Snow and more skiing

It snowed in Seattle starting Saturday night.  Here was the scene as of Sunday morning...

After her 4th lesson, we took Ellie up on the chairlift for her first run.  Thankfully she liked the ride ;-)

Here's her first run -- on a leash.  

Kicking off birthday week

Ellie is just about 6!  We had a spa-themed kids party last weekend.  The girls got pedicures, mixed up some bath salts, and took home some homemade soap.  Then they decorated their own heart-shaped cupcakes.  Pretty cute and pretty fun!

cuzzins

The Scharnhorsts headed back to CPH at the end of January.  Mia and Ellie had a sleepover at Nommy and Poppy's and some nice cozy time.  We miss them!

First day on skis

Ellie stared ski lessons in January (and Ben and I got back on skis after almost 20 years away!).  She was a bit hesitant, but looked great in her gear ;-)

She's ok now, but it was pretty scary...

Just after returning to school in January, Ellie was racing around on the playground, tripped, and hit a cement wall with her nose.  Poor Ellie ended up with a scratched up nose, lots of swelling, and two black eyes.  She did a great job getting through it and this definitely built some character.  She was worried what the kids at school would think, but she learned that most kids are caring, curious, and just want to make sure she's ok.  She's back to her old self now, and while she may have broken her nose, there is nothing the docs would do about it unless it interfered with her breathing.