It's Snowing ... Again ...

February 18, 2017

The snow was falling ... and after breakfast ... we all headed outside to play ...

Alana was amazed at how much snow we had in the yard ...

Nathan went to find the snowmobiles ... buried in the snow ... to dig them out ...

for the two of them to go for a ride ...

This was Alana's first time driving a sled ... she did great ...

driving around on the driveway her first few rounds ...

and then ventured off with Nathan ... following him on a few trails ...

Later they went together on one sled ... Nathan heading off thru the field into the crown land ...

touring the back roads but ... they were not able to go very far due to the amount of snow ...

They did stop to enjoy the quietness in the wilderness ...

 

After Alana and Nathan came back from their sledding adventure ...

they popped into the shop to check out the progress on the VW ...

It was getting late and everyone was getting hungry ...

together we made dinner ...

A delicious meal of leftover spatzle ... beans ... fresh salad ...

and fresh cooked breaded beef cutlets ...

 

After dinner ... and the kitchen cleaned up ...

we decided to go out and relax in the hot tub ... after a busy day playing in the snow ...

I had taken the picture of Nathan and Alana ...

and then the kids thought they should take a picture of mom ...

Well ... with standing next to him ... it still surprises me at how tall Nathan is ...

and how short I am ...

Everyone had a good chuckle when they saw the picture ...

It was a lovely evening ... with the deck lights on ... snow falling lightly upon us ...

as we visited ... chatting about our wonderful day together ...

 

 

Our Last Day Together ...

December 28, 2016

It was a beautiful morning ... the sun was shining ... and it warmed up a bit ...

This was our last day for the family to be together ...

Craig ... James and Ella were going to visit their other grandparents ...

and Rob and Cindy were flying back to Vancouver Island this evening ....

Sooooo... some play time was in order ...

Cindy wanted to try out the snowshoes ... we hiked around the field ...

while Nathan was pulling the kids on the tube with the snowmobile ...

 

 

The kids were having so much fun ...

it didn't matter that they were getting bombarded with snow ...

All you could hear was their screams and laughter ...

 

Ella opted to go for rides on the GT ...

with grandpa pulling her with the quad ...

Finally once Nathan stopped ... and the boys got all the snow cleared out of their gear ...

They gathered together to get a family picture ...

More pictures of all of us together ... enjoying this beautiful day ... playing in the snow ...

Nathan was all packed and ready to head out ...

and another group picture was taken ...

Rob and Cindy were busy for the rest of the afternoon ...

getting packed up to leave this evening ...

 

We decided to go into town for dinner ... picking up Oma ...

to join us for her last visit with Rob and Cindy ...

before driving to the airport ...

One last group picture was taken for this year ...

We had a great time with our dear friends ...

 

 

Off To The Movies ...

December 27, 2016

We had a lot of things to do today ... first order of duty was to have breakfast ...

then clean up the kitchen ... so grateful the kids were willing to help out ...

We were going to head into town ... for the 12:00 matinee ... to see the 3D movie "Sing" ...

(I really wanted to see this movie ... !!!)

We arrived at the movie theatre ... bought out treats of popcorn and drinks ...

proceeded to get our glasses and find our seats ...

all ready for the movie to begin ...

It was an awesome movie ... we all loved it ... !!!

After the movie ... we went to visit Oma ...

this was going to be the last time Oma would see ...

Rob ... Cindy and the grandchildren this year ...

Ella was delighted to have received a little black vest that belonged to Oma ...

hard to believe that she fits into her clothes and shoes ...

Look out Oma ... she will be raiding you closet now ... !!!

The hue glasses and heart are a lovely touch to her outfit ...

 

 

We were back in time to have dinner ... then head outside to go GT'ing and sledding ...

before it was too dark and cold to play outside ...

 

Craig wanted to go to the shop to work on the VW with grandpa ...

with being so busy thru the holidays ...

he was bound and determined to get at least a few hours of shop time ...

He was loving every minute of it ... !!!

 

It's wonderful seeing the two of them working together ...

 

The rest of us were in the house ... playing games ... watching TV ...

and relaxing after our busy day ...

I also had the privilege of having Miss Ella ... give me a few new hairdos ...

she loves to braid long hair ...

and ... I must say she is really good at it ... !!!

 

Morning on Christmas Eve Day ...

December 24, 2016

The kids couldn't wait to get outside ...

we had a hearty breakfast and then they were out the door around 10:30 am ...

The three of them had a blast jumping in the deep snow ...

they also shovelled the deck and piled up the snow ... making a bigger hill ...

and also burying Ella ...

Finally Grandpa and dad made it outside ...

they kids were raring to go sledding on their GT Racers ...

Nathan fired up all the snowmobiles ... even his brothers sled ...

(Ian ... now residing in Texas ... wanted it to be started)

taking them all for a quick ride ...

Making sure they were in good form for riding ...

Craig ended up driving grandpa's sled ... and Nathan took Ian's ...

When grandpa was finished take the kids on their rides ...

Mike took my snowmobile for a ride ...

 

Cindy & Rob loved being in the snow ...

it has been years since they experienced a winter in the Kootenays ...

We were surprised when Cindy wanted to drive the snowmobile ...

she did take it easy ... only going around the driveway loop ...

Cindy was delighted driving it ...

She was not ready to go out into the field ...

 

Everyone came into the house to have lunch ...

as you can see ... Nathan and the kids really helped out ...

Poor Nathan only wanted to stretch out on the floor ... he should know better ...!!!

It was wonderful to see them all have so much fun ...

Mike and Rob went into town to pick up Oma ...

and bring her out ...

to celebrate Christmas Eve ...

 

Nathan and I met Mike at the highway ...

and Oma transferred into the truck ...

as we were not sure how much snow we would encounter ...

travelling to the cemetery ...

Oma wanted to place a candle on the grave site ... of Susie and dad ...

shedding light for Christmas Eve ...

and throughout the season ...

Nathan also helped locate and clear the snow ...

of Margret and Gus Haase grave site ...

They were dear friends of Oma and Opa ...

In remembrance of them ... candles were also placed ...

Sending them love & light ...

for eternity ...

 

 

Outdoor Activities ...

December 29, 2015

It was going to be a beautiful sunny day ...

perfect for another play day ...

James was so excited that we were going to have a campfire ...

to cook hot dogs and roast marshmallows ...

He loves to take care of the fire ...

Ella had fun playing on the swings and hanging out ...

Oh my ... we had so much fun ... the kids love when we take goofy pictures ...

grandma always wants nice ones except for this day ...

Everyone was so hungry from playing out in the snow ...

that there was nothing left to cook over the fire ...

or snack on ...!!!

Okay ... now that they were all fueled up ...

it was time to put air in the big inner tube ... tie it up to the quad and then the snowmobile ...

to be dragged around the field ...

They had so much fun ... the laughter could be heard thru the valley ...!!!

 

Playing Out In The Snow ...

December 28, 2015

Today was going to be a play day ... bringing out the snow racers ...

ago be pulled behind the quads and snowmobiles ...

Ella was determined to make it down the hill ...

without crashing ...

The kids took a break from sledding ...

and went into the shop to work on some old electrical equipment ...

actually tearing an old radio apart ...

Craig is really interested in seeing how things work ...

Ella figured she would just play ... with the bubble wand ...

blowing bubbles all thru the shop ...

Nathan took James around the track ...

a few more times before it was time to have dinner ...

Earlier this morning ...

we were lucky enough to see a rainbow ... we called it a "snowbow" ...

with the sun shining thru the ice crystals ...!!!

 

 

We're Ready For Christmas ...

December 13, 2015

The house is all ready for the festive season ...

The tree completely decorated ... it took us a couple hours to finish ...

before we headed outside to play ...

The view of the Christmas Tree from the upper floor looking down ...

is one of my favourites ...

Lots of snow had fallen ...

it was time to head outside and clear it away ...

but ...

first Mike took the snowmobile ...

to pack down the snow on the driveway ... getting it ready for the kids ...

when they come over Christmas ...

to go sliding around the track ...

In the evening ... the last batch of cookies were made ...

these ones melt in your mouth with a delectable flavour ...

they are a meringue cookie ...

made with chopped pecans ... chocolate chips and crushed candy canes ...

They take the longest to bake out of all the cookies ...

these cookies are well worth the waiting time ... !!!

MMMMMMMM

Let the Christmas festivities begin ... !!!

PS: Vern ... just to let you know ... your order has been filled ... !!!

 

Cookies and Christmas Tree ...

December 12, 2015

While Mike was putting up the Christmas lights on top the tree ...

I was busy in the kitchen ...

decorating the cut-out cookies ... with icing and sprinkles ...

These delicious cream cheese spritz cookies were next to be baked ...

It was so fast and easy with the new Cookie Press ...

Once the cookies were baked ...

I gave Mike a hand with the lights ... it helps him out ...

when I feed him the string of lights ...

It took us about 2 hours to string these lights ...

the inside of the tree has 200 lights that are on a 16 sequence controller ...

then 400 lights finishing off the outside of the tree ...

By the time this was done ... and me with my cookies ...

we decided it was time to call it quits ...

and leave the decorating until the next day ...

 

 

Fire Up The Sled …

It was a chilly …  -24 degree day …

Ian had asked Mike to please start up his sled …

every once in awhile to keep it in good shape …

Mike was only able to make a couple of loops around the house …

it was just too cold … of course he was not dressed for the elements …

Mike still enjoyed riding around …

and another job was completed on the list …

… Christa …

Tubing in the Field …

After my afternoon of cross-country skiing on Sunday…

I met the neighbour boys and their friends … on the road by the gate …

they were going to go sledding thru the trails …

I mentioned to them that they could play out in the field …

they were so excited … a wide open place for them to go tubing …

Even Kita was delighted to be out roaming around and catching mice …

It was so nice to hear them laughing and having so much fun ….

I enjoyed every moment of watching them …

thinking back to when our boys would play out there in the snow for hours …

I'm sure they would be sledding with them … if they were home … !!!