Jack and Cate Update -- March, 2009

Sunday, March 1, 2009

As she did last year, Great-Grandma Ruth spent three weeks at the Ranch with Grandma Irene. Because of our Bahamian vacation, she got to spend a lot of time with Jack and Cate. Remarkably, she seems none the worse for wear.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

While we were away, Jack insisted that Evan visit after school to "meet my Great-Grandma Ruth."

Sunday, March 1, 2009

After a week away from Dallas, we had to stop at Pho Que Huong on our way home from the Ranch. You can just see Cate's second front tooth breaking into view. Huzzah!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Jack is "reading" President Obama's book, *[The Audacity of Hope](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307455874?ie=UTF8&tag=nelganfamweb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307455874)*. Anxious to court others with similar political persuasions, he suggested: "let's send Francie [Hansen] these photos."

Monday, March 2, 2009

The night before Great-Grandma Ruth left -- four generations in one photo.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Why *jump* on a trampoline when you can play [iPod Touch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipod_touch) [games](http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=306220440&mt=8) on it?

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Technology-induced sibling bliss. They're like this nearly always sometimes.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Now they're on to me, and they're playing to the camera.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Jack Nelson: a study in concentration. Some of his favorite games are [Field Runners](http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=292421271&mt=8), [Flight Control](http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=306220440&mt=8), [Rolando](http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=299461156&mt=8), and [Tap Tap Revenge](http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=305598228&mt=8).

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Jay Rice was in Dallas for a week-long conference, and we managed to find a 90-minute window where we could meet for lunch at the [Blue Goose](http://www.bluegoosecantina.com/). Our careers have moved in drastically different directions -- while we both graduated with Computer Science degrees, he's gone on to become CEO of [Creative Catalog Concepts](http://www.creativecatalogconcepts.com/) and I've remained a lowly pre-sales systems engineer. With that said, I still have hair.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

On Friday and Saturday (March 13th and 14th), we drove from Dallas to [Silverthorne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverthorne,_CO) with a single night of [palatial accommodations](http://bit.ly/W4OMc) in [Salina, Kansas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salina,_KS). Fortunately for you, we neglected to take photographs throughout our journey. At the end of our ski day, Mary and Lauri took Stella and Reina for a woodland trek. Being Sunday and all, I rested instead.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

I spent virtually the entire week trying to get Greta (and Stella, for that matter) to acknowledge my existence. If you're going to dream, you best dream big.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Busy kids. Busy, busy kids. Frankly, I'm not sure how we filled all our time before we had a handful of kids running around the condo.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Greta gives Josh Chabria a good run for his money in the tightly contested photogenic-doe-eyed-child competition.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Cate, Aunt Lauri, Stella, and Sofia. Girls: reading.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Cate and Stella. Girls: reading.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Uncle Brian and Jack. Boys: playing iPod Touch games. Please feel free to draw your own conclusions. A few nights later, Jack endlessly discussed all things iPod Touch with Mitch Dillon -- as a result, Jack downloaded [Jellycar](http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=293886459&mt=8) and [iCopter](http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=289089401&mt=8).

Sunday, March 15, 2009

We've decided the kids don't need their own puppy since we've already got one. As an added bonus, our puppy is already *toilet trained*.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Sofia Stadler Fick: insane camera girl. You can't stop her; you can only hope to contain her.

Monday, March 16, 2009

After a grueling one day of skiing, we decided to send Lisa and Kristina to the spa while the rest of us and spent some time at the [Silverthorne Rec Center](http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianhearn/2169657708/sizes/l/). While on vacation, both Brian and Reina regularly drink their meals.

Monday, March 16, 2009

After several photo requests, a bit of arm twisting, some weeping and gnashing of teeth, Cate and Sofia happily pose like little angels.

Monday, March 16, 2009

The aforementioned teeth gnashing. Argh, me hearties!

Monday, March 16, 2009

After nearly two hours in the pool, the kids played for another hour in the Rec Center's kid-sized log cabin. Reina can already flirt with the camera. Just imagine when she gets a little older...

Monday, March 16, 2009

Reina with her sister Sofia. All four of the kids played simultaneously in the tiny cabin.

Monday, March 16, 2009

If you look carefully, you can actually see what she's thinking: "put down the [darn] camera."

Monday, March 16, 2009

After burning a lot of energy in the pool, we immediately pumped the kids full of ice cream and chocolate to ensure they could continue their sugar-fueled mayhem.

Monday, March 16, 2009

I don't know. I just don't know. In his tracksuit, Jack channels his inner Cousin Luc.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

[A-Basin](http://www.arapahoebasin.com/ABasin) ski bunnies.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

For the first time in nine years, Grandma Irene joined us on the slopes. To celebrate, she upgraded from [last year's hat](http://photos.nelsongang.com/kids/2008/03/photos/img_0534.jpg).

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

If anything should go wrong, we always have a doctor around. Unfortunately, we'd need it when Grandma Irene hurt her shoulder just a few hours later.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Jack is now big enough to ride the lift without a parental unit. He's not, however, big enough to converse with complete strangers.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The top of Molly Hogan -- we'd practice for a few runs before heading to mid-mountain on the Exhibition lift.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Both Jack and Cate quickly recovered their form. Considering it's been a full year since they last strapped on the boards, that's pretty impressive.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Nap?!? Are you thinking about a nap?!? There's no napping in skiing!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

With a little encouragement, Cate discovers a second-wind. We skied four days this week, and both kids skied into the afternoon each day.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Once Sofia got Cate rolling, she had a hard time containing her (near-exhaustion-induced) laughter. Sofia gives the trip one thumb up! Awesome.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Sofia and Brian: suitable for framing.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

After Brian applied significant peer pressure, Jack agreed to take his first blue run, High Noon. He skied well and didn't have any problems on the top half, but then Brian headed straight to the bottom. Without Brian's motivation, Jack still managed to ski to within fifty yards of the bottom, but there he collapsed on the snow like a human mogul. I helped him get to the bottom, and we headed straight for the chalet. In the chalet, we met Brian for beers at the 6th Avenue Bar, and we agreed hot chocolate was a better choice for Jack. Actually, he had two hot chocolates -- he spilled the first one down the front of his coat and ski pants as well as over the top of his helmet.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Tuesday night and the kids are still friends. This generation obviously got the social skills...

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

After four days together, this was as close as I could get to Stella and Greta. And would they talk to me? Forget about it...

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Who goosed Lauri? I'm looking at you, Greta...

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Only Cate and Sofia can maintain their perfect pose while bedlam ensues around them...

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

...but apparently such photographs have become tiresome to Sofia.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Look, Mom, no hands! One day, this talent will come in handy at the sorority house.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

On Wednesday, we took another "day off" from skiing and returned to the Rec Center.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

She may only be a year-and-a-half, but Stella knows what she wants -- she's pointing to the big water slide.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Say "no" to this face; I dare you. Lauri took her back to the slide.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Hey! There's a guy taking my picture! That's creepy!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Cate. Big kid. Big slide. Playing to the camera.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Greta is getting to be a big kid too, but she's happy to have a little help from her Mom.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Greta loves every moment, but what happened to Lauri? She must be taking one for the team.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

If the sandwich doesn't fit in your mouth, you just have to jam harder.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Greta day five: still not talking to me.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

We were back at A-Basin on Thursday. Grandma Mary pulled Stella-duty at the bottom of Molly Hogan. She didn't seem to mind.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

On the Molly Hogan lift. We had *beautiful* weather throughout the week. Skiing so late in the year can sometimes be a hot and slushy affair, but the temperatures were cool despite all the sunshine.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Cate, Greta, and Jack: they're a skiing triple-threat!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Remember, people, I only wear my goggles indoors because *I can't see without them*. Because of my vision disability, it's no longer funny to make snide comments about the goggles or even mention them in casual conversation. I wear the helmet indoors because I fear timber-frame chalets may collapse at any time. This fear is, of course, reasonable and well-founded.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

While waiting for everyone else to emerge from the mid-mountain chalet, Cate and I do what comes naturally -- we take dozens and dozens of photographs.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Cate. Nelson. Ski. Bunny.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Greta too made the trek to mid-mountain. Impressive.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I think Greta is finally warming up to me. She's making fish-lips at me. Actually, I'm not at all sure how I should interpret this.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Tired Child Syndrome (TCS) symptom #78: crawling into the back of a van and refusing to emerge after a long day of skiing. I prescribed a nap during the ride home.

Friday, March 20, 2009

She may be only eighteen months old, but Stella has her ski gear.

Friday, March 20, 2009

On Friday (our last day), both Stella and Greta finally cracked. They would both tolerate my presence, and I really can't ask for more than that. You can sense our new-found chemistry in the photo.

Friday, March 20, 2009

For a change of scenery on Friday, we skied [Copper Mountain](http://www.coppercolorado.com/index.htm) (mountain not pictured).

Friday, March 20, 2009

The three of us skied the Kokomo and Lumberjack lifts for much of the day. I had a hard time getting Jack to stand still for a photograph with his sister.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Cate skiing: all smiles. She's developing a passion for skiing -- while we purchased tickets, stowed the lunch and otherwise got organized, Cate exhorted us with a (somewhat) friendly: "C'mon, let's get going!"

Friday, March 20, 2009

Jack skiing: all business. Late in the day, Jack failed to stop at an "intersection" of two trails, and I was deeply worried that he went the wrong way and got lost. We ultimately caught up with him on the right trail, but he still lost the iPod Touch and computer for the rest of the day.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Cate: all smiles. Jack: all business. Both: how can they possibly see through such ill-fitting goggles?

Friday, March 20, 2009

The kids have never been much for sleeping in the car, but four days of skiing fixed that. We drove from Copper Mountain to [Virgin Islands ski rentals](http://www.virginislandsski.com/) *and* we were able to unload four pairs of skis, boots, and poles without waking Jack...

Friday, March 20, 2009

...or waking Cate.