This winter has flown by. Since the last blog, I have been able to see our Texan family twice! They were able to come up to NH just after Christmas where we had a nice, long visit. Then recently Avery and I flew down to Texas to visit during February break for a few days which was wonderful. We are so thankful that we are able to see them and travel is becoming safe and "normal" again. We actually get to see them again this summer when the whole family goes on vacation (one that was supposed to happen but got cancelled thanks to covid). When we see them, they will have a new addition to their family! Sammie and Shane are not finding out the gender, but the Barretts are thinking it will be another little girl. Though I am sort of hoping Ollie gets a boy cousin to play with! We are excited regardless and can't wait to meet the baby this summer!
We have been passing the time with lots of fun activities. When the Texans were up in NH we took the kids to Disney on Ice which they all LOVED (of course). The kids all got waves and kisses blown to them; Avery got Ariel's attention wearing a Little Mermaid dress and got extra smiles and waves from her! When Frozen started Avery got so excited, she got up and danced near the ice. Ollie and Janessa joined her and one by one, more little girls came down to the front with them until there was a huge group of them dancing and singing to Let It Go. It was very cute to see! Santa sent Avery some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans for Christmas and she shared them with the family. Everyone was a good sport about it - even the nasty ones. Oliver won the award for "best at not caring what flavor the jelly bean was, as long as he got one" 😆
Our biggest past time this winter has been skiing. Avery had a big breakthrough this winter with her skiing which was awesome to see. She is super confident on her skis and I have to chase her down the mountain. Oliver had his first time out this season and is really enjoying it. He insisted on riding the chairlift his first time out! So the little daredevil skied down the big mountain right away! 😅 We still have a few more weekends left (hopefully) for some more skiing. Avery has been able to ski with her friend Robbie a few times which she has loved so much. She also had a playdate with friends from school and tried ice skating for the first time which was a lot of fun! She loved it and really took off with it. Plus it was fun to see her with her friends - they all took some tumbles while skating and just laughed the whole time. We also took our niece, Abby, snow tubing for her birthday. It was so much fun! I am not a huge fan of cold weather but I feel like we made the most of it this year! There was one random day in February that hit 60 degrees and we ended up going to the zoo! It was such a tease.
Both kids continue to love their gymnastics classes. Avery recently tried out for the next level and she passed! Her first class was this week and she loved it. I am proud of her and her love and determination. She has all of a sudden shown more interest in improving her skills and trying harder things. Maybe this will turn into something she wants to compete in as she gets older. As long as it is something she enjoys and she has fun, that is all I care about! Avery has really made some big changes this year, being in kindergarten. She has shown a lot of independence and more confidence which has been amazing for us to see. If she got anything out of kindergarten this year I was hoping it would be more confidence, some perseverance and lots of kind friends. So far I am very pleased with what I see! And of course Oliver is all about the tumbling. He needs that outlet with all the boy energy he has. He has really come out of his shell too. He has the sweetest little soul inside of him. Seriously, the stuff that comes out of his mouth either makes me want to cry happy tears or laugh hysterically. He starts school in the fall and I am so looking forward to watching him blossom as a learner.
Like I mentioned before, Avery and I flew down to Texas. Avery was supposed to make a trip to Texas pre-covid which got cancelled. She had a hard time with it so we promised her that when she was vaccinated she could get on a plane and visit. She was fully vaccinated back in November so we booked our tickets! We loved seeing Sammie, Shane and Janessa. We had a wonderful girls trip together. She got to ride on the same horse that she sat on when she was 10 months old; the first horse she has ever been on! She really cherished her time down there. We are hoping to get back down there again soon; this time bringing Daddy and Ollie with us! Avery was so excited to be on an airplane again! It certainly is nice traveling again. Next flight (and Ollie's first) is down to Florida for Disney!
