snow day #4

we are on  #4-the kids are still enjoying the snow-although sledding continues to be difficult because it is so deep. jeff, susan and shawn came to join the fun of trying to cut some paths in the snow. i coaxed the kids into taking a walk through the woods and ben got bundled up to be a part of it all. bobby had the idea for the boat-and it may work well after a few runs, but pulling it back up the hill is challenging :) 

now if i could only get anneliese to pull it up-she is the one in need of the heavy work! her new best friend jeff offered to give her a lift.

snow play

i can't get enough of snow pictures-

on thursday it snowed and snowed in sheets and blankets of flakes. it is so deep it comes up over my boots. we spend lots of time getting ready. boots, socks, mittens...several times a day. but it is magical once we finally make it outside. anneliese did not stay out long enough for me to get pictures of her at this point, but i had to call grant and emily so they wouldn't lose any fingers or toes.

 she is the queen of belly flops-now we have the snow version...

the weather changed our weekend plans. i was supposed to catch a flight to chicago on friday to take pictures of whitter's new baby girl, but the flight was cancelled as was school. we took the opportunity to go to snow creek. bobby had taken the 3 kids earlier this year on a day they had off-but i had to work. so this time i got to ski with the kids and bobby and ben watched from the lodge windows. they sat by the fire and made lots of new friends- i wish i would have taken a picture of that :)

the kids had lessons on the first go round-so after finally getting our passes and equipment we got to start. i skiied with anneliese between my legs most of the time-but as the sun was going down i wanted to try and get some pictures. it was a new challenge to ski while taking pictures :)

i was inside the lodge and grant was eager to GO

  at one point the line to the lift was getting long so i suggested we head up to the higher lift. it didn't seem 'that' much higher. oh my. grant and emily were ahead of anneliese and i on the lift. they started down without waiting for me-so i witnessed them pointing their skis straight down the steep descent and then tumble into little heaps losing skis in the process. i had anneliese with me-so as i sidestepped down trying to assist them i was wondering to myself how in the world we were going to recover. 

then 2 snowboarders rescued us. they helped the kids get their skis back on and then stayed with them the whole way down the mountain. i told them thank you about a million times and we never again complained about the length of the line on the short lift.

overall it was GREAT fun. 

 i really loved watching grant help emily with the lift

 and i loved hearing 'hey mama we're up here'

 super fun moment :)

 "the light is perfect" was not enough to slow them down to take some pictures

 and i think i've decided that skiers are awesome. everyone was so nice and helpful-it made the trip a success.