Out There {February 2023}

Lots of snowy outside time this month! Skiing on repeat with a good sunny-day walk around the neighborhood thrown in for good measure.

1 February 2023: Nordic Night Ski

Callie was invited to ski with her friend Capri after school, so her mom dropped them off at the resort and they went wild all over the mountain by themselves (plus a little sister and another little friend) (I KNOW!!!). It also happened to be the same night that the stake had a big youth ski activity for the whole valley. I thought it might be good to be there "as a leader" though I didn't have to do anything whatsoever. But it was fun to spot some of our girls in the line or at the lodge. Sam and Gregg came along and we made a big ski evening out of it. Gregg got tired of the icy conditions and wild teenage skiers pretty quickly, so he ended up in the car for a good chunk of the evening. But Sam and I lapped Crockett and occasionally bumped into Cal and Capri. We topped the evening off with a s'more at the firepit thanks to the stake youth leaders. Fun night!

This is Ephraim's Revenge, a black diamond that Gregg
loves and now so does Sam.

3 February 2023: Nordic Express

I finally felt like I had the legs to try the Express lift for the first time this season. (The kids and Gregg had already been over there a few times.) The sun was shining and the corduroy was soft and the breeze on the lift actually felt warm! I tried some new (black and blue) runs off Express and actually beat my kids down the hill! WHAT! It was a glorious day on the slopes! 

5 February 2023: Snowmen and Disc Golf

We got home from church and it was snowing the perfect kind for packing so after we ate some lunch we headed out into the yard and built some snowmen. Cal and I finished them up while the boys played a round of disc golf in the yard.

7 February 2023: Huntsville Walkabout

While the kids are in their library class, I like to wander the neighborhoods to get my steps and sunshine in. I just thought this buried car was too funny not to snap a picture of.

8 February 2023: Good Morning Sunrise

I mean, look at that! Beautiful!

Also, a bonus video from Sam's first ever activity days later that afternoon. (WHAT?!)

bonus video!

Slo-Mo Sledding Sam

9 February 2023: Another Epic Snowshoe Adventure

My friend Janice invited me to snowshoe with her again and we decided to try a trail neither of us had ever hiked before. It starts at the bottom of Old Snowbasin Road and we knew it eventually made it up to the Green Pond Trailhead. So we started hiking. And it was the most gorgeous bluebird day! While we were resting at a bridge, eating our snacks, an older man on cross country skis came by. He told us his route was going up a ways further then turning and making a loop back down on the Old Snowbasin Road back to the Art Nord Trailhead parking. That sounded good to us, so we followed him for a minute, but since he was on skis and knew where he was going, we quickly lost sight of him. But we still had his tracks to follow. Which was good. Until we didn't have them anymore. Where did they go? We started following some other guy's tracks (but it turns out he was as lost as us and he actually turned around and went back on the main trail we had started on). But that just took us in a little loop. So we went around again and then found the spot where the skier had gone right when we had gone left. We got back on the right path, and just kept hiking and hiking. It was a lot longer cut across from the trail to the old road than we realized, and it was starting to get dark and the forest was getting thicker. We hustled but were SO glad we didn't run into another moose and we cheered for joy when we spotted the road again. But it was still a ways back to the car. We were way past our estimated time for getting back, but luckily we had a pop of service so we could tell our families we were okay. I eventually made it back home, just in time for a quick dinner and a quicker shower and then we were off to the library for a chocolate tasting evening. Phew! (It turns out that we hiked about 6 miles!!)

10 February 2023: Nordic with Dad

I wasn't feeling great this morning (spoiler alert: turns out it was covid . . .  womp womp) so Gregg took the kids to ski in the sunshine. Stray Dog was groomed and it looked marvelous! Also, Gregg checked off another of his 40 before Forty list and landed his 360 on his snowboard on a jump under the Express lift.

11 February 2023: Buried Fence in the Backyard

I think the title says it all. I ventured out to the furthest corner in our lot just to check things out.

13 February 2023: Much Needed Walk in the Sunshine

It felt good to get out and stretch my legs in the sunshine around the neighborhood. I also documented the colorful snow Cal and Sam had decorated earlier in the day during "recess".

15 - 16 February 2023: More Hunstville Wanderings

17 February 2023: Nordic with Friends

Our old friends, the Adams, that used to live here in our ward and we were activity days leaders together back in the day, came up to ski and invited us to meet up with them. It was so great to catch up with Emily on the lift (since the kids could all go together themselves this year!) and the kids had a great time showing Quincy and Lily some new runs on the Express. The sun was shining and the snow was (mostly) great. Fun morning, then back home for math. ;)

All six of us on one lift! Yay! (Sam was on the end
behind Quincy - you can see his green skis anyway ;)

The next time up, Q, Cal and Sam got ahead of Emily,
Lily and me and they got swept up the hill by themselves.
What a thrill!

23 February 2023: Sunrise and Ski

It keeps snowing and we keep skiing. Another epic morning with awesome snow!

24 February 2023: Rinse and Repeat

So. MUCH. Snow! Also, we're having a serious icicle situation around here!

Ephraim's Revenge again - ain't no thing for these two!
(I have never done this run, by the way.)

Also, I just couldn't get enough of the outside, so I took a walk around the loop .later that afternoon.

Hard to see, but lots of deer visiting the cemetery.

Good cloud day!

 I'm so glad we have a sport to keep us sane during these snowy winter days. I must say I'm a little nervous for the amount of mud we'll have in our yard when spring finally comes and for how long that spring will take to eventually get here. But I am so grateful for the snow - we need it and we are looking forward to a full lake for kayaking this summer! (Crossing fingers it doesn't melt too fast and flood everything first!)

Photos from Phones - January 2023 Round Up

Once again, this round up is chock-full of mostly bookish things with a few other random things thrown in for good measure. Don't forget I also have posts about our Red Canyon vacation and all the outside things we've done in the month.

1.2.23
(we did a little seed experiment to see which
one would germinate first - the winner was the wheat!
it sprouted roots and they just kept growing!)

1.2.23
(we had a fun hygge challenge at the library
last month and I am a fan!)

1.2.23
(just in case you were wondering what
hygge is . . . )

1.2.23
(that’s exactly 60 books getting checked out. I had told Gregg when
I was headed to the library that I felt all out of sorts only having
36 books out on my card. Well, this has me feeling much more comfortable.)

1.4.23
(We all really enjoyed this magical adventure set in Denmark on Christmas and the days following. It was fun to read a story set there after learning about the country during our Jan Brett Christmas school month. And we learned about a new magical creature called a nisse, which is similar to a gnome or a brownie, from what we can tell.)

1.6.23
(I don't know why I snapped a pic of toady's
puzzle, but here it is.)

1.10.23
(I had a lot of fun flipping through this new cookbook
from the library and dreaming of trying all kinds of
new meals . . . that have yet to happen ;)

1.10.23
(again, haven't really screenshotted pics of my
wordles lately, but here's another)

1.11.23
(Lots of interesting info in these books, including the phrase
“subnivean zone” which is below the snow and above the
ground where lots of critters live during the winter.)

1.11.23
(my first prize from the January adult winter reading
challenge! So nerdy.)

1.12.23
(this is Cal's puzzle)

1.12.23
(this is my puzzle)

1.13.23
(We had to get this one in ebook form since the library didn’t have a physical copy. It goes right along with the subnivean zone books I shared before (plus one I didn’t take a pic of but we have long loved called Over and Under the Snow). This one was interesting because it is a poem, but then has a little nonfiction tidbit one each page, plus lengthy backmatter describing hibernation, migration, and toleration. Loved it.)

1.13.23
(Just finished this very wintery read (I’m sensing a theme here, and it’s working for me right now!). It’s based on a Russian fairy tale of an older childless couple who build a snow girl one winter night and then she comes alive. But this book is more than a fairy tale... it’s about the hard life of homesteading in the 20s in Alaska. Plenty of pain (physical and emotional) for them to work through, but also hope and joy and beauty. It was lovely.)

1.14.23
(M'Liza the Minecraft-loving librarian had been
asking for a while to set up a special time when Cal and Sam
could come in and be "beta testers" for her on the switch to play
multiplayer Minecraft. The day finally came and the kids had a blast,
even if the multiplayer feature wasn't working quite yet.)

1.16.23
(I felt like baking, and it was MLK Jr. day so we had time. Turned out Cal
tested positive for Covid that day, too, so all kinds of free time opened up
for us!)

1.16.23
(since our plans to go bowling with friends got
canceled due to Cal's sickness (she wasn't even that sick!)
we decided to try take out from the new scallywag grill where
Pat's used to be + watch Star Wars.)

1.17.23
(I checked out almost every MLK Jr book that was available in my library and these were the standouts that we read this morning for history. Those two big picture books (Martin’s Big Words and Martin and Mahalia) are the cream of the crop for sure!)

1.17.23
(a new favorite January tradition (I'm so happy I got this table
for Christmas!): we've had a puzzle in progress non-stop all month
and we spend about 15-30 minutes every morning listening to an audiobook
and working on the puzzle (and it's school!). We'll putter on a puzzle at other
times of the day, too, but I love the book + puzzle school time and I will be
keeping it around! (we need some new puzzles, though!))

1.18.23
((I hate when my app does this... looks so dumb!) But the book is great! This was our first puzzle + listen book. We’ve been having quite the winter ourselves, but nothing compared to The Long Winter. Holy Moley!)

1.18.23
(we've been learning Home on the Range during our morning time
this year and whenever I sing that song I think of this movie: You're a Good
Man, Charlie Brown. It was a staple at our house growing up. I finally checked
it out from the library so the kids could understand my comments and jokes during
our Home on the Range singing, and they loved it, too. (And I can still sing almost
every word of every song in this movie!))

1.19.23
(We checked out a few books to go along with our
reading of The Long Winter, and one of them had
the recipe for Almanzo's Buckwheat Pancakes that were
described in the book. We even tried them for dinner
one night!)

1.19.23
(verdict: they were okay. I don't know that I'll make them very
often, but it was fun to try something new relating to a book
we loved.)

1.21.23
(we got to celebrate Cooper's birthday in Logan sledding
with the Elwoods. Then we came back to Gma and Gpa's and had
a chinese new year feast. This is the only pic I took that day - of Zoe
feeding Maggie her dinner. Ha!) 

1.22.23
(I remember my mom liking this one (or maybe it was one of her “books that stayed with her” from that list that we all wrote on Facebook way back when a decade or more ago ... which maybe is the same thing and maybe isn’t? 🤷🏻‍♀️). So when I spotted it during one of my DI raids, I snatched it up and it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since. I decided to pick it up this month for our library’s newbery challenge this month, since it’s one I haven’t ever read before. And wow! For such a slim book (less than 200 pages) it really packs a punch! There are so many emotional moments, happy and sorrowful, exciting and guilt-inducing - so many feelings written so beautifully! I really loved it and the characters and even though it is predictable and ties up with a pretty bow, it was such a delightful read!)

1.23.23
(just a fun poem from one of the poetry books we read this morning,
called Peaceful Pieces and the art is all in quilts!)

1.23.23
(another poem from a picture book from school; this one
is White Snow Bright Snow)

1.23.23
(Callie and I just finished reading this one together (my third time at least and her first and we both loved it!). It’s funny and sciencey and a little bit coming of age. And it was just a coincidence that it scores some points in our newbery reading challenge this month, too!)

1.24.23
(for Sam's math lesson, he got to make up his own
dream schedule for the day (we were doing a time unit)
and I just had to save this because it cracks me up)

1.30.23
(we've been doing a microbiology study for science.
The kids are totally grossed out!)

1.30.23
(but I'm loving it! ha!)

1.30.23
(I follow a couple of librarian bloggers, and leading up to this month’s ALA youth media awards (aka Caldecott and Newbery and all kinds of other medals) they were sharing their picks for awards. I decided to check out as many as I could just in case they happened to win. Well, the big reveal was today, and, drumroll... three that we already had checked out were Caldecott winners! Hot Dog got the medal and Knight Owl and Choosing Brave were honors. And they are all wonderful and totally worthy of their awards!)

1.30.23
(Here are some others that my librarian bloggers thought had a chance of winning.
They didn’t, but they’re still awesome.)

1.30.23
(And these are the nonfiction picture books that were suggested as possible medal winners, but didn’t come away with any prizes this time. Oh well. Still worth checking out!)

1.31.23
(Brrrrr!!!)

1.31.23
(I first heard about this book when the author was on Alan Alda’s Clear+Vivid podcast. It was an entertaining and thought provoking/mind bending conversation and this book was more of the same. Much more. It’s definitely an accessible way to be introduced to philosophy, but it made my brain hurt more than once! Haha. It took me a couple months to get through, but I’m glad I stuck with it, chipping away a chapter or so at a time.)

1.28.23
(out of order, date wise, but I'm just going to keep them all together
here at the end - this is my friend Jessie's mom holding her brand new
grandson, Jonah, Jessie's baby. Such a fun thing for me to see her as a
grandma at last!)

1.30.23
(here's baby Jonah Austin Wussow)

1.29.23
(and here's mama Jessie with her sweet little guy -
so happy for her!)

 Every other round up here (whew!):

2022: Dec | Nov | June | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan (I got really behind last year, but I'm working on catching up!)

2021: Dec | Nov | Sep | Aug | July | June | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2020: Dec | Nov | Sep | Aug | July | June | May | Apr | Mar Quar + Mar | Feb | Jan
2019: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sep | Aug | July | June | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan
2018: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sept | Aug | July | June | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan
2017: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sept | Aug | July | June | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2016: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sept | Aug | July | June | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2015: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sept | Aug | July | June | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2014: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sept | Aug | July | June | May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

2013: Dec | Nov | Oct | Sept | Aug | July | June