Burrr!

We woke up Saturday morning to a dense fog. By the time it dawned on me how pretty Giant Springs would be we almost missed the fog but found a winter wonderland just the same.
The girls love the fact that the Roe River is the "Worlds Shortest River." We have spent a lot of time exploring this little State Park but can you believe we have never fed the fish?
Kyndra, Jaida, and Avery froze their little fingers off but had a blast throwing big chunks of snow onto the ice to try and break it.  It was below zero down in the fog but they didn't seem to care all that much.
Look at the trees!  The hoarfrost was just beautiful.
In the summer, we have seen birds, bunnies, cactus, and snakes on this trail.
Tony found some things to shoot amongst the frosted over yucca and sparkling branches.  Silly me didn't look at his shots before they headed home.

Chinook winds have come through and today it's supposed to be 45 degrees!  Gotta love it!

White Friday

My plans for shopping in Pendleton with Heather as my guide were changed when the roads were too stinky to make the trip. I'm not a shopper...and when Stacy "C" asked if we wanted to meet them for a day of sledding I was easily talked out of going out on Black Friday.

We left the wind of Great Falls behind and my spirits began to rise as they always do driving toward the Big Belt Mountains and the Missouri River. Montana didn't let me down as she lit up the snowy Rocky Mountain Front before us. When I pointed out "The River" house at exit 244 to the girls Avery made this comment, "I want to live in a cabin on some water some day." Hmmm...either she is truly cut from my cloth or she has heard me say that many many times. We made it to Helena a little slower than usual but without incident and finally, after all of these years, Stacy and I were able to get our kids together!

	Between the two of us we have two first graders, two third graders, two fifth graders, and a freshman! Quite a clan! This is Kennedy...she is Neege's oldest and has a head of curly hair under that hat.
	Using the snow mobiles to pack down the track, we were off and sledding in no time. Avery got the prize for most runs. The only break that little fearless girl took was to eat lunch. I have no pictures of Kyndra sledding, on the other hand, because she would only go with me.
	Camdon made a few trips without a hat or gloves before he turned in his sled for a football. What an arm this little guy has!
	Colt is cute as can be. He is the same age as Avery and reaches to about her shoulders.
	I'm not sure I saw Tylee sled...she spent most of her time digging a snow cave.
	Then there is Jake...the smartest and sweetest sophomore at HHS who forgot his snow boots. Note the high waters. Jake has grown 6 inches in the last year.
	Here is Stacy's clan...I think I got most of them in here. Neege drug in some pallets for a bon fire that saved the day. we were able to keep warm and dry in between wipe outs on the hill. There was another family there that drug in a BBQ and the kitchen table.
	Everyone got a ride on the sleds. I must say the girls enjoyed it more than I did. I don't see any motorized toys in my near future.
	Yep, she grinned like that the whole time.
	Avery marched right up to Neege and asked for a ride. She got the first one of the day.

It was a great day! Thanks Nelsons for including us in your fun!

BTW...there is always Cyber Monday, right?

Snow Story

It started Tuesday and didn't end until last night...snow!

I found myself looking out the window Tuesday night thinking, "oops, I forgot to buy a shovel."

Dad came to the rescue the next day but I'm afraid I had already made tracks on our very steep driveway and they instantly turned to ice!

He brought not only a shovel but a snowblower and cleaned off driveway.

Since that day, I've had to shovel 4 more times.

Wednesday I tried using the snowblower...I was going cross-ways and slid down the driveway sideways.

Thursday I just shoveled.

Friday I took a "by."

Saturday I tried the blower on the sidewalks...they are flat and easy.

Today I'm sure I gave the nosy lady across the street a giggle.

I figured it out while giggling the whole time myself.

The blower goes best downhill but you have to blow the snow somewhere.

So, I blew it in the middle because there was too much to blow in front of me.

Then, I can run it back up the hill backwards and go down again.

Repeat for other side of driveway.

That left a huge median of snow in my driveway that I debated leaving.

Not liking to leave a job half-done, I shoveled it off to the sides.

Whew!  Who needs a PEAK membership when you have snow!

I Spy...drive to Corvallis version

I spy something white:

Snow

I spy something fluffy:

Snow

I spy something on the trees:

Snow

I spy something on the road:

Snow

I spy something on the cars:

Snow

I spy something coming out of the sky:

Snow

I spy something piled up on the side of the road:

Snow

I spy something making people drive 10 mph!!!!

FRICKIN' SNOW!!!!

You get the picture.

It took us 10 hours to get here but we are here...

3 kids (Andrew is with us), 2 dogs, and all!

For pictures see Lindsay's "Traveling" post.

SSDD (same snow, different day)

First Snow

It snowed!

A little bit goes a long way around here.

We played out all morning.

Our "snow dogs" are loving this white stuff.

Now it's time for hot cocoa and making pretzle "sticks."

Enjoy the fluffy stuff!

Sledding Party

We went to The Big House for a sledding and birthday party for Melisa. It's hard to believe there is nothing in town and just 30 miles up the mountain there is waist deep, beautiful snow.


We trudged our way up the hill a bit with Lon leading the way on his x-country skis. Kyndra was sticking right behind Lon, carrying a huge icicle the entire way.

Landon was skiing, and the rest of the kids were getting a free ride on the sleds.

It only took a couple of sinking attempts at sledding before we realized we had gone as far as we were going to go. We trudged back to the house and found some snow banks, created by snow sliding off the roof.

I thought our crazy dog would be exhausted after running and plowing through the snow for 3 hours so I put her in the back of the truck while we went in and ate. We just got a new canopy on it before Christmas. While in there, she ate most of a plastic bread bag left over from feeding the ducks, AND chewed the wire in half that gives the canopy tail-lights! UUGGHHHH!

The kids were exhausted and both fell asleep on the way home, it's a miracle! I hauled them to bed, pulled their boots and coats off, and had a blissfully quiet evening. This morning, I awoke to Kyndra crawling into bed with me complaining of Avery's light being on. Avery had told me at the big house that she didn't want to sleep in her clothes (she had been listening to Ronda and I talk about them falling asleep on the way home). She had gotten up this morning, noticed that she didn't have pj's on, and proceeded to change, at 6:30 a.m. When I got up she scolded me for not putting them on her before bed.

It was a great day. I want to go back to the mountains and snow. What a beautiful place for family and friends to gather.

Pajama Snowsuits

We woke up to this...

which turned to this by noon.

But first there was plenty of time to do this...

and this.