I was excited for this day

We told Andrew that we were going to the top of the mountain on Thursday. I was excited since they could then get out and play in the snow some more and I'd be able to shoot some landscapes while they were at it.

The fates had other plans. Matthew screamed the entire way up the mountain. I don't know if his ears bothered him or what. He screamed the entire time we were on top of the mountain. At one point, Liz got out of the car while I was shooting and told me that the younger son was losing it and the older son had to pee immediately. She pulled Andrew out of the car and I came back to help him.

Common sense would dictate that when it is cold outside and you have to pee, you'd expose as little of your skin as possible. Not in the mind of a four-year-old. Here it is, about 20 degrees outside and he's standing there with his pants down to his ankles, peeing in the snow. "It's kind of like a sprinkler!" he chirps.

After all of that, I got back in the car. My total shooting time: 6 minutes. Current total editing time on these four shots: 25 minutes.





(c) 2009 Scott Everett

Daddy and Matthew, Mommy and Andrew

Matthew and I got to spend a day hanging out in the condo, just the two of us. Liz and Andrew took a cross-country ski lesson (Liz liked it, Andrew did not. He ate a lot of snow, though). I can't vouch for them, but we had a great time.

He takes his job as coffee table clearer quite seriously. I'm surprised that there was one book left on the table.



Matthew-two-teeth!

I wish Andrew was a little more engaged in this shot. I should know not to put the TV on when there is good light coming in the window.


(c) 2009 Scott Everett

We couldn't leave well enough alone.

Andrew liked sledding so much, we asked the guys at the ski shop where the best sledding hill was. They directed us to this hill just inside the San Juan National Forest. What a hill it was!






After 2 of these, he was done and wanted to go home. We stayed on the small hill from that point on.

(c) 2009 Scott Everett

Colorado #2

After we finally convinced Andrew to get in the snow, he took to it like a duck to really cold water.










And Matthew learned to teeth on the coffee table.


(c) 2009 Scott Everett

Bath in the big tub

The condo had a big jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom. Who wouldn't let the kids play in it?



(c) 2009 Scott Everett

Our first day in Colorado

We goofed around for a little while inside and then made our way into the frozen tundra.





Do you remember the scene in A Christmas Story when the little brother gets ready to go outside in the snow and can't move his arms? He falls down and can't get up. Yeah, that was funny, wasn't it?

The first day, Andrew was less than impressed with the snow. He wouldn't walk in it and was afraid when he sank into it. I got better the next day.




(c) 2009 Scott Everett

In the meantime....

here's a video of the boys playing in the dining room.



(c) 2009 Scott Everett

The trip to Colorado

You know, everyone jokes about the "Are we there yet?" inquiries while driving. You never realize exactly how true this is until you promise something to a young child that is at least a day off.

We told Andrew before we left that we were going to see snow and that we'd have to leave Texas to see it. At least every half-hour from the very start of our trip, he asked a question. On the first day he'd ask, "Are we still in Texas?" I promised him that we'd let him know as soon as we left the state. Always unsure if he missed it, he'd ask again not more than 30 minutes down the road, "Are we still in Texas?" Finally, on the second day of travel (I was beat from working so we stopped for the night in Wichita Falls), we left Texas with much fanfare. I announced the moment we crossed the state line into New Mexico and honked the horn.

Andrew announced that he liked Mexico. We told him that we were in New Mexico and he informed us that he liked both New and Old Mexico.

Once he got it through his head that we were no longer in Texas (that actually took a little while), he started asking if we were at snow with the same regularity.

"Are we at snow yet?"

"Do you see snow outside the window?"

"No."

"The we aren't at the snow, now, are we?"

This exchange occurred, in its entirety, roughly every 30 minutes. Mind you, for some odd reason that I'm sure would baffle geneticists everywhere, this child does not sleep in the car. When we're not driving, neither Liz nor I can stay awake for more than 10 minutes in a moving car. Andrew, on the other hand, will not sleep.

After getting lost around Santa Fe, NM (and getting a speeding ticket), we were finally on the last leg. We had to stop just outside of Santa Fe so that the boys could relieve themselves. It was a relatively sudden stop since Andrew told us that his tummy hurt he had to go so badly. He never mentioned it beforehand. After the bathroom break, he came back to the car and announced that his tummy no longer hurt, in fact, his tummy was excited to see snow.

We finally got there at about 9:30pm and only had time to check-in at the condo and put the boys to bed. Matthew slept almost the entire trip and was still asleep when we got there and Andrew was so tired from fighting sleep in the car that we were able to pour them both into bed that night.

What an exhausting drive, and I'm not just talking about the 14 hours on the road.

(I just now finished importing all 408 photos from the trip into my library. Some will be up tomorrow.)

(c) 2009 Scott Everett

School party

I'm working on our vacation pics. Until then, here are a few taken by Matthew's teacher during his birthday party at school.










(c) 2009 Scott Everett