More skiing!

January 18, 2008--

Dale and I went skiing again! When we went on the 1st, we skied on the mountain closest to my house and this time we went to a mountain closer to Mom and Dale's. It's one of my favorites places to ski because the mountain isn't that big but it's still challenging. The weather today was much different than when we went skiing on the 1st! We started out with all of our gear on (see above) and within a couple of hours we were unlayering (see picture below). It was about 40 degrees at the top of the mountain during the peak of the day and beautiful blue skies all day long.~

Skiing on the First Day of the New Year!

January 1, 2009--Dale and I went skiing on the first day of the new year and we were in for a windy surprise! It was blizzard-like conditions for much of the day and it was especially challenging trying to get back to the main side of the mountain from the back side because of the wind. We had a great time skiing though, despite the added "work" of moving the snow (there were no groomed runs that day) and here are a few pictures I took while protecting my camera from the wind and snow.

The picture of Dale was taken on the back side of the mountain. Isn't the mountain range beautiful?

The clouds in the distance broke just in time for me to take this picture.~

Is it a bird? Or a dog? Or a bird dog?

January 5, 2009-- I get such a kick out of our dog, Stanley, age 7, when he gets excited and thinks it's time to go outside to play fetch. (Yes, even in the snow.) Click on the video below to see what he sounds like when he knows it's "time." It's like I can't get my coat or shoes or gloves on fast enough. He makes this squeaking noise that seriously does not sound like it comes from a dog, let alone a dog his size (85 lbs)! The video quality is awful because the lighting was so poor but you'll get the idea. If only we could take such joy in our play time! You can kind of see that our female yellow lab, Holly, age 5, is equally excited bouncing up and down but she doesn't quite say it like Stanley!

Happy Birthday, Pops!

December 29, 2008-- Today is Pops' birthday! I have called my father-in-law, Terry, "Pops" since way back when Jeremy and I were still dating. Much like the nickname I gave Grandpa "Big Joe" way back then, it stuck. I even hear several of my in-laws call him that now. Here's a picture of Pops from Christmas with our neice, (Terry's Granddaughter) Addyson.~

Merry Christmas!

December 24-28, 2008-- Hi, everyone! I plan to post some info and photos from our fantastic Christmas adventures (six houses in four days!) here in the next week or two...check back soon!~

Christmas at the Ranch

December 20, 2008-- We were honored to join Gary and Melissa at the "Ranch" (see September posting entitled "Bogus Creek Ranch" for warm weather pictures of the same location) for Gary's office Christmas party. We had a great time and as always the food, entertainment and company were fantastic! Here's a picture of us in the covered wagon that they used to shuttle us back to the huge heated tent for the party.~