I looked out the window and what did I see?....

Yeah, you guessed it. Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

And the plum tree. And almost popping on the nectarine and peach trees.

Cool huh?

Snow Trip Part Deaux

So we attempted the snow trip again last weekend and Yahoo!!! It was a great success. The temperature was in the 60's, the roads were clear and we found a fabulous and fast hill to slide down for several hours. Plus, Dustin and Tara and Lydia were with us! Below are my four favorite faces of the day:

Pookie finally gets to play in the snow. What a strange dog. She caught snowball after snowball in her mouth that we threw for her even after they exploded in her face.

Now that's a much happier face than last time.


What a sweetheart Lydia was. She had a ball squealing up and down the hills: Excited going up knowing what was coming and excited going down. What a nut.

And seriously, who couldn't love this face? I'm a bit fond of it.

Kacey spent most of the day digging this hole.

Don't know why but she was happy and

ended up with a hole that was nearly over her head

Then she sat in it. Hmmmm...

Go to Tori! She went all the way to the top and slide down on her

bottom over and over and over again.

Go mommy and Kacey! Finally got her out of her hole!

An epic snowball fight. What you don't see is the little 8-year-old-girl they are fighting (she had a little back up from her brothers). She was a fearless little thing zooming down the hill and taking on the Barros Brothers alone or with help. She just didn't care!

Even Pookie got to ride down the hill. No willingly and not often.

I did say that it was a fast hill, didn't I?

Go little family! I'm sad this isn't video because you really

could hear her from a long ways away.

Snow Trip

A few weeks ago we attempted a trip to the snow. It was a weekend of wild and wooly weather, but what week hasn't been wild this winter. For those of you who live in the snow this will seem so easy, get up, put your snow clothes on and walk out the door and sled down the hill right next to your house. For those of us living in sunny california it's a bit more complicated. First: find the clothes you haven't used in a year. Figure out what fits and what doesn't. Shop at the thrift stores for what you need to replace the old, too small, or worn out stuff. Next: Pack lunch, boil plenty of water for hot chocolate and cup-o-noodles and pack all into the car. Last: locate the snow discs and board that are supposed to be just inside the garage but really hide in the trailer that is parked 10 miles out of town. After several hours (and only a few bad words) later, we're off to the mountains

We have a lovely drive to the mountains in wet and stormy weather but we are not afraid because we are prepared in all ways for bad weather. Except one. We didn't pack the snow chains. No cars are allowed into the park without carrying chains even though we are assured they will not be needed. So...back down the mountain to get chains: only a half an hour down and then half an hour back. The trip back is different though. The road is completely changed. There are rocks, pine needles, dirt and branches covering the road and tons of traffic going the opposite direction. By the time we got up to the park entrance again, we were informed that the park was closing (how do you close a mountain?) because of strong winds that blew trees over and crunched cars trapping people in the park and out of it. The ranger was even blocked from his home beyond the park.

To make a short story long, that was the end of our snow trip. We drove down the mountain a ways and ate our picnic lunch in the church parking lot. Poor Joe. He had been waiting for a snow trip for two years. Poor Pookie who also loves the snow. Poor mom and dad who had put up with a long and frustrating day with no apparent reward.

Beginning of the day, so optomistic and innocent.

Gotta love the happy face in this picture!