THE WILHELM ADVENTURES
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March 2019 POSTS

3/31/2019

 
SNOWMAGGEDON (MARCH 13)

BOYS HS SWIM MEET #1 . PC VS PALMER (MARCH 19)

ANDREW'S T-SHIRT QUILT PROJECT (MARCH 20)

ICELAND ADVENTURE . DAY 1 . REYKJAVIK (MARCH 26-27)

ICELAND ADVENTURE . DAY 2 . CABIN, GULFOSS WATERFALLS, GEYSERS (MARCH 28)

ICELAND ADVENTURE . DAY 3 . SILFRA FISSURE SNORKELING AT THINGVELLIR, ALMANNAGJA RAVINE WALK, OXARAFOSS WATERFALL, KERID CRATER (MARCH 29)

ICELAND ADVENTURE . DAY 4 . JOKULSARLON LAGOON AND ICE CAVES (MARCH 30)

ICELAND ADVENTURE . DAY 5 . SELJALANDSFOSS AND SKOGAFOSS WATERFALLS, REYNISFJARA BEACH (MARCH 31)
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ICELAND ADVENTURE . DAY 6 . BLUE LAGOON (APRIL 1)

SLICES OF LIFE

Iceland Adventure . Day 5 . Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss Waterfalls, Reynisfjara Beach

3/31/2019

 
There were just a few more things that we wanted to see before our trip was over.  Iceland is known not only for its amazing glaciers but also for its amazing waterfalls.  There were so many cool waterfalls to choose from but since this trip was all about exploring the southern island, we choose two that were the most conveniently located from the main highway...Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss.  The weather was kind of yucky today with overcast skies and intermittent rain but we didn't care because the days we really needed sun we had it. So we set off on another somewhat long drive but not as long as the day before.  It was about 1.5 hours to Seljalandsfoss Waterfall. This is a unique waterfall where you can take a path to walk behind the waterfall.  When we got there it had temporarily stopped raining which was good.  The closer we got to the waterfall the more we were grateful that we had on our rain-gear because the mist from the waterfall was pretty strong.  We braved the platform in front of the waterfall to get a family photo before stepping over the TRAIL CLOSED sign like all the other tourists to walk behind the waterfall.  It was SO WET.  At first I had my big camera out, constantly wiping the lens until I gave up, put it away, and just enjoyed the experience because let's face it...when do you ever get to walk behind a waterfall in Iceland??? I probably spent more time behind the waterfall than everyone else.  Madeline wasn't a huge fan of all the water mist in her face so she and Mike went ahead.  Peter and Emma stayed behind with me to grab some photos with the GoPro...what an ingenious camera that one is.  
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After this interesting experience I'm not sure the kids were really up for more waterfalls as we were all a bit cold but we got back in the car to warm up and eat snacks on our way to Skogafoss Waterfall. Skogafoss Waterfall is one of the largest and most elegant waterfalls in Iceland. Luckily, it is also one of the waterfalls that can be accessed even in the wintertime. This waterfall is situated along the Skoga River at the cliffs of the former coastline. It was fun to walk along the snowy, and sometimes slippery, path along the river to get to the base of the waterfall.  The kids had just as much fun skipping rocks in the river as they did enjoying the beauty of the waterfall.  We could've spent more time there as well but the weather was kind of rainy and cold so we only stayed for about an hour.  The trail you can take to get a view from the top was closed and dangerous this time of year so we stayed at the base of the waterfall to enjoy its beauty.  ​
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After two waterfalls and feeling rather wet, we decide to make only one more stop at Reynisfjara Beach.  This world famous black sand beach is found just beside the town of Vik. It is known for its towering basalt stacks and wicked strong waves.  No one plays in the water there as there are signs everywhere warning of sudden strong waves that will sweep you away. ​They are called sneaker-waves, and they can appear when least expected, even on incredibly still days. There are no significant landmasses in between Antarctica and the shores of Reynisfjara, meaning waves have thousands of kilometers to build. It is advised to never turn your back on the waves, and keep a safe distance of at least 30 meters (98 feet). Aside from these sudden and dramatic shifts in the tide, the rip currents offshore are infamous for their strength and ability to drag helpless people out into the freezing cold open ocean. A number of fatal accidents have occurred at Reynisfjara, the last of which occurred in January 2017.  Needless to say, we did not get close to the water AT ALL.  We did, however, enjoy the sea stacks and a quick walk along the beach before heading back to the car after it started to rain again.  By this point we were kind of done for the day so we packed up in the car and headed back to our cabin for our last night before heading back home to Colorado.
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Iceland Adventure . Day 4 . Jokulsarlon Lagoon and Ice Caves

3/30/2019

 
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Today started out with lots of excitement for our adventure across the southern part of Iceland all the way over to Jokulsarlon Lagoon and the Ice Caves, bordering Vatnajokull National Park.  However, after only 20 minutes on our journey we realized that the heater wasn't working.  After all the mess of getting a working van the day before it turned out that this van also had similar problems.  We stopped at the nearest gas station to fill the radiator fluid compartment with a little bit of water.  Hoping that would be a temporary solution we continued on our journey since we had a reservation for the Ice Caves at 1:00pm.  However, that did not solve the problem, so we stopped again at another gas station and got radiator fluid this time.  Well, that seemed to do it.  It seemed that the radiator compartment had a small crack and was leaking fluid.  As long as we continued to top it off we would be ok.  So that is what we did the remainder of the day.  The rest of the drive, with heat, was a pretty great drive.  Most everything was still covered in snow.  Both the mountains on one side and the land heading out to sea on the other side were just breathtaking. We really lucked out with the weather again today as it was sunny and not too windy.  

We made it to the lagoon an hour before our tour so we ate lunch and then headed down to the water's edge to see the spectacular icebergs that had broken off from the nearby Breidamerkurjokull Glacier (part of the larger Vatnajokull Glacier) floating in the lagoon.  It was quite a site to behold and nothing like any of us had ever seen.  The Jokulsarlon Lagoon flows through a short waterway into the Atlantic Ocean, leaving chunks of ice on a black sand beach.  We stayed in the lagoon area and had fun exploring.  As we walked closer to the Glacier we saw a wedding couple getting photographed.  Brrrr but also so very cool.  Time flew by so fast that hour and before we knew it the big kids and I were grabbing our crampons and heading into the giant glacier truck to head onto the glacier for our ice caving tour.  It was really sweet of Mike to stay behind with Madeline during our tour.  
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It was about a 30 minute drive through extremely off road terrain before making it onto the glacier.  It felt like we were driving on Mars.  Our tour guide and driver was hilarious and reminded us of the guy from the boat in the movie "Secret Life of Walter Mitty."  His demeanor was super chill but he also took the time to tell us cool facts about what we were seeing along the way.  Once on the glacier we made our first stop at an above ground ice cave.  We all got out, climbed up a small hill with the help of ropes, and explored in and around the sheets of ice left over from an above ground crevasse. The kids LOVED this part of the tour.  We could have played there for hours.  I gave Andrew the GoPro and let him go off and explore at the top to get a great video of the panoramic view we saw.  Then it was back in the truck for one more stop before the caves.  Since there wasn't too much wind on the glacier today we got to do a small glacier hike down to another open crevasse.  The walk along the various glacier sections was SO COOL.  It reminded me of hiking Mt. Rainier.  We had to be careful to follow our tour guide exactly so we wouldn't fall through any weak sections of the glacier.  It wasn't surprising to me that my kids were the first ones right behind the guide.  I love that my kids are so adventurous.  It is the one thing that gives life so much flavor.  I hope they never lose their love for adventure.  After walking for about 15-20 minutes on the glacier we came to a roped section and had to take turns heading downhill to the bottom where we were able to walk right up to an above ground open crevasse.  The crevasse was roped off inside so you could only go in so far to see the amazing blue colors reflecting off the sheets of ice.  It was spectacular.  We didn't spend too long here, only long enough for everyone to have a turn peeking into the crevasse before heading back to the truck.  Our last stop was at the actual ice cave open to the public through this tour.  It was a wet trek through the cave and it was fairly dark so we took advantage of the lights on our helmets.  There were only a few sections where you could see the spectacular blue sheets of ice by looking up.  The amazing blue color can only be seen when the layer between the ice and the sky isn't so thick.  I had researched how to take pictures of the ice but it was way more difficult than I had expected.  Trying to set up a tripod in a river of flowing water and trying to take a photo when everyone didn't have their lights on was almost impossible.  I took only a few photos down a small cavern before heading back to the group.  The main area of the cave was much better for photo taking.  All the pictures I had seen online had clearly been on photography only tours on the eastern side of the Island in caves that were much larger than this one.  Someday I will go on one of those tours.  Still, we were in awe of the sheets of ice that permeated most of the cave.  It's a good thing it was a pretty short cave because after walking in the frozen water, even with our good waterproof boots, we were all getting a bit cold.  We climbed out of the cave and were back in the truck heading back to the lagoon.  By the time we got back we were starving and were super happy that Mike had fish and chips waiting for us to eat. You would have thought we hadn't eaten in days the way we stuffed our faces.  ​
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Before making our long 4 1/2 hour drive back to the cabin we drove across the street and parked near the sandy beach to see the icebergs that had washed up on the black sandy beach. This is where Mike and Madeline had spent some of the time while the rest of us were exploring on the glacier.  Lucky for us the sun was out, glistening on each iceberg that rested on the shore. It truly was amazing to see. The kids loved racing against the waves by running out and touching various icebergs before the waves came back in.  It was fun watching them try to pick up the smaller icebergs and move them to different parts of the beach.  We spent about an hour just playing and being mesmerized as the afternoon sun just warmed us to our core before heading back to our cabin.  The drive home was fairly uneventful, thank goodness, and we only ran into a snowstorm the last 45 minutes of our drive.  The last 20 minutes of driving on the country road leading to our cabin was a bit treacherous but we made it safely back to our home away from home.
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Iceland Adventure . Day 3 . Silfra Fissure Snorkeling at Thingvellir, Almannagja Ravine Walk, Oxararfoss Waterfall, Kerid Crater

3/29/2019

 
We were up by 7:00am to get ready for our first day in the Golden Circle.  Mike went out and tested the car, which started with a little love and prayer. We left it running while everyone ate breakfast, got ready, and headed out for the Silfra fissure. The sky was clear when we left, but in typical Iceland fashion, it started to snow like crazy as we got near Thingvellir National Park. As we got closer to the park, we could see the giant lake and it was really pretty. We got to the parking lot and walked over to the snorkeling adventure where Mike and the boys got suited up for an exciting swim down the Silfra fissure.  In the 45 minutes it took to get everyone in their group all ready to go it was blizzard, sunny and nice, and back to snow and blizzard by the time the girls and I headed back to the car to wait for the boys to finish up with their excursion.  After getting the girls warmed up in the car, I headed back over to the snorkeling area to see if I could see the boys floating between the tectonic plates. They weren't at the beginning so I walked along the beautiful trail down to the end and waited where I eventually saw them finish their incredible journey along the Silfra fissure.  I was surprised when I didn't see Peter come out of the water.  The poor kid had gotten sick at the beginning and ended up not being able to go.  We think his suit had gotten too tight around his neck.  Oh well.  There was definitely more to see in Iceland so all was not lost.  
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After gathering everyone back at the van, we decided to head up the snowy trail to go on the Almannagja Ravine Walk.  After scrambling up the somewhat slippery trail we finally made it to the walk that led us up in between the North American and European plates.  We walked around up on top, looked at the beautiful view of Thingvellir National Park, took a picture next to the Iceland flag, and headed back down the trail. When we got back to our car, the rental car company was already there with someone to swap our van for another one. Hopefully this van wouldn't give us too many problems. We hopped into the new van, which was essentially the same van, and headed to see the Oxararfoss Waterfall. This was one of the coolest waterfalls we have ever seen.  It was such a fascinating waterfall with tons of rock boulders at the bottom.  The kids had fun enjoying its beauty and playing in the little nook they found near the waterfall. Mike had written Iceland in the snow and we took pictures of the kids next to it.  As we were leaving we noticed that all the other tourists did the same.  It was kind of funny what we started.  
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By this point, everyone was getting tired and the sun shining in on our car made most of fall asleep.  However, we had one more stop on the way back to the cabin.  Only a short 5 minute from our drive we were able to see the Kerid Crater.  It took a little convincing to get everyone to join. We all walked around the upper part of the crater and then everyone except Andrew took the little walk down to the bottom of the crater. It was all frozen over and covered with snow but it was still neat to see it.  Madeline was such a great little hiker. She didn't skip a beat and we all had to walk fast to keep up with her.  Most people that passed her commented on how cute she is.  It's true...she does get a lot of attention from strangers. 

Back at the cabin, we all enjoyed eating, relaxing, and sitting in the hot tub.  In fact, it was kind of a complete day as we got to see the Northern Lights while sitting in the hot tub.  It came and went quickly and it was kind of faint, but we did see it.  It wasn't bright enough to photograph but it was clear enough to tell what it was. It was really cool!
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Iceland Adventure . Day 2 . Cabin, Gulfoss Waterfalls, Geysers

3/28/2019

 
Due to the high winds, the whale watching tour was cancelled, so we had the morning to relax. We got up around 8:30am….having slept about 10 hours, and meandered downstairs to the hotel restaurant where we had a big buffet breakfast.  It reminded us of the buffet we had at the Hilton in London…so delicious….so expensive, but in the end free thanks to the beauty of the Gold Membership. After stuffing ourselves with good food, we loaded up the van and headed to Costco to get food for our trip. After ogling at all the stuff, we grabbed essentials like bread, milk, and of course 50 American Pancakes.  We then headed next door to the Bonus store and grabbed the rest of the stuff we needed. The Bonus store was quite something with its pink pig mascot, yellow bags, and big refrigerator section with European meats and cheeses.  
 
After getting our food, we got gas (which is cheaper at Costco) and then headed out in the wilderness of Iceland. And when I say wilderness, I mean the great frozen tundra. The wind and snow was ridiculous and visibility was minimal at best. Mike followed the Volkswagen in front of him and tried to keep in between the yellow signs on the side of the road.  It was the most insane driving ever.  Then suddenly, the sky would clear up and it would be sunny, and then back into the blizzard.
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Finally, after about 1 hour of white knuckle driving, we made it to our rental house. Unfortunately, the rental house was down a snowy lane and the driveway was gravel with about 6 inches of snow….and our van was front-wheel drive, with tiny wheels and super top heavy.  Mike instantly proceeded to get it stuck in the snow and dig it into the gravel. Fortunately, the boys were able to dig the van free and then push the van back up and out of the snow. By some miracle, they got it back up on the main road, which was pretty iffy on its own accord.  We unloaded all the bags into our little cabin, which was super quaint and fun.  It had a lot of land to run around on, but it was fairly snow filled, so we got all situated and got ready to leave, until Mike discovered that the van battery was dead. Being a manual transmission, the boys tried to jump it, but the van was stuck on an icy hill, so that wasn’t going to work.  It was about this time that Andrew noticed green fluid leaking from the front of the van. Antifreeze.  Perfect. Since Mike likes to explore everything, he found a shed that our house key unlocked and it had a tractor in it.  Mike took the battery out of the tractor, found some old jumper cables and used the tractor battery to start the car. By some miracle we were able to jump the car.  It took all four of us but we did it.
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​We were finally back off into the snow. First, we drove out toward the Geysir, grabbed some Antifreeze along the way, and then watched the Earth fart, or belch, or something like that. Madeline was quite a trooper and just loved running around in the freezing cold.  The older kids need some of her enthusiasm.  We then headed out to the Gulfoss waterfall.  Andrew had wet feet, so we bought him new warm socks. The waterfall was quite enormous. The weird thing about it was that the water all disappears down this little ravine. We were fortunate to squeeze out a little more sunshine before the blizzard blew back in. 
 
On the way back, Mike noticed that the heater wasn’t working that well and the antifreeze container was totally empty.  He called the mechanic who drove out to our place outside of Selfoss and diagnosed the problem as the antifreeze leaking out of the car.  He then drove off into the night and said that someone would call us in the morning.  Very reassuring to be out in the middle of Iceland with a car that may or may not start and may or may not make it out of the snow.  Not to self, when in the Artic, get a 4WD car.  
 
To ease our minds, we opened up the hot tub and just zoned out on the deck while it snowed on us. It was really quite nice.  As we were sitting there, we noticed the stars come out.  Pretty soon, the whole sky was clear as could be, and then this crazy green streak started to form across the sky. The Northern Lights erupted in green splendor.  It was pretty amazing, sitting in a Jacuzzi, watching a celestial light show from the back porch.  It was pretty perfect.  A good way to end a somewhat insane day.
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Iceland Adventure . Day 1 . Reykjavik

3/27/2019

 
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Spring Break means beaches, sun, and relaxation….unless you’re in the Wilhelm family, then it means flying as far North as possible and making sure you squeeze in a few more days of frozen fun before the summer thaw. We caught an afternoon flight from Denver direct to Reykjiavik on Iceland Air. Direct flights are the way to go. Madeline sat with mom and dad and Andrew sat solo with an over-perfumed lady while the 3 other kids sat in their own row on the 757-200. Sometimes flying foreign airlines is fun. They referred to us as “dear passengers” and the kids got free kid’s meals with Oreos  juice, and sandwiches. The little kids got gift bags with headphones, coloring books, and other fun stuff.  We also got our first taste of Appelsin, which is like Fanta, but slightly better (we think).
 
As we flew East, day quickly became night. As we got near to Greenland, the Northern lights were very visible outside the left side of the plane. It was pretty cool to see the green glow flowing like a river in the sky. We all took turns crowding into Peter’s window to catch a glimpse of the flickering lights. Before we knew it we landed in Keflevik airport early in the morning (about 5:30 AM) Iceland time. The wind and rain was pretty intense.  We filed down the stairs, off the plane, into the buses and into the airport. The airport was pretty great and we made our way easily to get our bags and to the car rental. Mike went and picked up the van, which ended up being a stick shift, just like in New Zealand, except this time, it was on the same side of the road as the US. We drove from the airport in the crazy wind and rain across the Volcanic landscape with a tired crew in tow. We drove to the hotel and fortunately one of the rooms was ready, even though it was super early in the morning.  

We unloaded all the bags and the girls took a nap while the boys ventured back out into the wind to forage for food. The boys headed to Braud and Company and got some delicious fresh cinnamon rolls and some chocolate filled croissants for the girls. Since everyone was still sleeping, the boys headed back down the road to none other than Costco….where they got some free samples, marveled at all the Kirkland brand products, bought some towels and (drum roll) got a hot dog….which was delicious. They took the rental car to a garage where they had the tires checked because the tire light was on, and got new windshield wipers and cleaned the windshield, which was HUGE.  Then it was back to the hotel where the other room was ready and everyone took a nap until about 2:00 PM.  After a quick snooze, everyone piled back into the van and we headed to the Hallgrimskirkja church.
 
We climbed to the top of the bell tower and the views were very good.  You could see the mountains to the North, the town below and the ocean going crazy everywhere else. The weather went from sunny, to insane snow and wind, to sunny again about every 15 minutes. We then walked down the street and got some more cinnamon rolls from the bread store (they were that good) and then walked down the main shopping street in Reykjiavik. There was lots of horse related stuff, fur, and puffins. We started to head down to the sun sculpture, but the weather had turned, so we ran back to the van and drove there (even though we were only 200 feet away). By the time we got there in the van, the sun was shining and the views were excellent. It was very cool. We drove by the concert hall and headed out to the end of the Peninsula. The wind was silly again and I’m pretty sure that Emma started to fly away multiple times. Thankfully, we made it out to the lighthouse and watched the waves pound the volcanic coast.  It was quite foreboding.

Evening was starting to set in, so we headed back along the coast to the harbor and stopped by the Bonus grocery store to see what the grocery scene is like in Iceland.  We got some treats, and then headed back along the coast to a Fish Restaurant for dinner (Icelandic Fish and Chips).  We all got the cod and potatoes, and it was delicious.  The fish was so good, it was hard to imagine that it was the same type of fish you get when ordering fish and chips other places.  There is something amazing about fresh fish vs. frozen fish we get back in the States.  Everybody loved it and we headed back to the Hotel.  We ate Oreos enrobed in chocolate (really) and watched British TV shows as the weather continued to change every 15 minutes as we drifted off to sleep.
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Andrew's T-shirt Quilt Project

3/20/2019

 
For one of Andrew’s graduation gifts I decided to put together a t-shirt quilt for him with all the shirts that I have been collecting since he was in elementary school in Japan.  It was so much fun to look at all the shirts and remember all the memories of him wearing them. I was a little nervous to cut them up but, in the end, I knew that having them displayed somewhere cool would be a fun way to preserve those memories. I wanted Andrew to have something that reminded him of his childhood and home when he goes to college.  All I had to do was sew all the shirts together and then I took it into a lady to have it quilted.  
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Boys HS Swim Meet #1 . PC vs PALMER

3/19/2019

 
After a week of three snow days and two canceled meets, the boys were finally ready to compete in their first swim meet against Palmer HS. They knew there wasn't much competition agains Palmer but they were still pumped to swim their hardest. Peter swam in the 200 medley relay (butterfly), 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, and the 400 freestyle relay. He swam strong in all his events but his 500 freestyle was his best event of the day, landing him a new PR of 6:14.56. This is the event Peter will focus on this season to try and get as close as he can to the state qualifying time.

200 medley relay - no individual time.  Team time of 2:45.01
200 freestyle - 2:23.48
500 freestyle - 6:14.56
400 freestyle relay - 31.49, 35.51

Andrew also had a pretty good meet.  He swam in the 200 medley relay (breaststroke), 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, and the 100 breastroke.  With only 1 sec away from his best time in both the 50 freestyle and the 100 breastroke he did well for his first meet. His 200 freestyle relay team actually got a State qualifying time so that is exciting! After this meet Andrew is even more determined to work hard on breastroke this season so that he can try and get a state qualifying time. 

200 medley relay (breaststroke) - no individual time. Team time of 1:56.82
50 freestyle - 26.45
200 freestyle relay - 26.31
100 breastroke - 1:17.16

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Snowmaggedon

3/13/2019

 
We have had our fair share of snowstorms and canceled school days since living in Colorado Springs.  But, it is rare to get a snowstorm so big that everything in the city shuts down.  Today's storm is a storm to rule them all.  With winds that could approach close to 70mph and snow that just keeps on coming...most everything along the front range in Colorado from here to Denver has been shut down.  Airports, school districts, shopping, freeways...most didn't even open up today and some closed down as the weather got worse.  The kids were so shocked to see how bad it was outside when we opened our front door.  Everyone braved the outside for just a few minutes to grab a few fun shots before rushing back inside.  The wind was so strong that a ton of snow flew into the house and the ice had stacked up against the rubber stoppers around the doorframe so we couldn't shut the door all the way.  It took some scrapping but we finally got the door to shut all the way.

Mike had to head down to Ft. Carson to see morning clinic and waited for the hospital administrators to tell everyone to go home.  The hospital at Ft. Carson has NEVER been good about shutting down in these types of situations.  Good thing Mike left when he did because waiting too much longer would've put him in a real bind to get home.  He stopped at Costco on the way home and bought the very last generator.  That was something we had been meaning to do for quite some time.  It was the floor model so we got a nice discount.  As he wound his way closer to home the visibility basically became nonexistent.  He drove pretty much blind the last 2 miles home.  It's been a crazy day but we are just super grateful to be inside a nice warm home, eating fresh banana bread and watching our favorite shows!
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SLICES OF LIFE - MARCH 2019

3/1/2019

 

MIKE AND SARA'S GETAWAY TO DENVER
MARCH 2, 2019
Mike and I snuck away for one night and headed up to Denver to stay at the Ritz Carlton to just relax and enjoy some alone time without the kids. We ate at Elways for dinner and it did not disappoint. We were upgraded to a wonderful suite (thank you Platinum American Express) and just loved being together. 
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ANDREW'S ACCEPTANCE LETTER TO U OF U
MARCH 2, 2019
Andrew finally got his acceptance letter to University of Utah. This letter was very exciting as he also got a 4-year partial scholarship. This was just what he needed to give him the confidence boost to finish his senior year strong. So now the question is, does he choose BYU-Idaho or University of Utah?
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SARA AND MADELINE
MARCH 4, 2019
Having Madeline by my side every day is the best thing ever. She is such a little lovey and I enjoy her company so much. And, her crazy curly hair just makes me smile!
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SARA AND EMILY
MARCH 8, 2019
It was such a wonderful surprise to see one of my running friends, Emily, working at the PT place I was going to. Emily and I used to run together a lot with the Sunrise Striders but then her school and work schedule made it hard for her to meet on those running days. I was so excited that I would get to see her over the next month or so of going to PT.
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NEW REFRIGERATOR
MARCH 9, 2019
After 5 years of listening to our old refrigerator make loud noises we decided it was finally time to purchase something new. It was quite the ordeal to get it into the house. The boys had to take the front door off and the handles off the new fridge but with a couple of guys from the ward we were able to get it in the house. So thankful for friends to help.
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ANDREW'S SCHOOL DISSECTION
MARCH 11, 2019
Every once in awhile I will get random photos from Andrew at school. Today was a fun photo of him before a dissection in class. Andrew loves being in the science lab at school. 
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MOVIE ON A SNOW DAY
MARCH 15, 2019
After too many school delays and snow days in a row we decided that we all needed to get out of the house and so we headed to the theatre to go and watch Toy Story 4 together. 
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GIRLS PLAYING IN THE SNOW WITH FRIENDS
MARCH 15, 2019
The girls love playing with Natalie and Noelle on snow days. They went over to the reservoir behind our house to go sledding.
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MIKE AT WORK
MARCH 15, 2019
While everyone was home on this snow day Mike still had to go into work.  He is such a hard worker and really good at what he does. We are so grateful for all the sacrifices he makes for our family.
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RUNNING WITH FRIENDS
MARCH 1, 8, 12, 16, 2019
I have been running non stop this month in preparation for my race next month. I have loved running with the Sunrise Striders twice and week and running with my Cordera friends twice a week. We even managed to fit in a day up at the Incline. 
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MIKE'S DEEP DISH PIZZA
MARCH 17, 2019
Many years ago Mike found the most amazing deep dish pizza recipe and he has been making this pizza ever since. It is one of our family's favorite recipes. 
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​MADELINE'S HAPPENINGS THIS MONTH

MARCH 1,2,5,19,20
What can I say about Madeline this month other than she is a delight and she definitely keeps us entertained. She loves to play with all the older toys that the older kids played with when they were younger. Her latest favorite toy is definitely the Little People. She loves the town with the moving road and will place as many animals and people on there and just watch them spin around. She also loves to play with all the dress ups and will usually ask us to put on a variety of the dresses for her. She doesn't just love dresses though. She loves to wear shoes from my closet or the girls closet. Her favorites are my low boots and my colorful flats and the girls low boots and slippers. She can often be seen walking around in a variety of shoes from all over the house. Madeline is getting to the point where she can sit still long enough for me to do something fun in her hair. We have been trying a few new hairdos and she just loves them. 
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ABBY'S SCHOOL HAPPENINGS
MARCH 21, 2019
Abby absolutely loves her 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Lynch.  She has so much fun learning in her class and it’s pretty great that she gets to be in the same class as 3 of her best friends. Outside of the classroom they have been able to venture on some really cool field trips.  One of her favorite field trips was to the Denver Science Museum where they got to dissect lamb hearts. It was a messy affair, but she loved it. 
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​PETER'S EAGLE BOARD OF REVIEW

MARCH 21, 2019
Peter is finally an EAGLE Scout!!! We are so proud of him and all he accomplished to get to this point. He worked extremely hard to earn all his merit badges and complete his Eagle project. Peter really enjoyed the things he learned during the scouting program.  More than anything, he became a great outdoorsmen, a great leader, and gained a love of the outdoors and hiking. I don’t think there is anything this kid can’t do. 
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