Frozen Parts and Some Sleds

In all the years we've lived here (7), we have NEVER gone sledding; even though there is a fabulous hill very close by. The reasons are these...the big snowfalls always seem to happen on Sundays (true story) and we have never owned good sleds.

This year we bought sleds to give the kids for Christmas, but then forgot about them since they were hiding in the trunk of Randy's car. But as we drove home from Michelle's house in the snow on Wednesday evening, the kids began to talk about sledding and I surprised by them by saying, "We got you sleds, we just forgot to give them to you!" It was a bonus Christmas really.



So by 9:45am Thursday morning the kids were each calling a friend (on two separate cell phones, which was funny really) to invite them to go sledding with us. It was very fortunate that Parker and Madison were available, because that made the outing much more fun for the kids.

This is Landon's "It's really cold out here" smile.

The girls were even colder because poor Madison was wearing rain boots, but they managed to smile normal.


I spent the hour taking pictures of the kids and of the snow-covered plants nearby. Of course I felt tempted to take a turn sledding down the hill, but then had several "Fun Mom or Stupid Mom" flashbacks from adventures past and opted not to brave it.


Instead I stood contemplating the cold because I only had my foxy pair of rain boots to wear, so even with 2 pairs of socks on I still froze. The boots may keep the wet out, but they seem to celebrate the cold.

The hike up the hill drained them a little more each time.

She's just plain cute.

Landon and Parker tried all kinds of ways to get down the hill, but the girls stuck to sitting down and facing forward. (There's a reason it's almost always boys who end up on America's Funniest Home Videos.)

Now that's a better smile.

At one point, I looked down and saw Whitney just lying at the bottom of the hill...classic Whitney.


The discolored spot on the side of my nose looks oh so magnified these days because the dermatologist used liquid nitrogen on it the other day; apparently when it heals the spot will be gone (woohoo).

After an hour of sledding the kids were icy cold and exhausted, but I was the only one bright enough to take a hot shower when we got home. Hee.

**Have you gone sledding recently?
Did you remember any of those flashbacks?
Do you own snow boots?
Have you ever had liquid nitrogen on your face?**

Comment Window Tidbit: It feels like a Saturday, but it's really only Friday...I love it when that happens!

Wordless Wednesday

Comment Window Tidbit: Mother Nature suddenly remembered that it's winter and is making up for lost time!

Five for Friday--Frozen Nard Week Edition

1. While driving I saw 2 amusing things within 30 seconds time.

--A heavily bearded man wearing very short shorts and tennis shoes that looked like saddle shoes from afar shoveling snow. (Please, take a moment to visualize the bizarre nature of this scene.)


--Right after passing the oddly dressed, shoveling man I passed a house with the "A Christmas Story" lamp in the window. I don't want one, but it was funny to see.


2. I put a note in Whitney's lunch the other day and was surprised to find a note from her stuck to the side of a box on the kitchen counter the next day. Sidenote: She has taken to signing things with her initials WES and signing her school papers Whitney E S (which is a bit confusing).


3. I've been carrying my book with me while shopping in an effort to make standing in line more enjoyable. I find I do better in lines if I have a cart to lean on.


4. Michelle and I got together yesterday for lunch and a shopping trip to Kohl's. We've talked a couple times this week, but it was our first time getting together since she got back from Paris. Now the poor girl is sick, what is up with the universe?


5. The cable guy came this morning (at 7:45!) to upgrade our DVR and change out a rotting wire (something outside) so we had to move the Christmas tree out of his way. This exposed the very naked backside of the tree and made it look a bit ridiculous. I think it must be like seeing someone without their wig or dentures...just not right.


At one point this was the message on TV screen. I have no idea what he had to do to make things work, but he got things up and running despite the wickedly cold temperature.


Just to give you an idea of the cold we've got going on here, I took this picture of the INSIDE of our bathroom window! Granted, we have really inefficient 70s windows that produce a lot of condensation on the inside of the house, but having our bathroom window frozen shut by an inch of ice is just plain wrong!

**Would you ever display a lamp like this?
How do you pass your time in lines?
Is the backside of your tree decorated?
Do you have an upgraded DVR?
Ever have ice inside your windows?**

Comment Window Tidbit: We had another successful game night tonight, but there is a definite price to pay in clean up when it's over.

Nard Removal --The Sequel

{What the??}

Remember when I wrote about freezing my nards off back in October during one of Landon's football games? Well that was nothing. Mother Nature is currently taking nard removal to a whole new low and it is ridiculous. The only good thing about it is that it's cold enough to wear my cute scarf from Paris.


The freezing temperatures make for some pretty photo ops outside, it's just that it's too cold to go out there and take the pictures! I snapped this one from my front porch and then ran back inside and said, "Man, it's cold out there!" (I seem to say the most profound things when I'm freezing.)

**How do you deal with the cold?
What does your scarf look like?
How often do you say something so
incredibly obvious you want to smack yourself?**

Here are the Winners from yesterday's Good Mail Giveaway
22--Robyn
26--Shauna
12--Crystal
1--Watson Family
4--Melinda

Comment Window Tidbit: I stood in line (with Michelle even) at Kohl's for about 20 minutes today and it wiped me out. I have no capacity for standing in lines at all!

Ice, Ice Baby

{The beach towel is serving as a shoe dryer these days.}

I bought some very cute boots last week at Target after our last big snow storm. I have been wearing regular shoes in the snow for years and decided it was time to have some sort of sensible footwear for the winter, plus these were just so cute.


Here's my trouble. They're not warm at all, they basically keep my feet dry and chilled. I wore them to pick the kids up from school today and then almost broke my ankle trying to take them off. Is there a secret to this? Perhaps I should have sat down, instead I hopped around getting snow everywhere and managed to soak my socks in the process. Hmm, is it me or is that the opposite of their intended purpose? (I never knew I was lacking boot-removal skills.)


I had another weather-related issue this morning as I was stepping out of my car to go into our primary presidency meeting. I had to park at the end of the driveway behind the 2 other cars (I was last to arrive, tsk, tsk) so as I set my left foot down on the ground out of the car my foot slid (I wasn't wearing my boots at the time) on the ice. Fortunately it wasn't a full-on wipe out, it was more of a very ungraceful slide causing ankle pain, a shin-splint type feeling and some embarrassment and irritation (all in about 3 seconds time). What is up with the universe?


Four years ago I took a nasty fall coming out of Amy H.'s house one night after bookclub. I went to turn my car on and totally biffed it on a sheet of ice (which I didn't see in the dark). I landed in a hurdlers position with my right leg bent and tucked under me. It hurt so badly I thought for sure I'd broken my leg. I only ended up spraining my ankle and was in great pain for several weeks. Ever since then I walk like an old lady when it comes to ice. You'd think I feared breaking a hip, and maybe I do because ever since that fall at I'm always expecting my feet to fly out from under me (it's awful). I'm only 36, isn't that too young to be walking gingerly?

{This is the view through our storm door today}

The snow has been blowing like crazy so it covered the front of the house, weird. I felt sort of snowed in except for having to run out three times today.

Happy Birthday to Jen!!

**Are you freezing your nards off too?
Do you have boots?
Do you have boot-removal skills?
Do you walk like an old woman in the winter?**