ski trip to Tahoe

We spent our Spring Break in Lake Tahoe at the brand-new Northstar Resort at Tahoe.  It was fantastic!  The resort was amazing ... and our home-away-from-home was right at the foot of the slopes.   The first 3 days we were there, it snowed day and night, so we had great powder.

Charlie and Amelia made us so proud!  It was Amelia's first time skiing, and she graduated from 2 days of ski school ... to Chuck skiing with her attached to a harness ... to going "all by herself" down the "real" mountain on the last day! 

Charlie was a stud!  We got him one private lesson, and by the final day of our trip he was tearing up the BLACK DIAMOND slopes!  

We spent a little time with our friends the Dundons, who have an amazing place out there.  Lots of Wii was played by the boys ... which led to our breaking down and purchasing one upon our return from Tahoe.  There was a minor market meltdown  during our trip that caused Chuck to have to work a couple of days we were there -- but otherwise, he was SuperDad on the slopes with the kids.  I just stood by and watched as he singlehandedly coached them to near-Olympic greatness.  

What a great family vacation -- and to come home to 85-degree weather, it was actually a treat to be around all that snow.  Who can argue with skiing, s'more making, skating, sledding, tubing, Wii-ing, eating hot Belgian waffles every day, bungee trampoline-ing, and general relaxed fun?  I think we would have stayed there forever -- if we hadn't missed Cooper so much!  (He didn't make the trip to CA with us this time.)

Our little trooper

Today, Amelia Grace had a small outpatient surgery.  We had expected the surgery, but when the Dr's schedule opened up this week, we jumped on the opportunity, just to get it out of the way.  

Mimi was so cute and sweet at the hospital.  She was very brave, loved riding on the "moving bed" and even remarked on the way home that she had 'a lot of fun!'  Coming home to flowers and "sussies" made this a pretty exciting day for her.  Of course, reality set in this evening when all of the drugs started to wear off!  But she is hanging in there.  

We are so proud of our precious daughter.  It is always a little nerve-racking when they have to put your small child completely under.   And we really felt the prayers of our friends today ... Thanks for praying!

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear ..." Psalm 46:1-3

Easter Blessings

1 Peter 2:24:  "He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we may die to sins and live for righteousness; By his wounds you have been healed."

This Easter, our family's prayer for you is that you will enjoy the life found only in Christ Jesus.

Amelia Grace enjoying our family Easter egg hunt at Uncle Mark and Aunt Peggy's house.

Happy #1, Cooper!

We can't believe that it has been a year since sweet little Cooper entered our world.  Kind of a cliche, but time really does fly...

We are so thankful for our precious, energetic guy.  Cooper,  we hope we can be parents that daily live up to the high calling our Lord gave us when He entrusted us with you!

As you can see from the photos, Cooper really enjoyed his cake.  (Then he promptly puked it all up on me when I was putting him to bed.)  All of the family was in from St. Louis and we were able to have our own little family gathering to celebrate Coop's big day.  

Big News!

(No, I'm not pregnant again ... which is what my family now expects to follow this lead-in!)

Charlie has his first loose tooth!

I know, probably not monumental news to you if you don't have a 6-year-old child.  But practically all of Charlie's friends have lost teeth by now (he can give you a running count of each individual friend, and which teeth they have lost, BTW).  Charlie has been PRAYING for one of his teeth to become loose for close to a year now.  He wiggles them incessantly, hoping that it will "loosen" them.  But no luck, until now.  

Now, I am just praying that said tooth STAYS in his mouth until Saturday afternoon, after the historic family portrait that is taking place. . . all of Chuck's family, including children and his mom, will be here for Easter and we are doing professional photos.  

(News and photos from our trip to Tahoe to come soon)

New Favorite

We are getting ready for the remodel of the house (plans are finally done!) -- and in my search for decorative pieces, I've made a new favorite:  Stacy Hyde.  Very California cool -- with French accents and Swedish antiques, mixed with a little bit of modern.  Found the coolest vintage Fortuny fabric pillows there for the antique chairs in our entry ... and a great marble-top table to put beside the settee in the foyer.

BTW, for those of you who are looking for decorating advice on a budget, check out my brother's new blog:  http://tytyman.blogspot.com.  

Two sad monkeys ...

I still can't figure out what is wrong with sweet little Coop ... either he is about to cut some new teeth or has a fever virus.   But little guy is not himself, as evidenced in the above photo.  He will crawl right over to his blankie on the floor and lay down on it.  So sad ...

Then,  Charlie and I spent a good portion of the day in the dentist office.  He had his first 2 fillings -- ugh!  They gave him laughing gas ... and if you know Charlie, you can just imagine what HE is like on laughing gas!  He hung in there pretty well, but was feeling a little rough this afternoon.  The medicine made him feel sick, and his mouth is aching.  At least we have it out of the way ...

Congrats WFU and Trav!

Way to go, Demon Deacs Golf Team!  

WFU won this weekend's tourney at the TPC Myrtle Beach (which Dad actually designed!). And little brother Travis carded a stellar score for the team and we are all so proud of him! Woo-hoo!

Check it out!

Diamonds on the soles of her shoes ...

The finished project ...

Charlie chillin' after his field trip to the Dallas World Aquarium ...

Coop is about to start walking!

Working on the posh footwear ...

My "sussie" from Miami for Mimi was a pair of dress-up shoes that you can adorn with fake jewels.  She loves anything that is over-the-top, or "posh," as she would put it.  We spent part of this afternoon working on this new project -- and you can see that they just turned out just fabulous.  

I'm so glad I was able to get away for the weekend with my friends from WFU ... but it was great to get home to Chuck and the kids, too.  Now we are getting ready for our trip to Tahoe on Thursday.  From the beach to the ski slopes ... should be fun.  

Update:  Shannon is back from Vietnam with her sweet Amelia in tow.  How wonderful!  Shannon, I hope you received the package, and I can't wait to talk to you in person and not via email!  She is just beautiful --  we might want to discuss arranging a marriage between her and Coop in about 25 years. . .

knocking ... knocking ... who is there?

Dancing at the Florida room ...

(Somehow, Kimmy got cut out of this picture.  Probably due to the intoxicated guy who took the photo ... p.s. Liza, we know you are pregnant, so you don't have to hide the belly behind Susan)

Anyone who was with me this weekend will immediately break into fits of laughter at the thought of Susan singing the "knocking" song in her strangely high-pitched voice.  

Lots of fun in Miami with my college pals this past weekend.  Somehow, we got caught up into what was remarkably reminiscent of a Sig Ep weekend formal.  BUT ... hanging out in a cabana, eating marvelous meals, and dancing at the Florida Room at the Delano (alongside Queen Latifah, no less) -- it was the best weekend formal that I've been on in a long time!  

And all this with a surprise appearance from MIA Liza, 7-1/2 months preggers ... well, we knew something was up with her, and now we know what!