It's Melting....

What are you doing out here, Kiki?
.

Who are you taking for a walk?
.

What is that?
.

Oh. It's Coconut.
.


Pipe down, Daisy. Get your tongue back in your mouth and go play with Scooter.
.

Scooter loves the snow...
.

He and Daisy have an understanding.

Why I Wished I Lived On a Cattle Ranch....

Because we don't live here, we have to come up with creative ways to exercise, in suburbia, with 6 ft. of snow on the ground, and when it's below freezing for 5 months out of the year.

This is one of the ways we do it---

Big brother is so surefooted.

.

And little brother is so thinking he's doing exactly the same thing.

We'll keep making due, I mean, being thankful for what God has given us, and wistfully visiting Ree's place on the web. With joy. With great, wistful joy.

It's a Given...

Why is it when you are up to your flour-y elbows in baking.....
.


It is also the exact same moment you will hear plaintive cries from the front door and desperate fists leveled upon it---"Mom! I have to go pahhhhhhhhhhhhtteeeeeeeeeeeee!" (And how dare I stop to take a picture? This was before I knew what they were banging about).
.

If you've heard me mention grinding wheat before, this is what it looks like--

From start....
.

To finish. Not far removed from grinding your own coffee beans. Just a little less available at the grocery store.

(apologies to my gluten intolerant friends)

Busy as a Beaver

Sawyer is always busy doing something. Lately he's taken to paperwork.

.

Artwork to be more exact.

.

Bidding opens 12pm PST.

Coming in to Fresh Baked Goodness...

They got a new sled.

.

And the mountain in our front yard is sporting fresh powder.

.

What they don't know yet, is what's waiting.....

.

When they come back inside--

warm chocolate chip cookies.

.

If they can get to them.

.

Warm chocolate chip cookies are worth quite a struggle.

.

They get to pick three.

.

It was SO worth it.

I Take Weird Travel Pictures....

Okay, lets get the regular shots out of the way, this is where we went for our anniversary:

White Face Mountain, but we pretty much ignored all that beauty because it was enshrouded in cloud cover except for this shot.

.

This is what the main steet of Lake Placid looks like and down there in the corner you can see what a retired couple we don't know looks like.

.

Lake Placid is home to the Adirondack chair.

.

You can eat at the WhiteFace Lodge for $36 a plate, or......

.

You can eat at this hole-in-the-wall, the "Eat-n-Meet", for under $10.

.

An Elvis mannequin greets you on the balcony overhead outside. There is one suitable table to eat at on the inside. But the two guys cookin' at the grill are classically trained chefs and offer a menu to rival the best restaurants in the world. I loved the juxtaposition.

.

Do you know what these are?

.

Duck prints.

.

They were waiting for the ferry.

.

Here's a touristy shot for you, the 2009 Ice Castle.

.

And boat.

.

Lake Placid offers dog sledding. He's waiting for his turn--to pull the sled.

.

His friends are out on the lake ready to go. It's a lonely job being on team B.

Not a Good Sign......

Tell me, someone, what does this mean?

Eighth Wonder of the World

Hey Tristan, whatch'a doin'?


"Makin' a pyramid."

Abbra-Cadabra

Just a sprinkle of fairy dust, and.......
.

It was like magic!


The magician.

I Messed Up......Scrolling Down Required

There are new snowman posts under "Sweep of the Tide".

Like the Sweep of the Tide.....

It's packing snow guys! Get your stuff on!
.


Sawyer, packing snow!
It's wet enough that you'll need your snow pants.....
.
.

Sawyer hates his snow pants.

How to Build a Snowman

First you're gonna need a really big snowball.

.

Then a medium one.

.

Then a Sawyer sized one.

.

Put it on top over here...

.

No, wait-----over there?
We need Kiki for this, where's Kiki?

The Finishing Touch...

Big sister was soon outside, stepping in as project director. It was a tough job, but necessary.
.

Tristan was co-commander. "Sawyer, we don't need this head, we've already got one."
.

"Sawyer, go get some buttons."
.

Umm-hmm.
.

I think, maybe...a hat.
.

And a scarf. Tah-daah!
.

"His name is Buddy."