a beautiful day

Yesterday we took a trip up to the mountain where the sun was shining.

Reece got up on skis for the third year in a row!

We’re ready to hand him off to some instructors next time so he can really learn, but I think he is doing awesome.

Lorelai  wasn’t ready to start skiing, but she had fun playing in the snow and making a fashion statement.

Don’t be surprised if you start to see tutu’s over ski pants all over the slopes!

She liked spinning, not skiing.

Both of them liked throwing snowballs.

It was a beautiful day!

home is…lots of smiles.

secret tunnel

There is a tunnel that the kids like to walk through to get to school.

This morning it was snowing on the other side…

 

home is…a “secret tunnel”.

christmas unwrapped

I haven’t had the words to write lately.

I haven’t even taken as many photos as I would have liked, but I soaked up the holidays.

snow

christmas program

Lorelai didn’t want to stand up on stage and sing with her classmates.

Reece was an “old pro” as a kindergartner. He nailed his lines, kept his costume on, and even sang a little bit!

santa at playgroup

Reece brought a handwritten note…

and necklaces that he made especially for Santa.

Lorelai was brave and sat in his lap and told him she wanted a princess watch and a sleeping bag.

After eating and drinking, we went caroling…a new favorite tradition!

our home

And, just like that, it’s over.

Bittersweet.

Ryan and I decided that we need to have something to do on Christmas Day after the presents are opened.

We’re thinking of heading up to the mountain for some fun in the snow next year!

What do you do on Christmas Day?

home is…Christmas wrapped up.

early morning

I’ve been up for 3 hours with my oldest.

He’s 12.

His name is Ben.

He wasn’t our first baby.

He’s our black lab who has been with us since March 2000…before we were married!

Poor little guy has been in and out of the rain and snow about 20 times in the last 3 hours.

His tummy is bugging him.

Taking care of a sick pet is like taking care of a sick infant…they can’t tell you what hurts.

So, you just keep them comfortable the best that you can.

The first couple of times I got up with him I was frustrated.

He sleeps downstairs, so he walked on the wood floors at the bottom of the stairs and barked…letting me know he needed to go out.

Up and down I went.

By the 3rd time I realized that he really wasn’t feeling well.

I set up shop on the sofa downstairs.

Made some coffee.

Turned on the early news.

I don’t get quiet time in the house very often.

I don’t get time to watch the news in peace very often.

We don’t get snow in Portland very often.

I don’t know how much longer Ben will be around.

I’m enjoying my time with him this morning and hoping he feels better soon.

For now, I’ll just be here for him.

Watching the news.

Watching the snow.

Enjoying my coffee in peace.

home is…taking care of sick babies.

the much hyped snow storm

the much hyped snow storm

finally showed last night.

big fluffy flakes,

like rockets in the night.

down came the rain,

and washed the snow away.

the much hyped snow storm

is history today.

home is…a little tune to itsy bitsy spider.

snowball fight

We got enough snow here in the Pacific Northwest over the weekend to throw a few snowballs.

That’s about it.

A few snowballs.

I remembered that I had pinned a fun idea to one of my boards on Pinterest.

Source: fey-next2heaven.blogspot.com via Stephany on Pinterest

An indoor snowball fight kit!

So, I grabbed some white yarn that I had on hand for another craft and started making yarn snowballs!

I didn’t take a photo of how to make the snowballs, but you can see a tutorial here.

Source: persialou.blogspot.com via Stephany on Pinterest

{I like the idea for using yarn pom-poms for pretty packaging and other decorations}

I wrapped the yard around a piece od cardboard instead of my hand, and didn’t trim the balls, just left them “wild”.

It was really easy and only took about 20 minutes to make 10 snowballs.

I had a poster tube on hand from some art I recently ordered, so I put the snowballs in there.

I haven’t made a cute label for it, but plan to eventually.

So, if we don’t get anymore snow here in the Pacific Northwest we can still have a snowball fight anytime…indoors!

home is…a “snow” day project!

*linking up with…

{holiday home tour} i really can’t stay…

Did you enjoy the home tours I linked up to yesterday?

Here are a few photos from our backyard…

home is…ahh, but it’s cold outside.

*linking up with…

www.wherewomencreate.com

{colorado} day 3

The kids crashed last night.

Then both woke up around 1 am and wanted to be snuggled, but would not snuggle with me in the same bed. Thanks to Meme for snuggling with the little guy so I could snuggle with baby girl.

Eventually everybody got back to sleep and woke at a decent hour for the day.

We woke up to an unexpected (for me, at least) snowfall. A few inches of the white stuff had fallen and was falling as baby girl and I headed up for breakfast.

In Portland, schools would have been closed for a snow day, but life went on here in the foothills west of Denver.

The deer were eating their breakfast outside.

We shoveled the snow.

Tried to play with the deer.

Threw snow in the air.

Went sledding.

Built a snowman.

And, watched the snow melt.

We also took a trip to Whole Foods and Target, played with the remote control Jeep, and took naps (baby girl and I took naps while Meme played with the little guy).

The kids are sleeping and I am headed to bed soon…lets hope everybody sleeps through the night. We have a big day planned for tomorrow with cousin Sha-Sha! And, we may get more snow tonight!

Oh yeah, we also saw a coyote running up the draw before we went out sledding this morning!

home is…fun in the unexpected snow!

snow day!

Yes!  We got snow!

Not nearly as much as they had originally thought we might, but if we get an inch the schools close down here in Portland!

So, today is a snow day…

We built a snowman.

Threw snowballs.

Shoveled the driveway, sidewalk, and part of the street.

And, enjoyed it while it lasted.

By noon the snow had melted and now is only falling in short bursts to melt on impact.

home is…a snow day!

(I cannot get the formatting to cooperate with me on this post…what a bummer!)