Spring Break Continued

Before it got cold and snowed at the end of my week in Kansas, we had a little really nice weather. Last May when Kevin and I were both back we were working a little with Hailie and Seth on riding their bikes without training wheels. Back then they were getting there, but a little unsteady. This time they couldn't be stopped! We enjoyed the sunny day and rode around the block a few times. Lance Armstrong better watch out!!!!


Before the cold front came in and dropped snow on us, we did manage to get a little playground time in.

Ignore the 'No Climbing' sign on the step of the train. We did. (Hopefully that doesn't make me a bad aunt)
It got really cold really fast while we were out there and we had to run to the car when the wind picked up. We did stop for a crazy picture though. This is Seth's favorite face to make right now.
After the park we went to the Y with Dad to do a little swimming. That day, Seth just wasn't ready to put his face in the water. Since then (less than 2 weeks ago), he has mastered the art in the bathtub and is ready to show off his new skill at the pool tomorrow. So much happens so fast!

That night was a Copp family dinner. We were celebrating my cousin Levi's 20th B-day, cousin Chris' 31st, and Aunt Sandy's 60th (even though she couldn't be there). Happy Birthday everyone!

I didn't get to talk to everyone as much as I would have liked....but there is just never enough time on any of our trips home. It was still a wonderful evening though despite the sleet that began to fall.
Next, I headed over to the Kent house to celebrate Patti's 49th B-day. I was lucky enough to get to see Kevin's Mom and Dad as well as all of his brother's and Serena. We had lots of laughs playing Guesstures and although brief...it was a wonderful visit. Except the part when Dallas peed on the floor. (That's a dog in case you were wondering)
Just the girls!! I'm very excited to officially welcome Serena to the family this June when she and Thomas get married.
The plan for Saturday was for Lindsey (roommate in college) and I to drive to Emporia to meet up with Kara (another church friend). Because of the snow, however, we didn't know if it would be a good idea to be on the road. I was very sad to miss out on seeing Kara, but Lindsey and I were able to get together and catch up over a cup of coffee.

I've said it before, but I just love it when you can get together with someone that you haven't seen in a long time and just catch up like no time has passed at all. We had the best visit and it reminded me of how lucky I was to live with Lindsey throughout my time at Washburn.
Later that day with chili going in the crockpot, we were getting geared up for the K-State game against BYU. I needed a new KSU shirt, so the kids and I set out on a mission for new clothes. This simple mission turned into a mini shopping spree and somehow both kids ended up with new clothes and shoes and even a hat for Hailie. I just can't help myself when it comes to those two!
Before the game we enjoyed our chili and cornbread and tried to get a few family shots taken.
Hailie was in the middle of an "I'm not going to smile for you" stretch (which apparently I did on more than one occasion as a child), but I think we still got a few good shots. We were very happy when K-State won to make it to the Sweet 16! Go Wildcats!!!
Here is the hat Hailie got while out. That girl just loves her clothes and is very stylish for an 8 year old (at least I think so). There was actually an entire series of these pics with different expressions and the hat turned differently. Adorable.

I had such a fantastic week back home and I didn't want it to end. There is never quite enough time to do all the things you want to do and to just sit and relax and enjoy being with family. Kevin and I will both be back in June for Thomas and Serena's wedding and that is only 2 months away. It is already April though so it will be here before we know it.

Spring Break in Kansas

It has taken me FOREVER to try and get to this post. I've had the photos loaded on my computer since I got back, but I just haven't taken the time to post them. Better late then never I suppose.

I was lucky enough to get time off of work that matched up with spring break back in Kansas. It was nice because Hailie and Seth were out of school, my mom was off, and my dad was able to take a couple days off from work too.

I bought the kid's new games for their DSI's, and this is what things were like right afterward. I couldn't even get them to look up from the games to smile for a picture.

I did, however, explain to them that their brains would go to mush if they played too much, so I was able to peel them away.

I wanted to do a project with my mom while I was home, but we didn't want to do anything too big since even a week can manage to fly by in the blink of an eye. We tacked Seth's closet. Mom went through things to get rid of and I painted. It's been the plan to do this since the new carpet went in the bedroom...but everyone knows how hard it is to find time. We got rid of a lot of stuff and now it is going to be much easier to organize. I actually love to paint, but I don't ever get to do it here since we are renting. I managed to talk my mom into starting to paint the basement office. She tried to talk me out of it, but I insisted. We weren't able to finish, but there is a definite plan in the works.

Here we are cleaned up from all of our hard work.
One great thing about this trip, was that I was able to catch up with old friends. I hadn't seen Laura in almost 2 years. It was wonderful catching up and reminiscing about our college days. It is hard to believe it has been nearly 4 years. We had dinner and spent hours chatting like no time had passed at all. It was fantastic.
For St. Patrick's day Mom and I decided to take Hailie and Seth to the parade downtown. It was really cold out so we had to really bundle up to stay warm. This picture cracks me up since Seth has no teeth and his hat is way too big.
Those dang horses in the background were making me nervous. One got spooked by a band and was standing with it's back legs just a little too close for comfort. They finally took them away from the crowd and let them calm down a bit.

Overall, the parade was just okay. There wasn't a lot of energy (probably because it was so cold) and there wasn't much candy. Those who did give out candy weren't very good at throwing it around and we were definitely ready to go. We headed to the library for awhile to wait out traffic. We stocked up on kid's books and learned about sea urchins from the fish tank.
By the time we left the library, it was warm and sunny. Gotta love that Kansas weather.

Later in the week I met up with Heather and her daughter Avery at the zoo. It wasn't long enough (never is), but I loved every second of it.
Avery has changed so much since I saw her last May. It is still hard to believe that Heather is a mommy and that Avery is a year old already.

I have my pictures up for the rest of my trip, so I will do my best to get the typing part done tomorrow. Then I can post my K-State cookies that I made last week for the Xavier game. More to come soon!!!!

Weekend Getaway in Napa

To celebrate our 4 year anniversary we decided to head up to Napa to stay at a B&B and do a little wine tasting. We had to drive in the pouring rain through the maze in Oakland which is not an experience I'd like to repeat anytime soon, but after making it out of there alive we were able to start relaxing.

We stayed at this beautiful place called Churchill Manor. It is a gorgeous mansion built in 1889 and was within walking distance to downtown Napa. We walked there the first night for dinner and just enjoyed walking around.

Here is the view from the front porch of the mansion.
We made sure to take an umbrella with us on Saturday in case it started raining again.
Our first winery stop was Sterling up in Castiloga (the northern most region of the Valley). We'd never been quite that far north before and we were excited to try out this winery.
We had to take a tram to get to where Sterling is actually located. It made for a gorgeous view both on the way up and at the top. Everything was so green from all the rain. We've only ever been up in the summer so it was a nice change from all the brown.
On the tram.
After grabbing some sandwiches from a deli, our next stop was not far from Sterling. We could actually see Castello de Amorosa from the top at Sterling. This castle was impressive to say the least. It was under construction for 14 years and has only been open for the last 2 or so. They imported stones from Spain and tried to make it as authentic as possible.

We didn't go on the guided tour so we missed out on the torture chamber (Kevin was bummed), but we were able to wander around the main level on our own.

Kevin making gun sounds out the window of the watch tower and getting strange looks from people down below.

4 years....doesn't time fly!
The scenery was amazing!

After leaving the castle we had to stop and get a picture with the grape vines and the landscape.

The next day we stopped at Rutherford Hill Winery to go on the cave tour before heading back home. We had such a wonderful time. We've been so busy that it is nice to get away just the two of us with no t.v., computers, etc to distract us. We were able to catch up on sleep and we left very relaxed. Maybe we'll go camping for our next getaway since the weather is starting to get nicer.

Phoenix!!

February was such a crazy month and I know I'm really behind on posts. Between working, fun stuff going on, and the Olympics I feel like I haven't really had a minute to breathe. It's been worth it though. Kevin and I are watching the USA vs Canada gold medal hockey game. We already know the outcome so I'm using this time to try and catch up a little bit.

A couple of weekends ago I made my way down to Phoenix to visit Amy and Dustin. I needed some quality girl time with Amy and it was Dustin's B-day weekend so we had something to celebrate while I was there.

I flew in on a Thursday night after I got off work and we didn't waste too much time the next day before getting busy. We headed to Camelback Mountain for a hike in the nice weather. It was a really steep 1.5 mile hike up and although I'm not in the best shape of my life the hike felt really good. It was a beautiful day and I loved the view.

Amy got ahead to take a picture to try and show how steep it is. This isn't the steepest part but still a fun photo.

We stopped about halfway up to take a few pictures. So beautiful out!
A view from the top. Ignore some of the smog on the right side of the photo.
That night we met up with Dustin to go out dancing to celebrate his birthday. We met at his loft all dressed up and ready to dance. It was wonderful being with my favorite high school buddies once again. I'm so grateful to still be close with them even after all these years. (10 next year....I can't believe it)
After a fun night out we met up to watch the KU basketball game. I know what you are thinking....KU? I was outnumber 2 to 1 and at least they were rooting for Kansas and not Arizona or some other state! Unfortunately the game wasn't being televised (at least in AZ) so we just spent the afternoon hanging out and catching up.
I brought the rain with me and it was raining . It's funny that out of the 350ish sunny days a year I show up for two of the rainy days. Oh well....at least we got a rainbow!

Amy and I spent the rest of the weekend shopping, hanging out, and I got to meet her boyfriend too. It was great to see her in person. We talk on the phone but it is never the same as some good old face to face chatting.
Kevin and I are headed down to Phoenix together in June for my B-day and I can't wait!

Superbowl!

Kevin and I made it back from the ski trip just in time to watch the Superbowl. We headed over to Sarah and Jonathan's place and only missed the kickoff.

As many of you may know...I love themes. Therefore I was extremely impressed with Sarah's cake. Extremely creative and fun! The football is actually a fondat covered football shaped rice krispie treat. When you cut into the cake there were horseshoes. (Jonathan is from Indianapolis).

I just had to include a picture because it was incredible.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you how awesome the game was. Jonathan looked a little stressed at some points, but he handled the loss well. After the Superbowl we watched 'Undercover Boss' and played Mario for the Wii. It was a fun end to a fun weekend!

Another Boxer Lab Ski Trip

Last weekend we headed to Tahoe for another Boxer Lab Ski Trip. We got in late Friday night and were excited to check out the slopes on Saturday. The weather has been excellent for skiing and we were ready. Luckily the roads weren't too bad and we didn't have to stop and put on chains.



It snowed pretty much the entire day Saturday which made for some beautiful scenery and made the skiing itself fantastic. I'd never skied in conditions like that and it was amazing. The copious amounts of snow did cause us to fall a little more (you'd run into huge unpacked piles sometimes and just fall down), but for this same reason the falls didn't hurt.



Lunch time! We found a spot inside to warm up before heading to the backside of the mountain. Kevin and I had never been over there before. The back side of the mountain at Kirkwood is only blues and blacks and tends to be a little colder so it is a little less crowded. It was amazing going down some of those runs and having it be so quiet.



We stopped to take a couple of pictures. Getting the camera out is sort of an ordeal. You have to take your gloves off, find the camera in the numerous pockets of your jacket, take the picture, then put the camera away and try and get your gloves back on. All while it is snowing, cold, and you are less mobile because of the skis on your feet. We managed to take a few though before I gave up.
I just wanted you to have a view. There is hardly anybody around and it is amazingly white! Gorgeous!
Me, Kevin, and Bettina heading up on one of our last runs of the day.
Minsub recreated his famous Korean dinner with the help of KB and Bon Jun. Once again it was delicious. The problem with 20 people in one dining room is finding enough seating. We managed to get everyone around, but it was a cozy fit.
It was Luke's birthday so Laura made cheesecake to celebrate!
We played 'Wolfen' again this year and had a wonderful time. No one could worry about work, or having to leave to go home. We just hung out and laughed and really enjoyed ourselves. On Sunday people headed back at various times. Kevin and I were originally planning on skiing again that day, but we decided to stick around the house to make sure everything that needed to be done before leaving was done. (The house was in our name since Kevin organized the trip). This allowed us to get back in time for the Superbowl so I was pleased about that. We do have to go skiing again this season though since we already have vouchers for lift tickets....darn!

Storage Unit

In the back of our apartment complex we have a storage unit above a second parking spot. While a handy spot for big items we don't use very often, it is always a pain getting in and out of the unit for anything. You pretty much had to take half the stuff out to get what you needed since everything was just piled on top.

Here are a few photos.
It's a mess. There is quite a bit of space in there and we knew there had to be a better way to organize items. We'd been talking about buying shelves forever, and we finally got to it.

After.

Not only is it more organized, but we fit more stuff inside and it is so much easier to get things out.
It didn't really take that long once we picked out the shelves, we just had to decide we were going to it and take care of it.