Staying cozy

While me & the kids stay cozy this weekend, this is where Jason's choosing to be.
Camping. In the snow. In a tent.
Brrr! I think it was zero last night ... but so long as he's happy, right?

Having a REAL winter

These days dump trucks full of snow go past our house all day long. I think that when snow is being hauled off by the dump truck load, you're having a real winter. And I love it.

The past two winters we've spent in Idaho have had some snow, but overall been dreary and brown. This winter has been awesome -- it's been snowy and cold and beautiful and fun (maybe less fun for Jason who's done the majority of the shoveling). The brightness and the beauty that the snow creates is really lovely and it makes me happy :)

Nearby at Moscow Mountain -- in early December, I can only imagine how much more snow they've gotten since then.

Even at night, the snow creates so much light!

Luke is a big fan of the icicles :)

On sunny, cold days, things are especially beautiful! The snow sparkles like thousands of diamonds.

And we've even been getting some beautiful sunsets!

Bathroom makeover - part 2 ... the counter top

We've continued to make progress in our bathroom, slow progress, but progress nonetheless. The latest has been to figure out what in the world to do with our pastel tile counter top. Ugh.  Pretty hideous, especially with the new paint color.

Since (as always) we're on a budget, we figured it couldn't hurt to try the $25 Tub & Tile Refinisher first. Although it was VERY strong smelling and a bit stressful making sure we followed all the steps so that we wouldn't botch the application, we're pretty pleased with the results. Not perfect, but much much improved -- we think :)




Vanity area now looking a bit more like a real bathroom -- besides the tile refinish and the paint on the walls, we've added a light fixture & mirror (both were nonexistent when we moved in) and replaced the broken/leaky faucet. Next task: the flooring.

Getting sunburned!

We returned Tuesday night from a GREAT road trip to California. We were a little terrified of the 20 hour, one-way drive-time with our two kiddos, but they really did great all things considered and we are so so glad we gave it a try.

Heading south ... had to add 3 hours of extra driving onto our first day to beat out a NorCal snow storm. Made for a very, very long day but we were so glad to get miss out on the potential delays of getting stuck.


























Mabel asleep under her book :)

I got to be at the beach four times during our nine days there -- it wasn't always super warm, but we had one really fabulously warm beach day.

Sunset at Morro Bay with the kids --



























Day trip to Santa Barbara to meet up with my friend Julie & her hubby who'd driven up from LA to visit with us for the day. One of my most favorite people -- pen pals since high school summer camp and became great friends during the few years we both lived in LA before I joined Peace Corps. She (a previous missionary to Guatemala) was my inspiration for moving to Guatemala. It was such a joy to see her and wish her well as they anticipate the arrival of their first child in April.

At Montana de Oro with my sister and Luke's cousins --

Atascadero has a small zoo which we were able to take Luke to while my Mom watched Mabel.

Luke's favorite parts? Drinking from the lion drinking fountain and playing with the hanging chains for the walk-thru bird aviary. He's three :)

Christmas Day family photos -- almost all together, just missing Jeannie & Talon.

Post-Christmas family gathering -- hurray, the whole clan is together for the first time in nearly six years!!

One final trip to the beach ... to check out the elephant seals who winter on a beach not far from my parents. They are pretty crazy!

On the road home ... some pretty moments and also some not so great driving conditions. The roads had a bit more snow/ice than we'd hoped which kept us very much on our toes, but we made it safely home to a balmy 3 degree night in Moscow.

Luke & Jason at Multnomah Falls ... the wind chill was something fierce and I decided to stay in the car :)

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