Baby V's 4-yr-old Portraits

We procrastinated by about a month before we got these birthday shots, but it ended up working in our favor. We got a beautiful big snowfall for a background.

Snow Day

Viola's 4th Birthday Party

We finally had V's party on February 1st. It was My Little Ponies everywhere since that is her current obsession.

Winter Carnival

Yesterday we drove almost 3 hrs up to McCall for the Winter Carnival. It exceeded expectations. One the way up, we marveled at the river-turned-winter-wonderland. We even pulled over to watch a family of otters playing in the snowy bank. "Adorable" doesn't even come close to capturing it. And neither did Matt's camera, since they slipped into the water as soon as he pulled it out. Once in McCall, there were many spectacular snow sculptures, but our favorites were definitely the giant angel and the Egyptian pyramid. The most amazing thing about the pyramid was the detail inside. There was a sarcophagus, two mummies, two god/goddess statues, and hieroglyphs carved into the ice inside. The kids also got to play in a mountain of snow, coast downhill on plastic sleds (next year we will know to bring our own!), and walk on the solidly frozen lake. Yes, the whole entire lake was frozen. It was a sight! And Matt and I got to sample the beer (and wings) at a local microbrewery so that rounded out the fun for us. The kids decided that this trip will be a family tradition, and we agreed.

The snow mountain in one of the parking lots was as tall as the supermarket roof next door.

A snow slide

Payette Lake, frozen solid

The pyramid is built of blocks of ice cut out of the lake.

Characters from "Finding Nemo"

Christmas in Liberty Hill

We were sick again this year, and we managed to spread the joy to Papa Wes & GG (again!). Still, we had a great visit in Liberty Hill. We enjoyed the big Griffin gathering at the roost, waffles & omlettes by Wes, gift exchanges, cousin time with Mercedes & Evangeline, a Fredericksburg trip, and a good movie every night. Thanks for taking care of us Papa Wes & GG!