Spring Break

Wow, first of all, I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update our blog with these photos! A few weeks ago my little brother, Duncan, came to visit during his spring break. He had been saving his money for a year so that he could buy his own plane ticket! I'm so proud! Anyhow, we had a BLAST with him! This was his third visit to Colorado Springs since we moved here and he's one lucky kid because each time he's come it has snowed...which he loves! We started the weekend with shopping and a movie ("10,000 BC" is really good!) and playing Othello over and over again until Duncan finally beat Dan! Saturday Duncan and I went to Mueller State Park for an adventure in sledding! We decided that it would be fun if we chose the hill with the longest, steepest slope... and we were right! We sled down the hill several times before Duncan thought we needed a little variety and while I was eating lunch, he built a ramp for us to fly off of! Oh man, now we were really going to have some fun! The anticipation was getting to both of us and we decided that one of us couldn't fly over the ramp before the other, so we doubled up on the sled. Things were going great, snow was splashing our faces, wind was making us feel like we had just eaten a Klondike bar, and the ramp was approaching...then BAM!! Due to our inability to simultaneously steer in the same direction, we veered to the left, missing the ramp completely and crashed... well, I crashed. Duncan somehow quickly recovered and jumped on the sled again, riding it to the bottom of the hill. On to round number 2. The plan was for me to ride down with the camera and stop just after hitting the ramp so that I could catch a picture of Duncan while he flew over it. I made it to the perfect spot for taking an action shot when Duncan shouted down to me that he thought I should move over a little more in case he veered to the left like we did the first time. "No, it'll be okay, just go, I'm all ready!", was my response. The camera was aimed and everything was going perfectly, until what do you know, Duncan missed the ramp and yelled, "Watch out Stefani"! ... then WHACK! The camera flew from my hands, both of us were struggling to breathe and the pain in my wrist was throbbing. Once I caught my breath I reached for Duncan and was totally freaked out by the blood dripping down his face! We got him cleaned up with butterfly bandages and a Wendy's frosty! Man, what a day! On St. Patrick's Day we ventured to Monarch Mountain for skiing/snowboarding with our friends Neil and Valeri. That was a miserable experience. It was my first time ever skiing, and while I was grateful for Neil's and Dan's patient tutoring, it didn't help. Let me walk you through the emotional rollercoaster of a first-time skier... Excited, anxious, scared, nervous, helpless, frustrated, angry, REALLY angry, and finally, tears. The second time down was a 180 and I could see how people thought it was fun. Then I gave into peer pressure and went down a blue (intermediate) run. Wish I wouldn't have, but it was still fun. Duncan is a snowboarder and so we only saw him here and there but he seemed to enjoy himself! Overall, we had a blast with Duncan and miss having him here to make us laugh with his creative come-backs! We love you Duncan! ... And love to have company for anyone who's interested!!