Ski Trip -- Park City, Utah.

Mini-Vacation at Park City, Utah was great. I cannot even explain the feeling of skiing with Mason and Makayla. Let me start by saying that Brent was incredible. He was very patient and was a great teacher for the kiddos.

Me---not such a good and patient teacher. Maybe because I can hardly ski myself.

I am so glad Brent convinced me to make the stop. Brent and I skied all day Tuesday while the kids did a lesson. I use the word lesson VERY lightly. They played inside had lunch and learned how to walk in skis and fall down/get up/fall down/ get up/ fall down/ get helped up/ fall down ... You get the idea.

Brent and I had lunch at the summit and I enjoyed my greens while Brent dove off the Black Diamonds. Then we skied the bunny bill with the kids a few times. We hit the hot chocolate and hot tub to end the day.

Day two was spend doing some serious family bonding. Brent, Mason, Makayla and Bobbi- Joined at the hip. No really...Joined at the hip!

The day started off soooo rough. I will not bore you with the gory details about Meltdown Mountain. I will say that by 4:30pm we had finally mastered the beginner run. Mason and Makayla absolutely loved skiing and cannot wait to go hit the sloped again.

I am once again reminded of how much I love my family. We have a blessed life and I am truly a lucky lady. We are on our way home and I cannot wait to sleep in my bed.

Gem Quotes-

Brent- "We are changing the name of this run to 'Meltdown Mountain'."

Mason- "Well, you are old Mom. I did the math and you are almost 40."

Makayla- " This cat is so nice and soft. And it smells like Grandpa and Grandma's house."

Mason- "Gigi can't ski...She's too old."

Leaving Cailfornia.

We left California this morning to head back to KC. My spontaneous husband got some wild hair to go skiing on our way home.
He was about to have a meltdown as we passed Tahoe. He asked a dozen times if we could stop, but I was not going for it.
I am the one usually whining and pushing for the pit stop vacations on the drive.
I finally caved because Brent loves skiing and have been wanting to take the kids for about 2 years. We are now headed to Park City, Utah for a few days. I have not been skiing for 8 years and am very excited. I am a little nervous that my babies will be on the slopes. OK OK... way nervous. Brent will have to medicate me.
If I can keep a helmet on dare devil Makayla, keep Brent off of the Black Diamonds and keep from re-breaking my foot...I will feel little better.
Brent and I hope to get some good runs in while the kids do the ski school from 9-3. Then we can chill on some greens and have hot chocolate.
I can see Makayla slapping her helmet and diving off a Black Diamond Yelling "Cowabunga!!!!" My girl has no fear and will probably love it (but I will keep her to greens.)
I will post pics and let you know how it goes.

Clear Lake, CA and Ft. Bragg

Finally!!!!! Perfect mid-70 weather and sunny skies at Clear Lake in California.

Brent is starting his tournament today. I am reminded how lucky I am to have a great husband. He really does work hard. I know many people think, "Oh, you get to fish for a living. You are so lucky not to have a 'real' job."

Well, Brent works his tail off. Everyday he is up and gone way before the sun is up. He usually gets up by 4:30 or 5:00 and heads out on the lake while the temperature is freezing ...dressed like he is about to climb Everest. He stays out working on his strategy for the tournaments all day. Usually it's a 12-14 hour day before coming in at dinner and working on his tackle and boat until bedtime. There is no lunch break or time card at the end of the day. His work is never done.

He also deals with unbelievable pressure. He has to do good in this tournament. Our entire season depends on how he finishes this week and he needs to catch some big bass. It's always on his mind. The Delta was not a great way to start the season and now he's making up ground to qualify for the Classic. Times and tough and sponsors are not as plentiful as years past...Performance is everything.

Not to mention that he is in the public eye. He gets dozens of phone calls everyday to ask, "How'd you do?" When you have a bad day at work as a professional angler--everyone knows.

I am praying for a good week for Brent and that he can calm his spirit and enjoy fishing. He is amazing and works hard for his family. Watching him work out here reminds me why I am so tolerant during hunting season. (Someone may have to remind me of this statement when November rolls around.) Everyone deserves a break and time to recharge their batteries. If your man works hard...let him have a little time watching a game, hunting or whatever.

I love my husband and I cannot believe the sacrifices he makes for us and how hard he works. (Someone may have to remind me of this statement too!)

In an effort to maintain my vacation lifestyle with fun field trips we headed to Ft. Bragg with the Howell family on Monday. The kids had a blast and the bluffs are amazing.

Gem Quotes-

"Made you look, made you look...now you're in the baby book," Mason and Makayla over and over again.

"I want to rub antlers with daddy," Makayla.

"If you have pink and green hair, what color will the baby's hair be?" TD

California Delta.

We are having so much fun here. Mason and Makayla are riding their bikes and playing at the jumping pillow and playground everyday. We are working on school work (still a struggle.) We are playing with all our friends...Oh.... and Brent is fishing.

The fishing is tough for the Delta. It usually a bass fisherman's dream out here. The guys are all working hard and dealing with less than ideal weather.

Brent is in the money cut going into day 2...he just has to hang in there.

In my effort to live a fantasy life of field trips and vacation- we went to the Lodi Micke Zoo and the Jelly Belly Factory this week. We get to do so many amazing things as we travel. We try to have at least one field trip for every tournament. They have no idea how incredible this lifestyle is. Mason and Maklayla think every 4 and 6 year old kid has seen all the country and get souveniers every couple days. I don't want to spoil my kids, but I do want to let them see all the amazing places we travel to.

The zoo was---a zoo. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Animals. The kids had fun and we enjoyed the company.

The Jelly Belly factory was incredible. Is it a problem to leave with $62.00 in Jelly Bellys????

It was a neat tour and I love that it is a 5th generation family owned candy company. I knew Ronald Reagan was a fan, but it is a cool story about his love of Jelly Bellys and their success with his presidency.

Alton Jr tricked my sweet boy into eating a jelly belly flavored like rotten egg and gave Laker one flavored like skunk breath. I would feel sorry for the boys...but I am just glad it wasn't me. Check out the picture of the boys spitting them out. They also had dirt, puke and bugger flavor.

Next we are headed to Clear Lake in California. Giant Sequoia and Pacific Ocean field trip.

Gem quotes of the week.

"Wow, look Mommy, he has all golden tooths." -- Makayla.

"My doggy has a cool trick. He sits and drags his buttocks." Oakley
"We should all bring our Red Rider BB guns next time." Mason

"Can we let the bull out?" - Laker

"This doesn't taste so good." -Mason (after Alton fed him the rotten egg flavored jelly belly)

Are we there yet???

YES!!! we have driven across beautiful America and are safely at the California Delta. We had a mini-vacation at the Grand Canyon and four fun filled driving days. Although it is amazing to see the country....Wow am I tired of driving.

We had about 30 minutes left when my good friend (Annie) called and really brightened my day. I am missing the fun at LQ, but we are loving the road. We plan to hit the Pacific coast and San Fransisco one day. We will also see the giant Sequoias. I really need Brent to win one of these tournaments to cover the cost of my 'educational field trips.'

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this 4-day drive.

"Is it wrong that Makayla and I are sharing a spit cup?" -brent (sunflowerseeds)

"Did you try to call? Makayla and I were jamming to Poison." - brent

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a really big hole." - Makayla

"Take that, Pussy Cat!" - mason playing a dinosaur game on his DS.

March Madness----Chapman Style!

March 1...I cannot believe it. We are starting the month with our 4 day drive to Lodi, California. We drove all day today and will drive 9 hours tomorrow to the Grand Canyon. This will be Mason and Makayla's first trip to the Grand Canyon. We plan to spend the day and then head on toward Cali. I am really looking forward to telling you all about it.

I feel like I should be blogging everyday. I have so much 'vital' information that I am going to have to work hard to get it all out. My superb sentence structure, paragraph composition and grammar may be difficult for you college grads to follow. Just try to stick with me.

OK, let's start with what we have been up to. Family, family, family. Oh Yeah, more family. We spent the last week in Ft. Worth/Dallas area with lots of family bonding. We park the camper in Uncle Brian driveway...Way classin' down the ritzy Colleyville neighborhood. (It would have been better if I could have had Brent dump the black tank into the public sewer while wearing a robe and smoking.) We did look a little WT as I carried loads of laundry between the camper and Brian's house wearing my pink jammie pants and poke-a-dot robe. (I know---HOT.)

We love camping in Brian's driveway. The Coad family came down for the weekend and my brother's family live only 20 minutes away. We crammed in as much face time with everyone that we possibly could. We even managed to see the Bookman and Tonjes clan from Tyler, TX and the kiddos had a slumber party. We are so blessed. I love my family and my in-law family. Next time---you guys come to LQ! We are exhausted! I am actually more relaxed now that we are driving for the next 4 days.

There also may have been a margarita incident, a $15 flaming coffee incident and a dancing daddy incident.

I did really enjoy the week pass at Lifetime Fitness in Colleyville. Good thing I could work out since I was following my strict 2500 calorie diet. LT had a eucalyptus sauna that was incredible. Best ten minutes of my day. I will be sneaking into LT when Lenexa opens.

While we were playing with the family...Brent was doing seminars at BASS Pro Shops. He spoke at Garland, Grapevine and Shreveport over the weekend. He has been really working hard to start the season off on a good foot.

On a serious note, I am a little homesick and Makayla is too. She had a minor meltdown Sunday wanting to go home. It was really sad and I feel here pain. I love traveling. I love our family life on the road. But I am missing home too. I am sure I will get over it when we start the next adventure.