Reading and spelling

Academic achievements of the week -

Audrey got to have lunch at the library for her reading achievements; and Mason got his prize as the top speller in his class.

Audrey has really improved in her reading, although I haven't found a chapter book series she enjoys yet.  At her age, Mason loved the Magic Tree House series.  But she still got a reading reward and a very high math assessment.  

I got to watch Mason in his school's spelling bee for the first time this year.  He has made it to the school spelling bee 3 years in a row and won top speller in his grade each time.  The school spelling includes two kids from each grade from 1st to 8th grade.  He got veto, all-star, quack, people, and barter right, but missed curries in the 6th round (an odd word in my opinion).  He knew much harder words, but proud of how he did.  He and Ellen in his grade were tied, so they had to spell another round against her, and he got frequently right.

Boulder Bisons

Mason is looking so old for a Mite!

Epic Vail trip

Bill's sister Shawn, her partner (soon to be wife) and Lena's family (sister Yvonne, her husband and kids, and their parents) came to Vail over MLK.  The trip had been planned for a while, and we had made plans to get a condo to join them.

As it approached, although I was excited to be with them, I wasn't excited to be there over MLK.  It has become a very busy weekend, Bill and kids passes were blocked on Saturday and traffic there and back was going to be bad.  Added that I had a global entry interview at DIA at 5 on Friday, which was scheduled from months ago, and I didn't realize it was that weekend.  

We left after dinner, and conditions on the other side of the Eisenhower tunnel were pretty bad and snow was coming down. We got into our condo - small and dated 1 bedroom, and smelled like curry - not great.

But then comes the epic part - we woke up to 9 inches of snow on Saturday morning, 15 inches on Sunday and another 5 on Monday!  The powder was unbelievable.

If you have to pay $175 for a lift ticket at the window (we got $99 buddy passes) or pay over $50 for lunch, the snow makes up for it!!

The condo turned out to be great, right across Lionshead village (walking distance to everything) and had a great hottub.

Meals and family time together, Audrey and Mason loved hanging out with Yvonne's older kids (Zane and Miranda).

Epic!

One night ski trip

We went up for one night to Beaver Creek, cashing out some points at the Sheraton in Avon.  It was very cold, but the kids enjoyed a full day of skiing.

Goodbye 2015, welcome 2016!

We are in Beaver Creek for some skiing on New Year's Day!  As we look back on 2015, it went by so quickly, but we had so many wonderful experiences.

First, we are all very grateful to be healthy!  Aside from colds and pulling muscles due to being too old for what we still try to do, we all, including my parents, have been healthy.

Mason entered 3rd grade and Audrey 1st grade, both excelling at school.  Mason continued to play hockey and swim, and is advancing in both.  Audrey also swam and loves her cooking classes.  Both still play the piano, and they started chinese school on Sundays - they both have learned so much!  Both have great sense of humor, and when not fighting, they really play well tougher.  

Bill has played more hockey, following in Mason's footsteps.  He has enjoyed playing in a league, but has decided that dropping in for the occasional game fits ours schedule better.  Bill still working for Lightreading, from home, and although he probably would be more excited working at an office and someplace new, his job offers a lot of flexibility and stability.

My company got acquired by Oracle in April.  The transition has been very smooth and now I have a team of 8, plus 3 open positions, in Seattle, cupertino and colorado.  One can call it a promotion, but no title change, just more work and travel!  But I love my job, my team and the people I get to work with.  I haven't picked up new hobbies, if anything, I lost the hobbie of running, one I should really pick back up next year!

As a family, we enjoyed great vacations in 2105: skiing in Colorado with friends, sailing British Virgin Islands with Yaya, Mimi, Lena and Shawn for a week, seeing Niagara Falls and visiting my childhood friend Vivian and Jon in Toronto over July 4th, trip to Italy and sightseeing in Rome, Florence, and my cousin's wedding in Ancona with my parents and all my mom's side of the family from Brazil, celebrating Edward and Johana's wedding in Colorado with Nai Nai, grandpa Jack and Bills siblings, and having both sets of grandparents on Bills side be here for thanksgiving and Christams.  We hope to continue to trips and visits with friends and family in 2016.

More and less list 2016:

1. More health all around - especially thinking of family and friends battling illnesses like cancer

2. More together as a family, and parent/children time

3. More time to slow down and enjoy the present vs always planning for what is ahead

4. More trips overseas and in the U.S. to be with the ones we love

5. More time with friends

6. More running, exercising and staying active

7. Less endulging on foods that are bad for us

8. Less work on weekend and evenings

9. Less complaining - by all!  We need to be more grateful and patient!

10. Less spending on material things that don't matter

11. Less waste all around

12. Less negativity!  

Happy New Year everyone!!