winter days

After the craziness of the holidays I always welcome the return to a normal rhythm in our home. Work, school, cooking up yummy meals, ...our evenings spent doing puzzles, reading books, or having our weekly game night (we got several new games for X-mas and birthdays which have been fun). I would say the word quiet but that never describes a home with two small children, and certainly there is an element of being cooped up in the house that can have the kids bouncing off the walls. This of course is when you head outside depite the weather (we are Oregonians and don't let a little thing like rain get in our way). We have managed to get some good sledding and skiing in depite the paltry snowfall this year.

A few photos of the past month to share. First we made and canned some applesauce. Remember when we bought our winter supply of apples from our favorite orchard in October?? Well the apples were getting to be not so crunchy and before they actually spoiled we made them into sauce. We each had a heaping bowl of warm sauce and to my heart's delight Riley exclaimed "this is way yummier than the applesauce from the store!" Exactly.

Riley peeling the apples.....

...peeled apple corkscrew

lucy's apple glasses....

daddy cooking and canning the sauce....

.....and a bath to finish off the night.


We've been having some great ski days with both kids. Lucy spends her time (and really we are lucky to get an hour out of her before she starts asking for hot cocoa) on the "magic carpet" which replaced the rope tow (my gloves give thanks!). She screams the whole way down in part delight and part fear. She is having fun and we hope to get her up on the lift by the end of the season.

Lucy riding up the magic carpet....

...then squealing down the hill!

Riley is becoming a great little skiier. He can easily get down any green run and is now turning solidly enough to tackle the blues. He loves going fast (we've had a couple of talks about skiing in control), is into jumps, and generally is having a ball skiing.

Riley getting ready to ski...

...and he's off! Wait for me Riley!!

look at that form...solid!

.....and of course posing for the obligatory picture at the top of the mountain. What a gorgeous day to spend on the slopes with my little ski buddy!

The kids have also gotten in a few sledding days. Here they are playing in the snow with their friends Lani and Mel (and dad Steve).

We have been keeping warm and busy and having fun. Hope your winter days have been warm too!