Smuggler's

We took the girls skiing again this weekend.  We rented a condo at Smuggler's Notch for 3 nights.  It was amazing.  The place was beautiful and they had so many amenities for the kids.  They swam in the outdoor heated pool which they thought was super cool.  They had a huge indoor rec center with mini golf, bouncy slides, arcades, etc.  They had an indoor splash area as well as ice skating, tubing and sledding.  So much for them to do we didn't get to do it all.  We spent from 9am-4pm skiing on Friday.  We stopped for 45 minute lunch and back at it.  They LOVED it and were bombing down the hill like pros.  They were both skiing through the woods on these paths with jumps.  It was crazy, Cory and I honestly had a hard time keeping up with them.  We put the girls in 2 hr ski lessons so the adults could ski alone.  Those 2 hours went by way too quickly!!  We only went for half a day on Saturday as they were tired.   The conditions were perfect.   Charlotte rode on the chairlift with her friend Kate.  I thought Cory was going to have a heart attack.  But they were great and so grown up.  We can't wait to go back next year.  It is the best family spot we have come across yet!

Snow was awesome!

 The adults having some fun!

Enjoying some hot chocolate with Mogul Mouse!

 Charlotte & Emma having a sauna..

 First run of the day on Sat, gorgeous!

 Kate & Charlotte on the chairlift solo

 Catherine yelling "cmon let's get skiing!"

 The ladies hot tubbing

 Of course they find the babies...

Lovebirds

another skate date

Skate Date

We took the girls skating a few Sundays ago.  Charlotte got right back at it, no problem.  This was Catherine's 2nd time on the ice.  She didn't do well at all.  Cory and I pretty much held her hands the entire time.  She just couldn't get the hang of it.  Fast forward to this past Sunday.  Her boyfriend Tommy and sister Kelly met us there.  We got there first.  Catherine did slightly better than last time.  Tommy shows up and I am not even kidding, she took off with her crate and they just skated together.  It was unreal.  She was flying around the ice with him.  And Charlotte was like a teenager with her friend Sarah skating around.  Cory and I were not needed :(
Oh and a side note (I went upstairs to get changed before skate and I find Catherine upstairs in my bathroom putting make up on.")  We are in such trouble.

*and some other random pictures!

 Following big sis around

 Tommy & Catherine

Charlotte & Sarah

 

Vacation Fun

We just got back from our ski trip to Stowe.  It was awesome.  I cannot get over how great the girls are skiing in such a short time.  Charlotte is like a pro and Catherine is flying down the hill, no fear.  It's awesome!   All the kids got along great and just had a blast hanging out together.  Great vacation!

Sleigh Ride!

 

 

 

Jake and the Never Land Pirates Birthday bash!

Charlotte had her birthday party on Saturday with her friends.  I begged her to do it at a place, but she insisted on having it at the house with a Jake theme.  She doesn't like cake so we made a big chocolate chip cookie and a heart m-n-m cookie.  We had Mr. Twister come to put on a magic show and make balloon animals. He was a huge hit with the kids.
They had so much fun!

 

 

 

We had a valentine's dance that evening with all of their friends from St. Peter's.

 

 

Charlotte is 6!

Dear Charlotte,

Charlotte, when you were born, you changed our world in the BEST possible way.  Everyday is better because you are in it.  You are smart, beautiful, happy and so kind.  You amaze me everyday with your kindness and love for Catherine.  You are so good to her and take such good care of her.  You always give into her so she doesn't put up a fuss.  You are the best of friends and rarely fight.  You are good to your friends and really genuinely care about their feelings.  The teachers tell me at school you always make sure everyone has a snack and that no one is left out.  I hope you always stay as kind and sweet as your are. 

At the same time, you have become super sensitive.  It is actually making me a little nervous.  If I raise my voice the slightest, you get scared.  If my tone with Catherine is different than my tone with you, you say I love Catherine more.  If I tell you no about something, you say "you don't listen to my words".  We are trying to work on this.  I am trying to work with you, not to be so sensitive about every little thing.  I have spoken to your teachers at school.  They are actually very proud of you, telling me you are really taking a stand for yourself and working on not getting so upset if your picture doesn't come out exactly the way you wanted it, or if you just can't sound out the word, or if another child says something mean, you don't immediately cry about it.  I want you to be confident, happy and sensitive, but there has to be a balance.  I am hoping we can work with you to get there.  I know we can. 

These days you are still dancing, and swimming. You are skiing fabulously and loving it. We are going skiing as a family over February vacation, and you are so excited! You still love school so much, everything about it, you are just about reading and you are so proud of yourself.  You love Math especially.  You still love your arts and crafts, drawing and coloring.  You love to do the computer, we have math games and reading on it and you beg to use it.  We have to limit you to just the weekends, and you rarely give us a hard time about it during the week.  Unlike your sister who begs to use it every night!

You have made lots of new friends, Alana, Sarah, Orla, Shailegh.  You absolutely love having me teach at the school.  When we walk down the hall, I hear kids whisper "that's Charlotte's mom" and you have a huge grin on your face.  You still have your bestie's you hang out with, you call them the crew "Catherine,Maeve, Liam, Kate, Emma, Gabby, Rosie, Desi, and Luke."

You still love to have us lay with you and snuggle at night.  Some nights I just want to get downstairs to get what I need to get done, but I know I need to treasure these nights, as they won't last much longer.  It's so special having that alone time with just you. I love listening to you tell me about your day and what you did. 

You prefer cozy clothes over dresses.  Whenever you wear a dress, you always put leggings on under it.  You still love to play baby with your friends and you are still the mommy. You love to play school too.

Charlotte, I adore you with all of my heart.  You make each day better with your smile, laughter and love.  Happy, Happy 6th year my love bug.  I love you to the moon and back.
xo mommy

still "BESTIE'S" 4 1/2 years later