Our Kid Goes Up To 11

Keystone Update 3 - Ski Day

What a day! I skied Keystone today and it was absolutely perfect. It was sunny and warm and not crowded at all. Here are some pictures that I took with my cell phone. The views might have been the best part.

This is a picture of the start of the one and only black diamond run that I went on. It was the last run of the day. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it or not. I am a very in control skier. I hate feeling like I'm out of control. So, I ski well but cautiously the whole time. However, there was a little piece of me that wanted to prove that this 30 year old mother could still ski the blacks like the 21 year old single girl that I used to be. So, I went down it. It was hard. But, I made it without falling (in fact, I didn't fall all day) and feel a small sense of accomplishment. The end.

Keystone Update 2 - Ice Capades

Today, Harper went ice skating for the first time. She did great! I was really impressed with her ability to balance on the skates.

I took this right after I got her all laced up. She really liked the skates and kept showing everyone her "new shoes".

I am not an expert skater and didn't want to take any chances while trying to balance myself and Harper. So... I wore these nice little slip on ice shoes instead of skates. They worked well.

Here, Harper is taking a break on some of the snow that they cleared off of the ice.

We had a great time today (and my talk went really well tonight by the way). Tomorrow we are headed to the slopes! Wish us luck!

Keystone Update 1

We've been in Keystone for about 2 days now and we're having a lot of fun already. Harper has weathered the altitude like a champ! Yesterday, we took a walk around the condo to get the lay of the land. Right outside our door is the largest maintained outdoor ice skating rink in North America. Harper loved watching the skaters. I think we're going to have to give it a try tomorrow.

She also liked looking at (and sitting on) the various ice sculptures that are scattered around the property.

But, her favorite thing so far has been making and throwing snowballs!

We've got a lot planned for the next few days. Stay tuned for more updates!

Happy Friday

Is it just me, or has this been a really long week? For me, this week has been extra busy because I have been trying to get things ready for a trip that Harper and I are taking to Colorado. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning. I'm speaking at a cardiovascular conference for work and she's coming with me to hang out and have fun. Some of our friends are also coming along to help me keep an eye on the kiddo. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. The conference is being held at a very nice ski resort (I know, I have a tough job), so I'm hoping to get some skiing in while I'm there. I also want to get Harper out on the slopes! I'll do my best to post pictures and videos while we're away. Until then, here's a video I took last weekend. It was the nicest day we've had all year - sunny and in the 60's! And then 2 days later, it snowed...

On Being Intentional

A couple things for today...

• I am finding out that the key to happiness in my life is being intentional. The more intentional I am about things, the more I get out of them (and the more they get out of me). I have to intentionally love my husband. I have to intentionally be kind and encouraging to the people I work with. I have to intentionally pack my gym bag and put it in the car in the morning before I go to work. I have to be intentional with how I parent Harper. Maybe this stuff comes second nature to you, but I have to work at it. Too often I float though my day or just try to hurry up and get it over with. But, that's such a waste of time. I want my time to count for more. So, I'm trying to be more intentional.
• I'm pretty sure she's going to be on American Idol some day. We got her this microphone for her birthday. I think she likes it. Don't mind the morning hair or the poor quality of the cell phone picture.

Birthday Party

Most of you know that Harper turned 2 on Saturday. We went all out for her first birthday party (as most parents do). But this year, we wanted to do something more low key. So we invited over a few close friends for dinner, presents, and cake. Here's how it went.