On the Move

Doug took this video of Will skiing today. It's pretty impressive. There would have been more, but the battery on the camera died. For the past few weeks the weather has been in the 30s sometimes 40s. But we did get some new snow over the past few days and today was a great day to be on the hill. Sunny with no clouds. Quite perfect really. I'm planning to go skiing for the first time in two years next weekend. The boys have their last lesson that day and I want to see them in action.

I know, it's been weeks since my last posting, sorry. Everything is pretty normal around here. Everybody is busy with school and activities. I'll be signing up Will for T-ball this week and games will start mid-April. The whole family is looking forward to spring break, we're taking a trip to Palm Springs to visit and celebrate Easter with the Boscacci side of the family. I'm looking forward to the warm weather.

The LEGO Club

Add another Peppmeier to the "I Love LEGOs Club". Doug has discovered that Annemarie loves sitting in the LEGO box. Even though she's not quite ready to start building masterpieces she does enjoy holding the blocks and the sound they make when you move them around.

The "Club"

Annemarie in the LEGO box

More Crawling

I don't feel that the previous video of Annemarie crawling portrayed her ability accurately. This video is a bit more correct. She is turning into a speed-crawler. I'm constantly putting her at one end of the house and she seems to make it to the other end within seconds. I think I'm going to have to pull out the baby gates very soon.

Annemarie's First Tutu

Look at our pretty ballerina, isn't she cute? Marcie and Dennis bought Annemarie her first tutu for Christmas and she really likes all the tulle. Now if we could only get her to do a pirouette she'll be all set!

More Skiing

Who are these tough guys? I had Doug take the camera to the hill today and get some new pictures of the boys. Really they're not that tough - this was at the end of the day. I think they're a little worn out (just how I like them). As their skills improve we're able to see what the future may hold for us. We've always had this vision of heading up to the mountain as a family and skiing together. Now we just need to get Annemarie and I up there. Not that this is important, but I've decided I'm going to get Annemarie a pink helmet, that way it will be easier to tell she's a girl.

Will has really taken a liking to skiing. He is skiing and riding up the Magic Carpet on his own. This is a big deal because it shows how comfortable he is on skis. He is also stopping on his own and sometime skiing with his skis straight (fries) instead of a wedge (pizza). Also, his instructor has mentioned what a quick learner Will is, as you can imagine this makes Doug very proud.

Jack is doing well and getting better with each lesson. Here he is with his instructor. He's learning to put on his equipment and has been working on skiing on his own without holding on to his instructor. He also, really likes the hot chocolate and cookies that are available in the lodge if he wants to head in early.

Puffy Coat

Here are pictures of Annemarie in her first puffy coat, I'm sure the first of many. Opah got it for her for Christmas. It fits her perfectly and she really likes the cozy hood.

Crawling!

Just a little over nine months and Annemarie has started crawling. At times she still does the army crawl, but she's getting faster at moving across a room. She's especially fascinated with cords and outlets and of course any of the boys' toys. At her nine month check up Annemarie was 27 1/2 inches and 17 pounds 14 ounces. She's in the 50 percentile for both areas. She also has another tooth - on the top in the middle. That makes three teeth. Our little girl is getting so big! She's so much fun and has us laughing all the time!

In honor of American Idol being back on TV, here's a recent picture of our two little pop stars "Big Will" and "Jiggidy Jack".

The View from the Top

Doug took the camera with him when he went skiing today. It has been grey and dry in town the last few days but it was nice and sunny at the top of Big Mountain. All the pictures are views of Glacier Park.

Looking Kind of Scrappy...

...or scabby, you decide. On Monday during recess Will decided to go down the slide on his knees, as you can see it ended badly. He landed on his face and scraped it up on the ice. Of course when I asked if I could take a picture all he could muster up was this very sad look. Thankfully it didn't swell too much and it didn't turn black and blue. We've been putting Neosporin on it and it's healing nicely. I never would have guessed Will would be our "accident-prone" child, at this rate he may beat Doug in the number of hospital visits catagory.

In other Peppmeier news, both boys are back in school and so happy to be there. Both started ski lessons last week and are looking forward to their lessons this weekend. Annemarie is great, she turned 9 months on the 11th. She's crawling backwards and loves sitting (on her own) and playing with her toys. She's eating all kind of foods - mostly vegetables and fruits of the baby food variety. She loves tossing Cherrios off her tray and watching Gus eat them. After all the holiday activity we're settling back into our regular routine. Personally I'm overwelmed with the desire to purge items that aren't being used and orginze the house. The task feels so overwelming, but if I start small and work my way through all the rooms I should be able to get it done.

patty-cake

Will & Jack's First Ski of the Year

Watch out! Will and Jack made it to the mountain today. Doug and our friend Dan helped the boys get their ski legs - this was Jack's first time on skis. He did pretty well. No major accidents and only a few tears. Ski lessons for both boys start next weekend. Also, for anyone who's wondering we do have helmets for the boys, turns out they're just a little big - we'll be getting new ones this week and since they have identical gear (coats, bibs, skis, etc.) different colored helmets may be a good idea.

Jack on the ski lift
Dan and Will riding up the Magic Carpet

Jack on the Magic Carpet

Dan and Will taking a few turns.

Winter Wonderland

We put our visitors to work out here...here's a picture of my mom shoveling the driveway (her idea not ours). We got another 8 inches last night here in Whitefish, it's quite picturesque.

The Hill That Doug Built

Jack walking up the steps to the sweet sledding hill Doug has made in our yard. Doug says he's going to keep adding to it each time he shovels the driveway. At this rate the hill should be about 30 feet tall by the end of winter.

Jack, ready to go.
Doug and Jack going for a ride.

Snow Anyone?

Yesterday we got so much snow. In the morning Doug shoveled the driveway and cleared off the roof. Here's proof of all his hard work.

The human snow plow at it again.

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas Family and Friends!! We had a great day celebrating and playing. We were able to hold the boys off from opening gifts until 7a. Aunt Erin stayed overnight, so she was able to join in the fun. Stockings were opened first then presents. Wow, thank you all for all the wonderful gifts. The kids have been thoroughly enjoying everything they received. We made it to Christmas Mass around 10a. The kids were pretty good and Annemarie made friends with everyone around her. The picture above is after church. We took a family picture as well - but I think the one of the kids is so cute. Christmas afternoon the Larkin's hosted an open house with lots of yummy food and great company, it was lots of fun. Christmas night Doug and I ate leftovers from the night before and were in bed by 10p, we were exhausted!

Ahh, the joy of stockings. PEZ anyone??
Big green Hulk fists from Aunt Sara and Uncle Jason - each time you hit something they roar or say something funny like "the Hulk is mad!!". (Don't worry, Jack's not sad, he just didn't want to take another picture.)
Jack and Will with their new sleeping bags from Grandma and Grandpa, Annemarie got one too!Annemarie in her new hat (hand knitted by Aunt Erin) and me in my new vest.

Our small mountain of gift wrap and boxes - it's amazing how long it takes to wrap everything and how quickly little boys can unwrap it!

Our pretty tree, no longer overwhelmed with packages.

There's been all this talk about snow in Portland - just wanted to show everyone the almost buried lilac in the front yard.

The Night Before Christmas

Even though our out-of-town guests did not make it (Mom and Corey were stuck in Portland due to severe snow and ice conditions) Erin was able to help us celebrate. I made dinner for Christmas Eve (all my favorites), Shrimp Salad, Ham, Artichoke and Parmesan Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and Green Bean Casserole. However, I did make half and quarter sized portions since there were only three adults and two children.

Jack, Erin, Doug and Will all ready to dig in.
Annemarie after a mouthful of mashed potatoes - I think they may have had a little bit of mustard on them! Doug reading the Night Before Christmas - Jack and his new "crazy face"

Ready for Santa and for bed!

Will's Chirstmas Program

Last night's Christmas program was cancelled due to the amount of snow we had. But the show did go on. Every Friday morning the students attend Chapel, so the school rescheduled the program for this morning. The preschoolers preformed four songs (don't worry the video only includes one). Will did such a great job and I think he had a good time.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Brrrr, it has been cold. Last night while Doug was shoveling the driveway the boys went out and played. Here they are after 20 minutes outside. Of course they probably would have stayed out longer but were sent inside after Will hit Jack in the face with a snowball.

He Can Build

Last night Doug taught Will how to read LEGO instructions so he can build on his own. Look what he built all by himself! A car...

and helicopter!

This morning when I went to get the boys ready for school - both were already in the playroom playing. Will had the instruction book out and was building Jack a house. I cannot wait to see how it turns out. There's something so exciting about watching your children learn.