Snowshoeing

The stars finally aligned ... G is not sick, she doesn't have a ton of homework, it's sunny and in the 20s, there's lots of snow on the ground ... so we went snowshoeing after school. We're supposed to get a few more inches of snow tomorrow, so we're hoping Dan can get out with us this weekend.

G & Maike blaze a trail

Maike waits for me

Maike's favorite pastime

Less Than Zero

Yesterday started another patch of subzero weather. It should break tomorrow afternoon, when the forecast calls for it to warm up enough to dump another 3 to 6 inches of snow on us.

Dan & Maike brave double digit negative temps and blowing snow to get the Sunday paper

More of Same

It snowed for more than 24 hours here, and finally stopped about an hour or so ago. No idea what the total accumulation was ... deep and drifting. There was no school today, but G has been sick *again* so it didn't really matter. Spring cannot come fast enough at this point.

Maike loves snow. She and I plodded around in it for a while this afternoon

Subzero

No school yesterday in this part of the state because of high winds/sub-zero weather. Because the front was out of the east, our house was freezing. The only warm place was G's room. She & I spent the day there, playing games and watching Discovery videos.
P.S. That isn't a beard or a kitten around my neck as some have inquired ... it was so cold I borrowed one of G's faux fur stoles and her Barnard sweatshirt.

Perfect Winter Day

We had perfect winter weather on Sunday. Temperatures were in the upper 20s, there was no wind, it was sunny and there was lots of powdery snow over a snow/ice base. We spent two hours sledding, tubing and tobogganing on our front hill with some friends. We finally gave up not because we were cold but because we were so wet.

G breaking in a path

Paths got faster as time wore on

You can stay out a lot longer when you're not slogging up the hill with your snow craft!

Animals

No trip to the Kalahari would be complete without checking out the wildlife.

G with a joey

G with Jasmin, a 5 1/2-week-old lion cub

Talking with the naturalist about rescuing exotic animals

Other Fun Stuff

Ripplin' Rhino

Lazy River

FlowRider

The Kalahari has a FlowRider, which shoots 50,000 gallons of water a minute uphill to simulate a five-foot wave. During the day you can boogie board (no standing, but just about anything else goes). Dan and G both tried it.

Catch a Wave

First one in ...

... but not for long

Suite Life

G had a winter break, so we spent two days at the Kalahari Resort (indoor waterpark) in Wisconsin Dells. Although we had a confirmation for Thursday and Friday, when Dan went to check in, the computer had us in a room on Friday and Saturday. Because all regular rooms were totally booked, the reservations manager bumped us up to a suite. It was larger than my first three apartments in D.C.!

Kitchen

Living room with fireplace and plasma TV

Sitting area with balcony and view of outdoor pool and Dells countryside

Cannonball Run

Coexist

My pantheist ...

Plugged In

Geometry, made palatable with the Christmas iPod.

Gingerbread House

Today's activity: making a gingerbread house. Didn't occur to me until after she started that there's no place to display it, because Luna respects no boundaries and loves to pull things apart.

More fun with friends!

Working hard

Finished product

O Tannenbaum!

The tree is up at Grandpa's. He and G made their annual pilgrimage to a local tree farm and picked out a balsam this year. You can smell it all through the house. The highlight of the tree is always the hand-crocheted stars we have from Grandpa's cousin Sr. Theodora in Germany. Like snowflakes, no two are the same!




Before

After

(G in her annual tree skirt ensemble)

Plowing Out

No School!

Snow and ice today ... everything, including swimming practice over Coach's objection, was cancelled.

Wrapping gifts

Cleaning "the alley"

Snow Day!

A Tree Grows Not in Brooklyn

There's a tree in the corner of our yard that never grew. We decorated our little Charlie Brown tree anyway. Then, all of a sudden, it was over our heads. D bought new LED energy-efficient lights for it, and he & G put them up today.

Tree in 1997

D & G posing with LED lights

It's finally over Dan's head, making the task a little more time-consuming

Finished by nightfall!

Catching Snow

Tobogganing

Down the back hill

Maike, ever the supervisor

Rosy cheeks!

Fog Hill

View of Rainbow Hill from the county line

Crazy winter weather: snow, rain, sleet, slush, ice

Thanks Nana!

When my parents visit us, one of the must-dos is a pilgrimage to Kohl's. My mom and G love doing this, especially because there's an ongoing debate about whether "2-for-1" or "half-price" is the better deal. Unfortunately, this year my mom wasn't able to travel, so there was no Kohl's trip. But then my mom sent us some money so G could still do a Kohl's shopping spree. Lucky for us it came during the "Storewide 50-60% Off Sale"!

So thanks Nana! Since you can do the steps now to get to Pop-Pop's computer, here's what we got:




Snowman tablecloth and dish

Throws and pillows for the almost-finished attic

These Friends of Mine

We have some friends who seem to have a way of making things appear just when they're really needed ... goody bag during my mom's accident ... Buddhist meditations in the aftermath ... binoculars ... Manga bible. You get the picture. Recently we had them to dinner at the spur of the moment. I cut up some potatoes and sweet potatoes and threw them in the oven. When I served them, I lamented the fact that I had actually wanted to serve a *tri-colored* dish, but couldn't find purple potatoes at the grocery store. Guess what showed up next?

Tonight's potato mélange ... complete at last!

Wat U Say?

G's swim team is preparing to host its annual winter swim meet in two weeks. A swim dad who's a professional photographer did this lineup last week.

Fun Facts: The head coach is a former Navy SEAL. And the girl in the front row at the far right who is in middle school regularly kicks HS boys' butts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dan, G & I spent the day together cooking. G baked a Toll House pie, Dan did the turkey and stuffing, and I made "Green Beans Kayleen" and the mashed potatoes. We had a lot to be thankful for (first and foremost, that my mom and Uncle Dick are still with us, after a tough year) during our low-key celebration. Joe skipped Aunt Joan's and ended up joining us.

G pours her pie filling

Here's to all we have to be thankful for

First Snow

Last night we got our first measurable accumulation of snow. G & I sat in our chairs by the window and watched it come down.

Papasan

G & I spent the day in Madison (after sleeping in, of course). We did some bricks-and-mortar Christmas shopping and general browsing. Although we've looked at lots of different chairs for the area in front of our big window, G has been lobbying hard for a papasan chair. Well, in our travels today we found one. Anyone want to give me odds where she'll spend the rest of her break?

Unwrapping the chair took a bit of time

Ensconced in her nest