After all this snow, I am ready for some sunshine! When Spring break arrives we are definately heading south!

The “neighborhood” snow night was a hit! I never thought that something put together in such a short timeframe could have gone so well. The children all had a blast, and the adults all enjoyed the adult time. (With so many children all together they kept themselves entertained.) We have all decided that we will definitely do this at least once next year, if not more. I STILL have some cleaning to do, but it was well worth it. Guess its back to the ‘ol grindstone.

Yesterday was a blast! Everyone had a great time and we all slept like babies! Today is perfect for our plans. I have all the hot chocolate ready(I make my own, not out of the packets). The popcorn is ready to pop and I have blankets and plenty of wood for the fire. Although I am not completely positive that everyone will fit. Only an hour till we are ready to go for our sled ride. We are all meeting at the Roger’s home for a brunch with covered dishes, then going for fun in the snow, then finally ending here to get toasty warm. I am really excited, if all goes well this may become a yearly thing.

We are heading out to a nearby ski resort to “break-in” our new equipment. Jacob is feeling oh so very responsible. He won’t let anyone help him with his skis.The resort isn’t set up specifically for people with handicaps, but they seem to think since Cassidy has her own gear there shold be no problem. I am so excited to see everyone having fun. I know I can’t wait to try my new gear out either.

Wow! We had a blast riding in the sled! Cassidy felt like a princess with all the snow falling all around being pulled by those big powerful horses. It was like being in a fairy tale. We plan on doing it again this weekend. Only this time with a couple of other families and having a little hot chocolate and popcorn after. It will be a blast.

The children are in for a real treat this evening when they get home from school. Our neighbors down the road are going to bring their horses and sled over for a little jaunt! I am so excited. They are going to help us train our horses to pull a cart for this summer. This would make bringing things from the garden to the house much easier and faster. Not a big cart because our horses are not draft horses, but just a little cart that could carry the tools and the fruits of our labors. The kids will be so excited

I haven’t heard anything back from the Special Olympics in our area yet. Cassidy’s skis arrived yesterday , everyone’s else’s should arrive today. Needless to say we will be skiing this weekend. With so much snow, we may be able to ski till this summer. Ha,ha,ha.

I have been researching and researching and can not find anything for competitive skiing for the handicapped around here! I am amazed. I am going to get in touch Special Olympics and see if they have any information. Otherwise I may have to start a league of Cassidy’s Own.

Seems that Cassidy has started a trend, Jacob and Rachel want skis also. It was so sweet to hear Rachel saying “Ski mommy, ski!” So I am off to purchase more skies. I am going to purchase new skis for Kevin and myself as well.

Well, I have found the perfect ski equipment for Cassidy. This will grow with her and she will get much use out of it. She is so excited that she wants it to snow year round now! We will see. I still am looking for information on competitions. Take a look.

http://www.freedomfactory.org/images/img4.JPG

I mentioned in a past post that Cassidy loves to ski. It has now become her goal to compete. I am researching what I can on this and we are also looking into the purchase of her special ski equipment. Even if she never makes it to a competition, I am sure she will get a lot of use out of it. Off to do research and I will fill you in on what I find out.

The downside to snow days and school breaks is that EVERYONE gets out of the daily groove. It’s not a completely bad thing, until it’s time to get back on track. This morning was less than pleasant. No one wanted to get out of bed, or get dressed, or go to school. I am hopeful that by the time they get home, the children will be in better moods.

We had such a fun day! The children all got up very early and we took care of the horses. Then we spent the rest of the day playing in the snow. Sledding, snow ball fights, built a couple of snow people and an igloo. Needless to say we have had much hot chocolate and soup. Days like this make me love winter!

Matthew is now on his way back to school. He has grown so much in the time he has been away. Jacob cried and cried when Matthew started out the door. That did not happen the when he started school. I guess it’s just one of the ways that I see my oldest becoming a man. Not only was he much kinder to Jacob, he treated him with a kindness I had never seen. He was the one who discovered Jacob’s “runaway” attempt and spent several nights reading stories to Jacob. Must they all grow up? It pulls at my heart strings to know he doesn’t need me like my other children do. Although, I must say I am very proud of the way I raised him and I know that the fact that he doesn’t need me anymore is a really good thing.

This has been a most hectic week. Jacob “ran away” to live with the horses. He was gone 10 minutes before he realized that he would need more than a sweater out in the barn. LOL He said he wanted to live with the horses because they don’t have to go to school.
Rachel has discovered that the word “No” covers everything and has decided that she will use it all the time. Cassidy suffered her first heartbreak. The boy she has had a crush on likes her best friend. She does not yet realize that this may be the first not the last time this sort of thing will happen.
Matthew is getting ready to go back to college and that breaks my heart. I did not realize how very much I miss him. Once Jacob and Cassidy get home we are going to take the horses on a nice ride and enjoy the snow, then head inside for some hot chocolate before Matthew leaves this evening.

As promised, more about our AMAZING ski trip!!!

The trip out there was a bit slow – you wouldn’t think there would be that many people on the road at 7 AM. Rush hour just starts earlier and earlier these days, doesn’t it? I passed out juice boxes and granola bars since we didn’t have time to breakfast at home, but then Matthew talked me into stopping at the truck stop with the world-famous (or at least Colorado-famous) monster cinnamon rolls. So glad we did! The rolls were delicious! And about the size of dinner plates, too. I don’t even want to think about how many calories – let’s just say I should have hiked up the ski slopes instead of taking the lift, LOL!

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