Jacob turns 11!

I can't believe this sweet boy is 11!  We celebrated, as always, in the morning with gifts and cake then brought treats to his friends at school.  This year, we took a bunch of boys to the UT/OU Men's basketball game.  It was an incredible game with UT pulling out the win in the very end!  I love this class of boys -- always so kind to each other and they make an incredible little basketball team (undefeated this year!)

Jake, I hope you know how much joy you bring to our lives!  We love watching the amazing young man you are growing up to be and can't wait to see what you do in the future.  We LOVE YOU!

Maddie's new love - football

This year, I learned that everyday at recess, Maddie plays football with the boys.  While this did not surprise me in the least bit, I was surprised to hear that she was always picked as team captain and that she was always quarterback.  Say what?  Over the last few months, she's developed this love for flag football which she claims she "might like better than basketball".  SAY WHAT?!

We decided to sign her up for the i9 winter league since her St. Theresa friends had a team going already.  And guess what?  SHE LOVES IT.

Her love of all things sports will never cease to amaze me.  I just wish I had half of her athleticism.

Her football team is undefeated so far!  Check out our football player in action!

The Merriest Day of the Year!

This was the first year in a while that we weren't traveling on Christmas Day.  So, it was nice to be able to wake up (before the sun came up - as usual on Christmas Day) and not have to rush anywhere after the kids ripped through their presents.  It was a lazy, wonderful day and Santa spoiled every single one of them!

We didn't do the best job of documenting the day with pictures and videos but these memories will live forever in our hearts!

These first pictures are of Christmas Eve when we made and decorated cookies for Santa, then headed to Christmas Eve Mass.  When we got home, the kids each watched their video from Santa that tells them if they made the good list or bad list.  They always watch with pure fear across their faces!  Then true relief when he announces they were on the good list (they have yet to be on the bad list) ;)

The rest of the pictures are from Christmas morning. Dex still doesn't understand Christmas but when he came down the stairs, he quickly understood that there was a LOT of new toys to play with and he couldn't wait to open each and every one.  Jake and Maddie tore through everything in a matter of minutes and had all day to enjoy the excitement of the day.  There was definitely a theme going with Maddie -- everything Santa brought was Dallas Cowboys!  She loved it all.  And Jacob got his top 2 gifts this Christmas -- an Ollie and Nintendo Switch.

Now Santa can rest until next year :)

Keystone!

Maddie has been begging to go skiing again for a couple of years now.  We have not been since we left California and she has really missed seeing the snow.  I think Jacob could take it or leave it (ha).  Now that Dex is older and the kids had off a whole week before Christmas, we decided to go to Keystone in Colorado.

Let me say something about skiing with kids.  There is not a more PHYSICALLY INTENSE task in all the world.  ALL the world I tell you.  Just getting all the darn clothes on 3 kids to keep them warm is a 2,000 calorie burner.  Then you have to CARRY THEIR SKIS and BOOTS and POLES wherever they need to go because lord forbid they are able to carry them by themselves.  Just trekking through ice and snow to get to a ski lift is exhausting!  Before you even get to go down the mountain and actually SKI!

We know this.  And we do it anyway.  Technically we are the crazy ones.

While the trip overall was extremely challenging (all 3 kids were sick with altitude sickness the first couple of days), I think Jake and Maddie really enjoyed being out there again.  And even more impressive, they hadn't skied in 3 years and by the end of this short trip, they were tackling blue runs with ease.

I am so truly proud of their willingness to try new things and travel to new places.  Our condo was adorable and we stayed right in the center of this sweet little Keystone village.  Because it was the week before Christmas, it wasn't too crowded so the lift lines were short.  The snow could have been better but for our purposes, it was perfect.  We also lucked out with decent weather which can be a deal breaker on a ski trip!