Christmas Day

After our leisurely morning of stockings and gifts, David went out back to create.....

This is Mufasa, next to the dragon-sea creature-dinosaur baby creation that David sculpted!

Pickards arrived around 2pm, and we got into the next round of gifts pretty quickly. Jan, Ryker and Darlene

Jzo & Madi

Marina, Delaney, Kevin & Kendyll

Marina, Delaney & Kendyll

This is the finished painting I did for the Pickard family... "d" for Darlene & Delaney, "k" for Kevin & Kendyll and "m" for Madison!

Later, while most of the kids hit the snow for dark-sledding... some of us got into the newest version of Guitar Hero - World Tour Band... this is Dar singing and Jan playing bass, I think Kendyll might have been playing the other guitar too!

Mufasa can sleep thru anything!
Ryker & Tina - yes, he's growing!
Warming up before dinner.

Great Cousin Friends!

and "sister friends"....

Kevin & Darlene

All the kids say THANK YOU everyone!!!

and David & I feel very blessed! xoxoxo

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's a "White Christmas" this year for sure! A couple shots in this collage are from Christmas eve/day... and it's still coming down today - Christmas! We're very blessed, we have a great family, and lots of loving friends! This afternoon the Pickards are coming down from Marysville to celebrate the day with us. I think the kids might sled - the adults will eat, drink & be merrry... hope that's similar to your plan too! Cheers!

4th day of SNOW!

THREE Snow Days!

Take your already generous 2 week Winter Break vacation, add THREE "snow days" to kick it off and what have you got? Some happy kids! Here's Marina & Jordan heading out for some more neighborhood/golf course sledding (stay off the greens!). Sunshine all day didn't do much to melt away our snow, and the cold temps returned for the night.

Now it's Saturday, and they are predicting another major storm will hit tonight. High wind warnings, and another system coming in from the Pacific might collide and drop another 4-8" of snow tonight. I'll keep you posted! Now, I'm off to work on my sister's belated birthday gift/upcoming Christmas gift. David went to donate a bunch of our old coats to a charity, and to buy candles & batteries at the hardware store. 2 years ago we lost power for 3 days, so we have to be prepared.

A "REAL" Snow Day!

Once again, I got up at 5:30 to check the report on the computer re: school closures and sure enough... it again reported our district (and most others in the state) closed. We still had just a light dusting of snow, but two hours later when we woke up to enjoy a lazy Thursday morning at home, we had about an inch. It has proceeded to snow most of the day - light snow, with periods of heavier snow. Temps are currently at 27 degrees and falling. They have already posted "no school" again for Friday - so the kids got an extra 3 days to start off the winter break.

Back patio...

Mufasa resting after his mid morning walk. He LOVES snow!

Moka thinks it's fun to sniff and run around in, but then it makes her crazy to have balls of snow stuck to her legs and underbelly - so she's been in the warm shower and will refrain from romping in it for a while. Biscuit gets cold, but she likes it too, and she comes in clean. Our hardwood floors appreciate Biscuit.

... taken from inside the garage... I have not left the house all day! Tomorrow I'll probably have to venture to the grocery store. Plus we have a party to attend Friday night - it's w/in walking distance, but I hope to be a bit dressier than snow-clothes!

Snow Day????

What a rip off!

We've had below freezing (teens & 20's) temps for days and the prediction for today (Wed.) was we'd wake to a winter wonderland, possibly up to 8" of snow and lasting cold temps, so it would likely stick around a while.....

This photo is from 7:45 a.m.

The white specs on the ground are residual from the 1" of snow from Saturday night.

How are the kids who's schools are CANCELLED going to play in that?

Deck the Halls

My Great-Grandmother, "Dee-Dee" made this in 1971.

I've hung it in the hallway that joins the great-room, so I can see it often. One year I considered keeping it up all year -it's so sparkly and fun!