturday, the last day to ski, Chris and I were able to ski together and we took the tallest lift we could. Chris had already completed this run but said the view was remarkable and wanted me to see for myself. Boy was he right, the entire run was amazingly beautiful. I could look at those snow capped mountains all day.

Saturday, was also the day Critterland opened. It was an area designated for children that was just outside our condo. It was complete with a mini tubing hill, a tubing carousel, a tube built up in the snow, playhouse and slide. Needless to say, Cason was a huge fan. The tubing hill was, by far, his favorite. We were also blessed with nice weather that day; it was 25 degrees!!! Funny how that seemed warm. :-)

All in all, both vacations were a success. Next time, I would prefer for them to be more than 10 days apart. They were both much needed and very enjoyable. Can't wait to see what this year has in store for us.

Poor Kellan couldn't move!!! This is him riding in the tube.

I think he liked it, what do you think?

Cason and I riding the shuttle back to the condo. This is the day he was sick. :-(

Roaring like a lion!!!

My beautiful sisters...

...and parents.

Hubby and I on the mountain.

The gang!