on belay

with the cold weather we have been getting

we have been trying to find ways to keep the boys busy

we decided that going to the Y and playing basketball

would be a good thing for everyone

while we were there a few weeks ago

they opened up the rock climbing wall

for open climbing

we decided it might be fun to try

so we gave it a whirl

at first drew, alex, and stacey tried it out

THEN ...

they told stacey that he could learn to belay

and if he learned,

he could belay for any of us anytime the wall was open

SO ...

drew was a perfect and very brave guinea pig ;)

stacey figured it out in no time

and when we went back a week later

ben got brave enough to climb

and he even went all the way to the top and rang the bell!

stacey got a little more adventurous

and showed the girl next to him

a thing or two about how it's done ;)

although i would rather it was 80 degrees and sunny

i'm glad that we've at least found something to do

on our rare 'nights off'

first class

have i mentioned how nice it has gotten
traveling with our kids ...

sasquatch attack

one of the waterslides at the grand lodge is known as sasquatch



you shoot 84 feet down a tube and then end up in a bowl
where you circle around
and then shoot down another tube to the exit

i've gone on it before
and i went on it several times when we first got there

i rode with stacey, alex, drew, and ben

 

 

even  my 72 year old step dad went on it!

 

 

 

 

THEN ...
bekah says
'i haven't been on a waterslide in YEARS!'
so we thought we'd be funny
 and go down together in our matching suits
which we bought separately this summer WITHOUT knowing we would match

the ride started just fine

we weren't even holding on!

THEN ...
we started to turn

that's happened to me before
so at the time all it really meant was that we'd be exiting the slide backwards

UNTIL ....
we hit the ledge
and instead of sending us around the bowl again
the power of the water tipped us OVER the ledge
and OUT of the tube!
bekah slammed her face into the slide,
i ended up trapped under the flow of the water
long enough that it freaked me out a bit
and
what's funny is that i remember thinking
'oh no ... i am going to be going down without a tube ... is that ok?!'
i'm such a rule follower ;)

LUCKY FOR YOU ...
stacey the faithful photographer
kept shooting pictures
and
i have the entire event in pictures



you're welcome.

besides the pictures
all we ended up with was a bruise on bekah's cheek
and a really good story

i went back on the slide a few times afterwards
and each time i felt like i came really close to flipping again
so i decided to stick to the tube slides, the lazy river and holding babies for the rest of the afternoon

bekah decided it was naptime and took the boys home for the day ;)
i have a feeling it may be another few years before she goes on a waterslide

christmas at grandpa's

on saturday we were able to spend the night
celebrating christmas at my dad's house

we took a lot more pictures ...
and i'll let them do the talking

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

thanks dad and sharon!

2 under 2

because i'm not there anymore
and
 being around little ones makes me think back to when i was ...

i couldn't help but giggle when i looked through
this progression of pictures i took of my sister and her family ...

a glimpse back at what life is like with 2 under 2
and how 'fun' it can be to try to do something as simple as get a picture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i love you owen and joe ...
and you too, bekah and ryan ;)

a break from the weather

on our 2nd day in WI
my mom planned for us to go to an indoor waterpark in town



it was a perfect mini getaway for the boys -
a great way for them to burn off energy
and pretend it wasn't cold and snowy outside ...
for at least a short while ;)

i'll let the pictures tell about our day ...
and watch for a follow up post
about some of the unexpected 'fun' we had ;)