Daddy's Helper

This kid's a helper, both inside...

(Helping Daddy build a closet and shelving in the guest room)

..and out.

(Helping Daddy with spring yard cleanup).

Weekend getaway to Breckenridge

Brandon and I took an unprecedented 4-day trip to Breckenridge over the weekend. I say unprecedented because that was the first time we were away from Gavin for multiple days. I must say, it was pretty friggin' sweet :). I was so relaxed I hardly took any pictures! We met up with my brother Dave and his wife Melissa and their friends Lee and Kotim. We snowboarded on Friday but decided to spend Saturday strolling around Breckenridge instead of up on the windy, frigid, single-digit-temperature slopes. Gavin had such a great time with his aunts, uncle and cousins while we were away that we wondered if he would let us take him home!

Back it up a day

The day before we went up to Beaver (Saturday) we went for a little hike in Old Sardine Canyon. I haven't seen Joie and Brody that happy since... well, since the last time we took them hiking. It was pretty muddy, but the fresh air and sunshine were well worth the mess.

Back on the Boards

On any given Sunday in years past you could pretty much guarantee that the Chards were snowboarding - usually at our local mom-and-pop resort, Beaver Mountain. Between Gavin's birth, the breaking of my collarbone a year ago, and the surgery to fix my collarbone in December, we've only hit the slopes at The Beav a handful of times in the past two years. We heard that this year there's a new "Magic Carpet" - a moving walkway of sorts that helps beginners and little ones to get their ski or snowboard legs under them - so we decided to finally venture up there this morning, armed with lots of snow gear and snacks for Gavin and lots of ibuprofen for us old folks ;).

Going down (no, you are not viewing this in 'fast forward')...

...aaaand back up.

Cuteness Abounds

A typical evening in the Chard house...

And a few photos from when we went sledding last weekend...

He would rather walk than ride in the sled. The snow was crusty enough to hold him up, but daddy had to post-hole it.
Putting on the mittens.
Post-sled-fun in the back of the truck with the pooches.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...

...I proudly present, The Flying Gavin!


You're such a great audience - here's your encore performance....

Catching up

If one word could sum up the past few weeks, it's "sick". First our computer got sick and ultimately we ended up having to buy a new one (which made us kind of sick). Meanwhile, Gavin's Giardia flared up and we had to put him on foul-tasting antibiotics again. Then we all got the flu. And now I'm just sick of winter.

Prior to all the sickness, Brandon spent a week in Florida for NEPA training (for work) and my mom and dad came out for a visit to keep me and Gavin company while he was away. A few pictures from their visit: