If Home Is Where Your Heart Is. . . .

So this week, I had nine kids (and 5 adults) in my home and it was wonderful chaos!  The Piersons left this morning and we are all so thankful that they came to spend their Spring Break with us! We started skiing together for Spring Break when Hays and Jackson were 8 or 9 and we take this picture every year of the oldest four.  Sometime I'll have to get out the past years' pictures and do a comparison!  These four will be forever friends, I hope!

We've had friends in all week and it has been so much fun.  I had big intentions of taking tons of photos, but I got plowed over by some Spring Breaker on the mountain and that ended my enthusiasm for picture taking!  Oh well. The Pierson Family has four kids who are all my kids' ages and we have a blast together.  They've been at the mountain every day and I've let various of my children skip school on different days to board with them.  The weather has been amazing! Last night was the highlight of the week for me.  We played Just Dance 4 on the Wii.  We had four remotes actively dancing, but it seemed like all nine kids were always dancing remotes or not.  It was a blast!  Everyone from ages five to 42 danced for three hours!  The kids spent time between on the floor laughing to sheer horror at their parents' dance skills (or lack thereof).  It was a super night!

Sunday may have been the most beautiful day on the mountain!  We had fresh powder and blue skies.  Amazing!

The past few days have been full of fun memories! On Thursday, Maggie competed in the Regional Science Fair.  Her project was called "Chill Out" and it was testing to see if cookies tasted better according to how long the dough was refrigerated after it was made and before the cookies were put into the oven.  The result was that cookies do taste better if you refrigerate the dough for at least 12 hours after making it.  Who knew?  It was a fun project and not the least bit scientific, but she got 3rd place!  I was excited for her!  I also go to meet her BF, Drew.  He was awkward and embarrassed, but he handled meeting "Maggie's Mom" very well.  Poor guy. On Saturday, Andy took Hays and Dax to the mountain and the other three spent their time ice skating with Lesley and building an igloo.  The ice skating was so much fun!  The kids all came back talking about what rock stars they are on the ice and the igloo making was hys...

Today Andy and I went up to the mountain for a couple of hours with Tiki and Dax and Lesley.  Well, the boys were way too good for us, so we lost them in the lift line (seriously).  But the girls had a good run (I had to quit after one because my knee wasn't having it).  Gabby is getting so much better and it is so fun to watch Lesley be such a great and patient teacher.  I love my girl and I am so thankful for Gabby! (Meanwhile Hays was at work and Maggie was with friends.)

Andy finally made it home in the wee hours of Saturday morning.  It is so nice to have him home.  He's been gone so much this year and it is really starting to wear on all of us.  We just like being with him! So, yesterday morning we woke up bright and early and headed to the mountain!  It was the kids' last day of Snowburners and they were asked to dress up "crazy or fun."  So we did.  We were VERY mild and tame compared to others on the mountain, but they were adorable. It was the best day skiing this season.  Wow!  The weather was AMAZING!!!  Perfect Spring skiing weather (but if we don't get some snow soon, it is going to be an ice rink with dirt showing through super soon--all of our fantastic snow is melting). Lesley & Gabby BFF

Valentine's Dinner (fondue) was such a surprising hit with the kids that they begged me to have Fondue Friday every week.  (Actually they begged for Fondue Wednesday, but I convinced them that Fondue Friday had a better ring to it.  And I am secretly hoping that when it comes time for dating to begin, my kids will remember how wonderful Fondue Friday is and ask their dates to our house.  Wishful thinking!) We did a cheese course, skipped the main course and went straight into dessert (dark and white chocolate).  It was yummy!!! We also invited the Lake family over for our first ever Fondue Friday.  The Lakes are a fun family who just moved to Durango.  They, too, have five kids so they don't think we're all that strange.  Just Mommy Lake (Ashley) and her three oldest girls came over leaving Daddy home with the two babies since Andy was out of town.  Our two families had a blast together! Come join us for Fondue Friday any week!  I shou...