February was the month all about Jaden...why??? He turned 16! He bought himself a Pontiac Fiero on his birthday, he got his license, had a couple of snowboarding competitions and we went to Macs Inn snowmobiling for his special week! He has turned into an awesome young man and we are so glad he is a part of our family. He is working and hanging a lot with his friends but he always finds time to be with us. He went to Snowbasin for a snowboarding competion and over-rotated a back flip. He was hurt pretty bad and was out of commision for a good 2 weeks but it didn't stop him from trying again at The Canyons, he did well but didn't place. Next year will be his year! Snowboarding is his love and he seems to be a natural.
It was also Kens birthday, not to be as celebrated with as much enthusiasm as Jades, but it did happen and Ridge was all over decorating the cake that Ke'Nia had baked earlier. A quiet night, just as he ordered!
Ken and Ridge also had a Klondike Derby and Ken offered to build the sled and this is what they came up with! The parts came from this...
that was blogged about by my dear neighbor and friend and it went down like this...
Why I Love My Neighbors...This thing. That's why.
I've been driving past it every day for months now & every time I crack up laughing. Why, you ask? Because it reminds me of my childhood. Days long gone when kids played outside until dark & then their parents had to drag them into the house. Days when kids "invented" stuff & spent their summers testing their new inventions. Growing up with three brothers, we had many such contraptions around our house. I remember a dresser that got turned into a human jail cell, a couch with wheels attached that careened down the road from time to time, my brother building huge jumps so he could ski off the roof, the eight man sled that took us sailing into "the hollow" at ridiculous speeds, and more.
Nowadays, its seems like we don't see that kind of spirit out of kids. They spend so much time watching T.V. & playing video games. However, I think my hometown here in the Mountains is a rare exception. And that is why I love it here so much. People LOVE to be outside! Kids play in huge sand piles, ride their bikes, run around, and just enjoy being kids.
The Martin boys, who made this funny "ski-sled", have been amusing me for the last 5 years, and as they are now turning into men (sniff, sniff), I'm sure they will continue, because lets face it- boys never really grow up. Since I've known them, I've watched them spend countless hours riding their 4-wheelers up to the lake to fish or hike. They spent one summer rigging up a zip-line to go across it, which Seth thought was hysterical. I've found little splotches of hot-pink paint all over in my flower beds & chuckled at the realization that it was paint balls strategically aimed at us from their yard. They built a crazy-looking go-cart last year that I'm sure even Olympic lugers would be scared of. I see them out playing night games, building stuff with their dad, taking care of their yard, re-building old cars, and just being boys. AND I LOVE IT!
I'm grateful on a daily basis to live in this beautiful place, surrounding by such amazing people. And for whatever reason, this funny little contraption I see every day brings be joy because it reminds me of that. Just thought I'd share :)
Was she telling me in a nice way to quit being the white trash in the neighborhood? hmmm maybe, possibly but probably not..but it did bring to my attention of all the "inventions found here at the Martin residence and I did make them take care of this "thing" as soon as she posted! Anyways... The sled built for the Klondike derby WON! Way to go Ridge and Dad :) and until the "Phineas and Ferbs" of the family "invent and build again....our yard is white trash free!
