Wednesday, February 02, 2011

snow, snow, snow

We've been having some good bouts of snow off and on this winter. As much as I'm a Texas gal, I've gotta admit... some snow is nice! Z loves, loves, loves the snow. That's good, because then he can make sure the rest of us enjoy it, too.

Nuala and Bran are learning to ski this year. We took 'em once last year, but really they missed most of the winter being in Texas for Maeve's birth, so this is the first real year of skiing for them. Right now they're in the middle of their 5 days of ski school (more on that later), but before they started that, Zac would strap on his snowshoes, strap Maeve on his back because she hates to be left out of things, and stomp a couple of ski runs in our sloping backyard.
Then with a little push, down the tykes would go... knees slightly bent, arms out... getting the hang of it.
We tried to teach them to walk in their skis, but gave up. Bran did it okay, but Nuala realized what suckers we are and that Daddy would just haul her back up each time if she floundered about enough.
Bad shot, but just to kinda show what the yard's like. There's our trampoline in the back and Zac would flatten a couple of runs up thatta way.
Just at the end of our street is another little street! Crazy, huh? If you go up to the left, it's somewhat well-traveled , but to the right it's tiny and is basically just a driveway down to one house. But it's not a driveway, so we sled away on it as much as we want.
Here are N&B doubled up on one of those tiny saucer sleds. They're surprisingly fast. Cheap and fun! We went sledding on a much bigger hill (actually, at the place where they're learning to ski) and man... they were zooming. Bran bails out pretty quickly if he feels slightly out of control, but Nuala just hangs on and goes and goes and goes... The first time at the big hill, she totally took out a fellow sledder who was trudging back up. She kept going fine. Poor kid that she laid out got back up and about 6 steps later was flattened again. It was pretty funny, only because he was uninjured, of course! I'm not completely heartless...
At the top of the "street".
Maeve pretty much does everything that everyone else does. She loves sledding and complains loudly when the ride is over. It's a little embarrassing how loudly she complains. It sounds like we're torturing her or something, when really she just wants to get back on. I'm sure people wonder why we're forcing that poor baby to be out in the cold when obviously she's miserable. Oh well. A lot of our parenting is slightly or not-so-slightly disapproved of here, so might as well add that fake one to the list, right? ;)
Our neighbors got a real sled and let us try it out. It was great! We then got a semi-real sled. It's semi-great!
The first snowman! Well, really it's the second one we built. Bran, Nuala, and I built a tiny pathetic snowman in the front yard when all the snow was melting. Then it snowed more and this guy was born. Then it snowed again and covered over his eyes, making Bran and Nuala excitedly decide that "he's a cyclops!!" because just his nose was showing.
Here's our semi-real sled. I'm pretty sure Maeve thinks it's her portable throne.
Bran and Nuala like to push/pull her around. They're not too gentle on the startup, and Maeve always seems surprised by that.... you'd think she'd learn to hold on a little... haha.
Here are the tykes making "potions" out of snow, grass and rocks. Powerful stuff. I've been turned into toads, butterflies, fairies, trolls, inanimate objects, all sorts of fluffy animals, a ballerina, etc., etc. I like the inanimate objects best, because a fork pretty much just lays there. Unfortunately, I never get to stay a fork for long.
About 2.7 seconds after I took this photo, Bran kicked that light and broke the globe around it. I was slightly freaked out thinking about how many shards were then hidden in the snow, but quickly realized it's plastic and there were actually no shards missing. Disaster averted.
Have I mentioned Z's cool suspenders? They're his snow-pants suspenders that he got at the farm store in Boerne. They're pretty cool. If anyone wants a pair, I'm sure he could hook you up.
(Happy first birthday, sweet Aoife!!)

7 comments:

Tara said...

Fun! I was noticing how nice and bundled Maeve is, turns out enjoying snow is mostly about being correctly outfitted/prepared for it. That's awesome that Nuala and Bran can practice skiing right there in your backyard, I bet they'll be so good by the time this seasons over! That real sled looks so cool, I've never really seen one like that, I bet it's way fun! And Nuala's hair is awesome in the pic of them making potions!

Mika said...

Maeve is just so darn cute. I just want to reach in the picture and cuddle with her. How do you get anything done?

pauline said...

I loved all those pics ... Z is a trooper, isn't he ... hauling M on his back, and N in front ... awkward looking trek back up the hill :) It all looks like a little fun-type-stress... = cool exercise! You are all having lotsa great experiences, and I am glad you get to enjoy the snow. N&B on their little ski's ... what wonderful memory making stuff. Of course M loves all the action ... it's in her genes! Hmmm, parenting types? let the results speak for themselves ... your kiddos are happy and healthy, and the good outdoor cold weather will toughen them up... esp since they are well bundled up... Thanks for sharing with us... Love, Mom (Dad too) xox

Aislinn said...

Oh man, there is such jealousy here right now, LOL! Tara, we were thinking the same thing about Maeve being so bundled...that has GOT to be key to enjoying the snow and cold! Z has some serious babywearing muscle goin' on there...hefting that big girl on his back AND digging paths for N and B in the snow? Nice. ;) And yeah...your parenting speaks for itself. Your kids are awesome and happy and that's all that matters! And hey, doncha know those are galluses, not suspenders? ;) They are pretty rockin', though!

Love Bran's green coat, too! We got to the last pic of Maeve and Maire said, "Is that Nuala?" When she realized it was Maeve, she was totally shocked, LOL.

Sari said...

Man I want to play in the snow its so warm here my spring flowers started coming up.....ahh the things we do for our kids!! love it Gracie doesnt like being left behind either.

Rob and Erin Smith said...

Oh what fun!!! I love Maeve's hat in that first pic, course she's super cute in All of them, especially on her throne, haha! The potions, nice, love N's hair there too! I Totally Love that picture of Bran on his skis in his awesome green coat, they're little pros now, huh :0) Of course M doesn't want to be left behind, so exciting! Love it! Oh, and thanks! A year, sigh...

Grandma said...

I am so slow in commenting. It looks so fun in the snow. Your pictures are amazing liken they should be on a card.