New Feature!

I found a new feature on blogger called Reactions. At the bottom of the post you will see it and it is just a fun way to get your quick reaction. Of coarse I'd love personal comments, but this is a super easy way for you to give a reaction if you don't want to leave a comment. Give it a try, I hope you like it!

Minivan Mama!!

We have been thinking about buying a minivan sometime this year, but weren't in any hurry. Last weekend my parents were going to the auto show, so I decided to take the kids and join them. One of the dealerships let me know they had some really great deals on used '08 vans so Poy and I decided to check them out the next day.  That particular dealer didn't have what I was looking for, but after doing a lot of internet shopping we found what we were looking for.

We ended up with a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country in Dark Blue.  It has "Quad seating" which means the mid section of seats is two bucket seats instead of one bench. This was a must for me. I just really like the quad seating better than a bench.  It also has a DVD player which was a total plus.  It wasn't a must, but it was definitely on our wants list. The radio is touchscreen and you can also watch a DVD on it when the car is in Park or off.  It looks like a navigation system, but it doesn't actually have navigation.  It also has a camera for when the car is in reverse, so that pops up on the screen.  It also has the Stow-n-go seating, so you can put all the seats flat into the ground.  Even better though is that when the seats are upright you have tons of storage in the floor.  My car has always been so messy and now I can just throw coats, blankets, toys and whatever else into those bins.  

The other day I took my kids and Carter & Callie out to stay the night at Grandmas. This was our first outing with extra kids and they had a blast.  The girls were in the front carseats and the boys were in the back booster seats.  They watched a movie and giggled the whole way. 

Here are some pics.  Most are dealer pictures, then I have some from our ride with all 4 kids.

Sophie watching a DVD with her Minnie ears on :)

Nolan watching a movie

Cousins enjoying the ride. 

Big Boys in the back seat

Miss Callie

Brother/Sister

We are Skiers!!

At the end of January, Poy and I took the kids up to Mt. Hood to go skiing.  We had taken Nolan 2 years ago, but he hasn't been since then and Sophie had never been before.  Nolan did a great job right from the start.  He needed help the first day on the rope tow, but he figured it out on day 2 and was confidently going up and down on his own. 

We have a harness that is made for teaching children to ski.  With both my kids, when they used it, they tend to rely on me to hold them in the upright position instead of holding up their own bodies.  It was very difficult for me to hold Sophie up and attempt to teach her to ski on the first day.  Although it wasn't raining, it had rained earlier, so it was very wet the first day.   By the time we went home I wasn't even sure I wanted to go back for day 2.  We were soaked through multiple layers of clothing and I was sore and exhausted.

We stayed at a resort that had recently been remodeled and it was very nice.  It had separate units with about 20 rooms per unit.  We were the only family in our entire unit. It was really nice to not have to worry about if the kids were bothering anyone else around us. When we got to our room after skiing, we all needed a very hot shower.  I was amazed at how long Nolan stayed in.

On day 2 we decided to have the harness on Sophie, but not to use it the way it is intended. We only used the handle on the back so that we could easily lift her up, but she was on her own.  This worked out much better.  We pretty much pointed her skis down the hill and told her "bend your knees and lean forward". Away she went and she did awesome!! It was so exciting to watch her cruise on down the mountain with a big huge smile on her face.  I just kept saying to the kids "You are a skier!!"  It was so fun.  I can't wait to go back.

Here are our pics. I only had a couple from day one because I had my phone in my pants pocket and it got wet. Lots of photos of day 2 though.  Enjoy!

This was the end of day 1... we were all exhausted.  They were begging to just go back to the resort.

Sophie was eating snow... she just couldn't resist :)

After her first independent trip down the mountain at the very beginning of day 2.  

We were both so thrilled!

Nolan and Poy waiting at the rope tow.

Although he did great, there were still plenty of tumbles :)

Daddy and Soph on the rope tow.

Smiley girl!

A great photo of my family!

Skiing down the mountain!

Sophie at the bottom.  She did run into that net a time or two!

I believe Nolan was attempting to taste the snow.

Daddy and Sophie skiing.

Poy and Fifi

Me and the kiddos

Can you tell who was taking the pics?  More Daddy and Sophie.

Nolan on the rope tow.

I can't tell if he's waiting for the right time to grab on, or if he dropped it half way up.

Waiting for the rope tow.