Axeltime: February 2014

Front Side 360 Fakie

Watching the winter Olympics has taught us a few (sledding) tricks . . .

After many years of anticipation, Axel is finally big enough to join us on the mountain during our snowboarding trips. The experts tell us that kids don't really have the muscle mechanics to snowboard until around age 5, so Axel's first day of ski school this past weekend involved two-planking it on skis.

On the gondola on the way up the mountain (with a very excited Dad)

Sporting the new goggles - "they have a polar bear eating ice cream on them"

The ski rental place was like a factory assembly line - each staff was in charge of one part of the gear (below was the helmet measuring guy). They were incredibly fast, spitting out new fully-equipped kids every 2-3 minutes.

Stand up straight so we can see if these (itty bitty tiny) skis will fit you . .

All geared up in 2 mins flat, now where's the double black diamond run?

We just had to take a selfie while we waited for the rest of the ski school class to arrive

And finally, the RESULT! After two days of ski lessons and playing in the snow, Axel learned to balance on his skis, build a snowman, throw snowballs, ride the Magic Carpet, ski down the hill "very fast so you couldn't see me", and make his Pizzas (stops) quite successfully. See video proof below from the proud parents:

My New Valentine

Now that Axel is getting old enough, Valentine's Day has taken on a new meaning in our home:

Karsten and I basically ignore each other (to our relief!), and instead we all got excited about making little valentines filled with fun treats for Axel's preschool classmates. And then, on the Big Day of Valentines, Axel came home with a bag of his own special valentines from his friends that provided entertainment, sweets, and fun for the entire week.