Bunk Beds!

Doug converted the boys' twin beds into bunk beds this weekend. And he built the ladder Annemarie is standing on. The boys are thrilled with the new configuration but I think Doug is the most excited.

Night Skiing

Doug took the boys night skiing last Friday. Here's a picture of Jack getting ready for a run.

Big Jump

Doug thinks this is so funny. I'm not sure if I completely agree but it is entertaining. I promise there were no tears and no one was hurt.

Tuck and Go

Another ski video of the boys. They're so fast!

Skiing Big Mountain

Doug took a few videos of the boys skiing this weekend. They are so good and continue to get better and try new things each time they go up. Will is in the black helmet and Jack is in the white one. I plan to post a few more videos later this week. Enjoy!

Sunny Days

We've had a couple of really sunny days here in Whitefish. Is Spring in the air?? I just had to post this picture of Gus getting time in the sun. He loves to be anywhere warm.

And then, this is what happens when Doug goes looking for sunscreen. I have a seasonal box and on Saturday when Doug took the boys skiing he asked where the sunscreen was. He found it but he also found Annemarie's life jacket and sunglasses which she was thrilled to have on. She's so silly!

Basketball

Check out our little basketball player! This is Will's first year on a team. Doug is his coach and they have practice/games every Thursday. Last week was my first time watching Will (I'm usually at home with Jack and Annemarie) and it was so fun. As Doug says it's like "herding cats".

Warm up
Look at that shot!

Defense!

Let the Games Begin

We hosted an Olympic party on Sunday. It was so much fun and some of us even dressed up for the event. There was lots of food, drink and we watched the Men's USA Hockey team beat Canada. That was a lot of fun. Later after half the guests had left we even exchanged some Winter Olympic trivia.

Me in my Evan Lysacek/Vera Wang snake costume.
Annemarie the darling ice skater wearing Matthew's shoes.

The delicious cheese ball in the shape of the Canadian Maple Leaf, courtesy of the Peschels.

Stefanie as Julia Mancuso and Scott as Apollo Ohno.

The Speed Skating Team.

Matthew, Laura, Chelsea and Sima having some snacks.

Watching the hockey game.

Doug with his beer and Annemarie with her flag.

"Ski Family"

We jokingly refer to this group as the ski family. You know, the group that goes up skiing each weekend and looks like the perfect little family. Erin was telling me Doug gets all flustered when he introduces her to people who think she's his wife. Doug prefers the awkward, "umm, this is, umm, my wife's sister". I've suggested saying "this is my sister-in-law". Anyhow, they have a good thing going. And aren't they cute??

A Sweater - for Me!

Look what I knitted...a sweater for me. This is the first adult sized sweater I've completed (I have another one that's in pieces and needs to be finished). I'm so happy with how it turned out. It's really warm and is perfect for wearing around the house. For those of you who know knitting terms I used a 10 inch needle and about 13 balls of yarn. The majority of the sweater is in a moss or seed stitch (knit one, purl one) and has ribbing around the arms and edges. It doesn't have any buttons so it's just open in the front. It took two+ weeks to finish and I'm really happy with the end result.

Christmas in February

Sometimes Christmas arrives early, but in this case it arrived late! Thank you Uncle Steve for all the Christmas presents and birthday gift for Will. Because it's Steve and because we love him so much we feel we can give him a hard time about the late arrival. Sources tell us the gifts have been sitting on his kitchen table since before Christmas. After all, it's the thought that counts, right? And in this case the presents eventually made it to Whitefish. The boys were thrilled with the LEGOS and Annemarie loves her baby. Thanks again Uncle Steve!
Calling Steve to let him know the gifts had arrived and are about to be opened.

LEGOS!

Annemarie with her new baby.

Annemarie feeding the baby.

Winter Carnival

This past weekend was Winter Carnival here in Whitefish. Lots of activities and lots of people. On Saturday the boys and I went downtown to watch the parade. It's so fun and it feels like the whole town is there plus more. Once we arrived at the parade route (we parked a long ways away and had to walk a few blocks) I realized I had forgot my camera. And what a perfect picture opportunity! Thankfully Stef took pictures http://lifeolarkin.blogspot.com/2010/02/winter.html There's a picture of the boys and I at the end of the posting.

Will - Playing the Guitar

Will began guitar lessons in January. He's doing really well and is enjoying it. His teacher is absolutely thrilled with Will's progress the amount of practice he puts in each week (approx 15 minutes per day) and his overall eagerness to learn. This week along with learning some new chords Will is practicing using a pick which he's excited about since Grandpa plays with a pick.

Will playing "Spanish Theme"

Sledding

Here are some recent pictures of the boys sledding. The weather the last week has been warm, in the 40's. Most of our snow has melted and is a sloppy wet mess. Hopefully we'll get some colder weather soon and possibly some new snow?

Jack with his sled
Ready to go!

Will on the quarter pipe in the front yard.

Pink cheeks!

Doug's turn.

There he goes down the hill in our back yard.

The Little Reader

I love when Annemarie does this. She gets cozy with a blanket and a couple of books. Then she sits and looks through them for 5 sometimes 10 minutes. It always makes me smile to see her enjoying a book.

In other news, I downloaded my first book onto my Kindle. It's called The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I'm enjoying the book and loving my Kindle. Thanks again Doug for such a great gift!

Sleigh Ride

On New Year's Day we went for a horse-drawn sleigh ride at Gaynor's Ranch in Whitefish. It was really fun. It was snowing which made things a bit wet, but other than that it was nice to be out in the fresh air and taking in the pretty snowy day. Here we all are except you can't see Annemarie.

Annemarie

Dianne and Nathan, all smiles.

A small pack of dogs followed the sleigh everywhere we went. There were two HUGE St. Bernards and two other dogs.

Knights and Peppmeiers after our ride. We were treated to hot chocolate and warm cinnamon rolls, yum!

Another Perfect Snowman

Will and Evelyne with Doug's perfect snowman. Sure the kids helped but it's Doug that makes sure each snowball is perfectly round. The next morning the snowman was missing his head. It looked like someone knocked it off on purpose. After futher inspection Doug concluded it had been the deer. Their tracks were all around the snowman. We think the fake carrot from our snowman kit must have tempted them.

Visit from the Knights

Our friends Nathan, Dianne, Evelyne and Gilbert made it out to Whitefish for a winter vacation. They took the train from Portland and stayed with us from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2. We had such a great time. Last time they were here Gilbert was one. What a difference two years makes. The kids really enjoyed playing together. Will and Jack are still talking about how much they miss their friends.

We tried to keep our guests busy and act as if we were on vacation too. The boys had a great day of powder skiing, us girls made it to the spa, went out to lunch and got a little shopping in. The dads took Evelyne and Will skiing one afternoon (this was Evelyne's first attempt and she really liked it). We celebrated New Year's Eve and took a horse drawn sleigh ride on New Years Day. Knights, thank you so much for coming to visit us. We loved having you here. Please come back soon!

Dinner time! Gilbert (3), Will (6), Evelyne (5), Jack (4) Nathan entertaining ALL the kids.

Dianne and I took the kids to the bowling alley the day the boys skied. Next time we'll get two lanes so the kids don't have to wait as long between turns.
Annemarie trying to pick up a 10 pound ball, it matched her shirt. Annemarie also tried to run down one of the lanes. Thankfully I was able to catch her before she made it to the pins.

New Years Eve 2009

This is a little out of sequence but I wanted to post our pictures just the same. This year we celebrated at home. We had a few friends over including the out-of-towners, the Knights and John and Laura's friends Sonya and Erik. Only two pictures from the night and Doug and I are not in either of them! Just a well.
Gina and Baby Annalyse, Stef, Laura, Sonya and Dianne. The drink of the night champagne with a splash of pomegranate juice.

The boys playing an impromptu game of poker. John, Dan, Nathan, Doug (you can't see his face) and Erik.

Skiing on Big Mountain

While Chris and Mick were here we went up to the mountain one day so they could see the boys ski. Here are Doug and Erin giving Will and Jack a ride to the Magic Carpet.

A chilly Annemarie did not want to be held, she preferred running around in the snow. In another year or so she'll be learning to ski!

Jack ending his run with a little flair.