Climbing season has begun!
We headed to Chattanooga, TN for another weekend full of nice temperatures and fun climbing. With a three day weekend, we were able to climb two days and take one "rest" day to check out some local sites. We headed up to see the Hydroelectric Facility on Raccoon Mt. It over looks the Tennessee Wall, a climbing area we sometimes visit. We also took a 4+ mile hike up Lookout Mt. It was so nice to spend three days outside!!

Our climbing days were spent at Little Rock City.

Lucas climbing his new route he named, "Revenge of the Sith."
The rocks are just so cool there.
Daddy climbed his hardest boulder problem ever. A V10!!! Way to go Daddy!
Lucas did a lot of exploring and found lots of cool tunnels.
Here is a really fun and easy one (V1). You have to get your feet up were your hands are which is called a mantle.
You can see Axel testing the waters. He knows he's not supposed to be on the pads while Daddy is climbing. He also knows that Mommy is a little distracted with the camera too!
We met up with some friends, The Laesers!
Lucas, Kestrel, Mel, Layton and Axel...everyone is looking at the camera too!
Luke getting his slab on!
Mommy working on a V6.
Daddy working on something hard V7? V9?
I could go on and on with photos but that pretty much gives a perfect overview!

A Taste of Spring

I know, it was just a taste but boy was it sweet! We headed to Chattanooga, TN last weekend to bask in the 50 degree sunny weather. We took the boys to Little Rock City to go bouldering and we had a blast. The rock is beautiful, the sun was needed and the fresh air rejuvenated our gray winterized souls.

Our friend, Paul, joined us on our trip. He was instantly mobbed by the boys and they did not let up once. He's one cool guy and I'm sure he was ready for a break on Monday morning. :)
More Paul time.
Lucas and his buddy Paul.
Our little Indiana Jones was looking for the medallion.
I love how this rock looks like a castle.
Axel had to do some climbing too and was making sure I was taking pictures.
Big stuff!
Paul working on a V7 called Cinderella which he sent.
Sunshine does wonders! Check out this happy boy.
A little Leapster time too.
Daddy sending a V9...that means hard in my book! :)
Mommy sending a V4 called Super Mario
Some other V5...check out the rock. It is so featured and beautiful and creates wonderful tunnels and secret passage way for the boys to explore.
Oh sunshine, how we have missed you!

The Big Birthday

Axel had a great birthday celebration. Balloons, pizza, cake, ice cream, presents and TRAINS. What could be better?! :) He loves pizza and his very own special drink...cream soda. Mommy found some tasty kind but it was a huge bottle so we all shared. :)
Lucas enjoyinghis root beer.We did a few presents after dinner to let Mommy & Daddy eat a little too.
More trains...oh, do you like the fridge in our dining room? Gotta love that lingering tile project. The tile is done but the trim is not. urgh!

And check out Lucas shirt! Miss a button? Or two? Or three? Too cute!
The "let's just open a few presents" thing was not acceptable to this two year old. He wanted to blaze through them all. I don't blame him!
Lucas liked that plan too.
So much for Daddy finishing dinner. :)
It was finally time for cake. He had been waiting all day to get his fingers into this train!
My boys...
Lucas had no problem helping while Axel did a few taste tests.
It took a few tries to get the candles blown out but he quickly figured out the whole process and was very excited.
Yeah!
G&G A, Uncle Mark, Aunt Kate and Cousin Logan joined in through Skype. What fun to have them join us. We need to get G&G J hooked up on Skype too. :)
One more present before finishing up our evening watching the movie WALL-E.
We had two tired boys and two tired parents by the end of the day. A true success!
Happy Birthday Big Boy Axel! We love you so much.
Love, Mommy, Daddy & Big Brother Lucas

Axel is TWO!!!

Here was the start to one very special day!

Lucas gave Axel his present first thing in the morning...at Thomas the Train "Toby" car so he was #1 in Axel's book. I'm sure he's always #1 in Axel's book!Mommy had a blast making this cake. I will post the recipe soon because it was perfect and chocolatey and tasty!

Ice Storm Motivation

Like most of the country, we were hit by the big storm. We mostly got ICE! It rained and poured and instantly froze on everything outside. There were tons of broken branches and ice skating rink driveways. After that we got a few inches of snow but nothing like Chicago.

Since our cars were frozen solid, we decided to get our floor grouted. I do have to admit that it was the perfect weather for grouting ~250 sq ft of tile. What a chore!

After three days of being inside trying to occupy the family and finish our floor, the sun finally came out. The only problem, the sun does not hit our driveway this time of year. We eventually got the cars backed down a little so they could sun themselves...a glorious moment. And yes, we still have our '97 Jetta with 300k+ miles and our '99 Subi with ~300k miles!
The ice was anywhere from .25'' to .5'' thick! Fun, fun!We were happy for the storm and the motivation it gave us to "finish" our floor! Here's what the almost finished floor looks like. We still need to seal it and put up the trim and then we are DONE! Yahoo!