Skates

Over 3 years ago, a little 8 month old Emily was given a pair of hand me down skates from one of my students.  We knew they would come in handy...someday!

And today was that day! At first, she was hesitant.  She said it was hard.  She went along for a ride, but I wasn't thinking that we would be on the ice for long.

But then she gained some confidence, and then she wanted me to watch from the bench!

When she got tired, Dad took her for a little spin.

And then she was ready to skate.  There were a few spills, but with a smile she would say, "Ow!" It was hard to get her to call it quits, just like skiing a few days ago.  But we had a great morning at the rink.  

Happy New Year!

The New Kid on the Slopes

While our days have been warm enough to ride bikes this week...

We took advantage of man made snow and a good friend (who was a ski instructor in her former life) and introduced Emily to skiing today.  Shay and Emily spent some time going over the basics first.

Before hitting the Magic Carpet at Dollar Mountain.

Next, Emily needed to master the pizza wedge and french fry!

There were a few tumbles... But there was always a GIGANTIC smile on her face!  (For the record, Shay fell on purpose to keep the giggles going). 

But then the Magic Carpet got a little chaotic crowded, so after a hot chocolate break, Shay and Emily were off to the chair lift to do a run on Quarter Dollar.

Shay predicted Emily would last 1 or 2 runs.  We told Emily the third run would be her last.  We told her the fourth run would really be her last.  While I went into the lodge to get her one last cup of cocoa, they snuck in a fifth and sixth run.  The only thing that truly stopped her was the fact the lifts closed at 4!

Emily had such a great time skiing today, you know it won't be the last time she's on the slopes!

Thanks Shay for the great day (and the cool pink goggles)!

Getting a Breath of Fresh Air

Thursday we went up to Sun Valley in order to get out of the house for a bit.  We watched ice skaters on the rink (something Emily can't wait to try!), watched the ducks and swans swim in the heated pond, and checked out the ice sculptures.

This morning we found ourselves back up in Ketchum to swim for a few hours at a very crowded YMCA pool.  We weren't the only ones in town that thought the pool sounded like fun!

Emily has been constantly changing from one princess to the next and getting some good use out of her new toys!  It's also nice to go without a schedule for a few days.  The weather has been fairly warm, and with no snow in sight, I'm not sure we'll get to try out those new snowshoes anytime soon.  There are plans to get her up on the ski hill in the next few days for the first time.  Thank goodness for man made snow!

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve was a quiet night spent at home.  We baked cookies for Santa, and Emily wanted to frost them all by herself.  Not forgetting the reindeer, she left 8 tiny carrots for them as well.

And a few nights before Dad and Emi created a gingerbread house.

This morning, of course, was all about the presents.  Santa left her a wardrobe set of 5 princess dresses and a gingerbread craft kit that she had asked for... but at one point she did start to wonder where the refrigerator was that she asked for!  There were 2 new dolls and doll furniture, some new puzzles, colors and a personalized bag, Calico Kitten toys, a hopscotch rug, and books.  There was a kit to make princess purses. In her stocking, she found music CDs and a Disney cruise ship documentary DVD.  There was money to go into her savings account, and snowshoes (so all we need is snow!).

She never did put on her Christmas dress, but she has managed to become all 5 princesses throughout the day. 

Our big dinner was last night, so we munched on leftovers throughout the day, and just enjoyed being together.  

 

Tis the Season In Sun Valley

On Sunday we went to the Winter Festival in Sun Valley.

First stop was Santa, which Emily observed was NOT the same Santa that was on the cruise. I told her Santa has been hard at work, and has probably changed a lot since we were all relaxing off the coast of the Bahamas.

 Rudolph was there, too.

There was also a train ride (Emily rode twice), a scavenger hunt where everyone was a winner, and Gingerbread cookie decorating.  

 We all decorated one, I'll let you guess which one belongs to each of us!

Countdown to Christmas

I think I haven't posted since the cruise because that's where I want to be - frozen in time.  (Speaking of the movie Frozen, we saw the premiere on the ship, but then Emily's preschool teacher took her last weekend because she wanted to see it... can you believe Emily sat through an ENTIRE movie???)

Anyway, we are slowly getting to the point where we are ready for Christmas.  Last weekend we went and bought a frozen tree... literally.  The waiting till it thawed was killing Emily!

 But we added her handprint to the treeskirt.  There wasn't much change between the second and third ones, but wow!  Big change this year from last.

 Luckily, Nadia's ornament for this year arrived in time for the tree decorating.

 And Emily's is the blue and silver Mickey ears we ordered way last March when we went to downtown Disney.  We couldn't quite agree on one, so we ended up with three.  The silver one in front is also Mickey shaped, engraved with Hughston, and the date is on the peppermint one.

Emily is really excited for Christmas this year.  She pushed getting the tree, getting it decorated, and tries to negotiate opening presents right now! every night.  She's sticking with the idea of getting a Gingerbread house and a princess dress from Santa (phew! I hear those two are covered by the big guy).

Deck the Deck!

Oops, forgot about this little Christmas celebration!

This one called for some audience participation... and it took no encouragement from us to get her to go up on stage.  Emily couldn't wait to join all her pals up on stage for some dancing, a conga line led by Mickey and Minnie, and a little hula-hoopin' with her pals, Krystan, Pluto and Goofy.

Back to Reality

Friday morning we were picked up by a limo to be taken to a hotel.  We spent the day in Miami, even participating in Black Friday shopping by entering a mall (but no room in the suitcase to make any purchases).  Saturday morning we were up at 4 to start a 19 hour journey home through JFK and Salt Lake airports.  We called it quits in Boise, spent the night there before driving home this morning, barely beating the snow!   The dog is happily back on the couch, the large laundry piles are being tackled, and Emily has pulled out every toy she owns to get reacquainted.

The Hughstons will set sail again in June.  ;)  Alaska, here we come!