Can you see our house? They cleaned out the drainage ditch in front by the road, and the snow pile is enormous.
Nate and I went on our favorite date on Saturday morning. We skied for two hours from our house, around the little mountain behind us, and back across the field to our house. Here is Nate at a great lookout point. The town of Mantua is below. Oh, you can't see any buildings? Isn't it great?!
There's me, coming up the hill and a bit of Nate's finger. One of the best things about cross country skiing, is you can wear your husbands old clothes and it doesn't matter. I find downhill skiers always look like they just went shopping at REI.
That little dot is really me. This field on the backside was a very long slight downhill ride. What a trip. Nate prefered skiing up a steeper hill and down it, that's why he's so far away from me. Along the way we saw the remains of a large elk that got caught in a fench. We also saw the wings and feathers of a large hawk. Nate thought it was shot down, but I thought it was hunted, because the wings were left whole and by themselves. Would hunters leave the wings behind and take the rest? Any ideas my naturalist friends? I guess it could be a combo scenario.
Okay, so now we pause to reflect on the last year of our living here. I do this to prove that yes, the other seasons, besides the snow season, do indeed exist. Here is Emily and Ben in front of the colorful trees in our front yard.
Here is spring, right after we moved in. My sister Jill and her hubby Thain, and the Floyds are over for a large bonfire. Nate burned all of our moving boxes, much to the delight of the kids.
Another spring shot shortly after we moved in. I love the trees all blossomed out.
Our favorite summer activity after Nate got home from work, was walking or biking to the lake and taking a dip. We liked watching the little fish play in the seaweed.
A fun thing for the kids and I was to walk or bike to the campground while Nate was at work. They could play for hours in the stream.
This is looking up to Willard Peak from our house, my personal favorite view. The hills are alive with fall fruity pebbles foilage. Are you convinced yet that this is a great place to live? :)
Now we are back to this last weekend. It's going to take several posts for me to get used to how this picture layout works. Ben looks so adorable pulling his sled up this hill.
There's pretty Emily. She was the first one down the hill! She didn't fall, and did beautifully on her skis. Unfortunately, it wiped her out. For the rest of the day she would fall easily and get discouraged.
Looking down our new favorite ski and sled hill. That's my good friend Heidi and her daughter Aubrey skiing. I taught her how to ski this winter and she's been hooked ever since. It's nice to have company during the day ski trips when Nate is at work. She and her daughters are pros already!
There's me and Deven taking a little break. We don't have ski gear on, because it was 57 degrees when we left the house. For you Arizona, New Mexico, CA, and Brazil folks, I know it still sounds chilly. For us, it was heavenly. This morning (monday, the 3rd of March) it was 8 degrees as I sent Emily off to get the bus. Brrr!
There is Hannah, Heidi's daughter, and behind her my friend Andria (she's the mom of 4 1/2 kids, and homeschools them all. Just to show how tough this lady is, she walked all the way up this snowy hill, while we leisurely skied up.)
There is Hannah, the back side of Heidi and Emily. You can't tell that it's really kind of a steep drop off and Hannah is hanging on tight so she doesn't go flying down the hill.I know it's March, and some days feel like spring, but it's going to be hard to put away the skis for a few months. This has been an amazing year for us! Skiing every day that we want to, right out our door is definitely spoiling us.
I just read a great book called "A Train to Potevka" by Mike Ramsdell. I loved it because it was educational, inspiring, and entertaining. It illustrated the life lesson that good things come out of hard times. I wish I could write such a book. I'll put it on my life list. For now, the kids keep me pretty occupied.
Sorry Katherine, my shopping lists and bills were much to boring. I would rather show off Mantua. I made pudim last week for Heidi's birthday. It was yummy! Have you learned how yet? I would like to make pao de quejo (brazilian cheese bread), but I need special flour. Could you ask your mamacita maid for a good recipe? Thank goodness for the internet!
Ciao for now friends!
