Hank turns 4!!!!!

HANK!!! 

My baby!!! 

You are my snuggie bug! 

Every night, you'll ask me to 'snuggie', and how could I refuse? 

You are the most affectionate of our children, which I cherish. 

You are always good for a kiss, hug, and when talking, you'll sit right down beside me,

and put your arm around me. 

Your favorite things right now are firemen, helicopters and puppies. 

If your not imagine playing one of these, you can be found on the counter, sitting right where I cook. Watching. Helping. And testing. 

You LOVE to sit on the counter. 

Your best friend is Steven, which you are a stinker around. 

Your favorite song is the missionary song, and you sing the 'fish song' amazingly well. 

You are a wizard on your green bike, and never get in trouble, because you make us laugh before we can scold. 

You are most always happy, and if you have become upset, it won't take more then 20 sec to see a smile or hear a giggle from you. 

You love to wear Hawaiian shirts and eat mush for breakfast. 

You are a spot of sunshine on this earth. 

We love you beyond words, boosh-boosh, and were thrilled to celebrate YOU. 

What else, a puppy cake!!  (last years was a fire truck) 

This cake was patterned after his most cherished toy. The puppy. 

very pleased with the results, and the kids loved watching the process of him coming to life! 

Sporting the foxy mask, #2!! 

And on display here, his new Hawaiian shirt and shorts (thank you G and G Sanders!)

AND fireman gear, which he wore for 5 straight days (thank you thoughtful dada)! 

 Hank, happy 4th birthday !

You complete our family! 

We love you!! 

The kids have started this crazy song and dance thing, where they put these on there ears and run around the house chanting 'ear parents' 

(That all started because Hank asked if ear muffs were called 'ear parents'? How could I tell him no?!) 

Is that the cutest note ever? I love you tonso?!?! Thank you darling Lucy!

And yes, the leprechauns did come, in a different fashion this year. 

In the form of a scavenger hunt, which lead to the pot of GOLD and treasure (lucky charms! yum!) 

Charlie, slurping up corned beef and cabbage (an irish tradition I was raised on) 

and L with C reading the first clue from the Leprechauns. 

Just getting ready for one more day of school. Oh my kindergartner!!! 

My kids are allowed either a friends party, or location party. 

Without hesitation, Hank chose Chucke-Cheese!! 

We went all out! Pizza, salad, drinks, AND tokens! 

As usual, Charlie won the most tickets (how could he not, look at that form!) 

, and Lucy and Hank just enjoyed the rides. 

        Our drawings as of late. Charlie's on the left, and Lucy, a project she had done at school.

Above, while staging a home, I happened upon this beautiful site of melted snow,

 in the shape of a heart. How cheery!! 

And Charlie's family photo. I'm the far right, and boy does it look like I've had quite the feast! 

Our most recent trip to the children's museum. 

Dinner with friends, and, Charlie about to kick my bootie at a game of battleship! 

This picture breaks my heart. Hank is holding the hand of Soren, who is just over 1. 

Since when did my sweet baby boy grow so big, and become a toddler?!?! 

(And yes, he wears these boots 98% of the time) 

I think I should make a calendar of the outfits we all wear to the bus stop. 

Why not? Shorts, with boots, with a fireman outfit? 

Why NOT?!?!

Happy day, until we meet again! 

SNOW SHOEING!!!!

So....Jeff has this co-worker that had hiked up to some hut, near Aspen. 

Some how, we got the crazy idea that this would be an amazing trip....

so we went! 

We left our kids with babysitter to get them off to school, then farmed them off to neighbors/friends for the afternoon, and THEN for the night, and next day. 

Our great friends were kind enough to take them. 

We left at 5am to drive up near Aspen, where our journey began.

Its a 'pack in-pack out' hut. So, we loaded up our packs, and headed onward and upward. 

At first, in making our initial climb, the hills were small, manageable, with relatively flat breaks in between. 

We came to a trail head, which turns out was the last of our steady but achievable climb. 

The total miles we hiked, in snow, with snow shoes, was just over 8 miles. 

Total elevation gain was 3500 ft!! 

I would consider myself a hiker. I grew up with a mountain loving father, and grew up thinking the Uintah mountains were my back yard. 

So, hiking for me is comfortable. Enjoyable. Beautiful. 

Well, this was by far, the HARDEST, most exhausting, grueling, make you want to kill everyone hike!! 

The last 6 MILES were all up hill, and by up hill, I mean UP HILL!!! 

None of us, including the 5 robust men could believe the magnitude of this hike. 

Having said that, we had a deadline to beat.....darkness. 

So, we trudged on. 

Several of the group would stop to take breathers, which don't get me wrong were necessary, but, the more you stop, the more you don't want to go on, AND, your sweat becomes an ice bath. 

(This is the second of the 'trail heads'. Most the hikers from Aspen will trudge up to this point....and then turn around) 

for us, this was just the beginning to the ending.....) 

So, with Jeff by my side, when the group was making yet another stop, I turned to him and said

if I stop, I will literally have to sleep here for the night. I can't take a break. 

We trudged on. V.E.R.Y.  S.L.O.W.L.Y

The organizer of the trip, bless her heart, and once mentioned there were 4 'hills' 

I think what she failed to mention that the 3rd of those hills was nearly the entire hike....and, the last hill will lead you to the door of the hut.

(the view that I grew so tired of, come mile 8.1) 

Don't be fooled...this was one of 2 openings/clearings/ flat spots the trail offered. 

Just as I thought I could go no further, literally, up the last big hill, we had arrived!! 

I screamed as loud as I could (so the others could hear) and I could not believe my eyes!! 

We had hiked for 7 hrs straight (not even stopping to go pee) and we had arrived!!!!!! 

 And it was in that instant, with the sun gleaming over the outhouse, and the thought that I might just sit for the next 12 hours, that i reached my state of euphoria!! Every thought of quitting, turning around, ignoring Jeff for the next 12 years, sabotaging the organizer of the trip....those thoughts all fleeted!! We had arrived!!

Jeff and I waisted no time opening the lock, and making ourselves right at home

I was SHOCKED with seeing actual beds, an oven/stove, table with chairs, AND slippers!! For ALL!!

Right in that moment, the trip was worth it!! 

We settled down, and I don't think anyone budged for the next 3 hours. 

Dinner finally got made, but only after we warmed every inch of our bodies by the wood burning stove. 

We had the most incredible evening, filled with memories only those there could understand. 

as they say 'what happens at the Fritz Hut, stays at the Fritz Hut' 

(the out house!!! I mean, made with 4 walls, 2 of which were glass, from floor to ceiling. And, your out in the middle of nowhere, so, why not!) 

This will forever be such a cherished memory with friends, and spending that time with Jeff.
Partly the enjoyment comes from the fact that we worked so hard to get it!! Well deserved evening!

Our descent (this is right near the bottom, overlooking Aspen) 

was a quick and speedy one. Nearly 4 hours, and only stopping occasionally to 

pat ourselves on the back, in awe and amazement that just hours before, had hiked up the 

beast of a mountain, that we were so freely tumbling down. 

The motley crew, minus one couple. The weather was absolutely PERFECT!!!! We could not have had a funner/funnier group, nor asked for a better weather weekend.
All in all, would we do it again?? Well, yes and no. Yes, because its amazing. But, no, because this was a once in a life time trip, that simply could not have been any better!
Thanks all who made it possible, and made it the extraordinary weekend that it was!!