Skiing with the Cardons

Last January we had the opportunity to go with some friends to the Red River Resort for our first attempt at skiing. The cold and I don't get along too well but we bundled up and headed out for an adventure.

 

Getting ready for a day (or in some cases, an hour) of skiing.

 One afternoon the kids went tubing.

Staying warm and cozy in the room. They only came back to eat dinner. I think they had an apple for lunch. Emma loved it!

Aaron, Quincy, Abigail, Emma, and Addison.

 What goes up...

 ...must come down! Those girls were naturals. They went up and down the mountain until the sun went down.

 Good times!

 Nothing but the wind in her hair.

 

 He was a little marshmallow. At the time he was almost a year so he fell down quite frequently. He and I spent most of the time in our room except for when we ventured out to take pictures.

 This is how Jacob skied.

Proof that I was actually there.

Aaron's 8th birthday

 

 Aaron had a sports themed birthday party for 2012. He had a bunch of friends come over and they had relay races and obstacle courses. Pretty low maintenance but everyone had a lot of fun. Look at those muscles!

 One of our favorite neighbors down the street.

 Some of the boys just hanging around. They made labels for their sports drinks at the party.

We even had a concession stand. There was a lot of food but it's not in the picture. We had popcorn, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate covered oreos that looked like baseballs and lemonade. He had chocolate cupcakes that were shaped into a baseball mitt. It wasn't as cute as the one on pinterest but Aarons was sufficiently impressed. Fun times in Clovis, NM!

Aaron's first swim meet!

Today is a first...I am actually posting something on the same day that it happened! Miracle of miracles! In January, Aaron started swim lessons at the Y. He had the endurance to swim but he had to work on technique and learning the actual strokes. At the beginning of March he tried out for the swim team and made it. He was so excited!

 Hanging out in the gym after warming up. He wears his goggles all the time which is also why he loses them all the time. This morning before the meet we couldn't find them because he had been using them for X-ray vision yesterday.

Lining up for one of his heats. He participated in 2 relays and 4 individual events. I was a time keeper for the whole 4 1/2 hours of racing. My back and legs hurt and my tummy was rumbling but it was all worth it. Josh stayed home with the others and it was a good thing. That place got a little crazy. Next month it won't be a home meet so I won't have to be as involved.

 

Aaron was so excited and surprised that he won a heat (and no he wasn't the only one racing). It was for his 100m IM (I think that stands for independent medley). They did a length of the pool in four different strokes. I just snapped a quick picture in between events...thus the poor lighting. All in all it was a fun, but long, day.

Science Fair 2012

I am attempting to recap the last year with the highlights. In New Mexico, the students start doing Science Fair projects in 4th grade. Emma did hers on preserving apples. It was kind of fun and she did almost all the work.

We're alive!

The blog has been resurrected! After over a year of neglect, and due to numerous pleadings of my husband, I am once again attempting to document some of the happenings of the Martin household. We'll see how it goes!

Aaron turns 8!

Today Aaron turned 8 years old and he also got to have his baptism today. He was so excited! Josh and Aaron went to eat at IHOP this morning at 6:30. When they got home, we got everything ready and headed to the church. Aaron had asked Emma to speak and Josh's parents had come into town for the occasion. After the baptism, we had a few treats and visited with friends and then the family took off for Shoguns-a Japanese steakhouse where they grill in front of you. The kids always look forward to going! After eating, Grandfather took the older two kids to see Star Wars in 3D (a movie they'd been wanting to see) and we ended the day by eating cheesecake and playing with Aunt Cati's two (rather large) dogs. It was a great day!
Before the baptism...boy was he excited!

Aaron in March 2007. I thought of this picture today and just had to post it.

Before Aaron went shoesnowing in December. It's a fun hobby to have together. Aaron got some trekking poles for his birthday today. He can't wait to use them.

He is all boy. Sometimes I'm not sure where his ideas come from.

Abby's birthday present

This year for Abby's birthday (which was over a month ago) she asked if I would redo her room in zebra and pink. Her room had been needing a makeover anyways so I agreed. So the day of her birthday and the day before I banned her from her room and went into makeover mode. While she was at school, I drug all her furniture out and repainted it...needless to say I was an obsessed woman that day. I got the room done in time for a grand reveal on her birthday when she got home from dance. She waited (somewhat impatiently) to see it.

But when she opened her eyes, she was so excited and it was worth all the work I had put into it.

There's her dresser. I painted it black, spray painted the knobs, and modge-podged scrapbook paper onto the drawers.

Here's a bigger piture of the end result. She got new bedding, a rug, curtains, I repainted her desk (and found a pink stool to go with it) and dresser, and bookshelf, and redid her hairbow frame. It turned out pretty cute and she loved it!