Adventures of Corey and Kya

This morning, Corey took Kya for an off-road wagon ride down to the creek.
Meanwhile, I was at the house wondering what on earth was taking them so long.

The answer: fun

Corey packed along the camera and snapped more than 80 photos.
I added "buy ice skates" to my to-do list.

it snowed.

Last night and today it snowed a little. Maybe an inch or so? I know that is not much (especially considering our snow last year) but it was just barely enough snow for some fun.


Funny story:
After church and brunch, we got home and I unpacked inside while Corey and Kya played outside. Corey thought it would be great fun for Kya to sled down the little hill behind the garage (shown above). He put her on the sled and sent her off. Within a millisecond, he realized that the light layer of sleet and snow was super slick and Kya was in for the ride of her life. He said it was like the scene from National Lampoon Christmas Vacation. So, the worried father sprinted after the sled and dove after it as it was sailing down toward the steep bank (drop off) to the tall grass below. He caught her just in time and I am happy to report that she is still in one piece with all limbs attached. Thank goodness.


Kya got a few more sled rides but this time we made sure mom was at the top of the hill and dad was at the bottom to play goalie and catch her. She giggled the whole way and we heard many "mo mo" "peas peas" "go go" [more please go].

It's beginning to look a lot like ...

Christmas!

First with the frigid cold weather today.

Kya's cold weather bunting is on it's way from REI, so I had to squeeze her into this hand-me-down newborn bunting. She was less than pleased, but she was warm.

Then we set up the tree!

Kya's new favorite source for entertainment: the Christmas tree.

Let it snow, let it snow ...

My views this morning:

Kya and I are at home for the day... staying inside where it is toasty warm.

Blizzard warning. Snow and 50 mph gusts equals a mess, especially on the roads. It is so windy that even the toilet water has waves.

To all in North Dakota: drive extra safe today.

A long winter

Another five inches of snow fell over the last day or so, which means Corey got to take the snow blower/thrower out for a spin.

Corey and I decided we'd like to try "life without cable TV" ... so last week we had it disconnected. As of today we have a whopping one channel. Apparently we can connect an antenna (little bunny ear style) to the TV for some free channels, which we'll definitely be doing. In all honesty, I'm rather enjoying life without cable. I've realized that background music is much less of a distraction than TV!

We just started a six-month subscription to Netflix (thanks Jesse and Megan for the gift!) which is proving to be a great service. We've already watched one mailed DVD and one movie over the internet, on my computer. I was pleasantly surprised that the nearest Netflix distribution center is in Fargo, so our movies are delivered in one day.

Today we took a drive out to our land in the country ... it was white on white with spots of brown trees. In most places it was hard to see where the sky met the horizon. I waited in the (heated) car while Corey went exploring (and taking photos). It was a hoot watching him try to run though thigh-deep show – in jeans and tennis shoes.

Needless to say, we're still deep in winter here. More sub-zero temperatures on the way next week ... which means more sewing for me.

Less than 54 days until our due date!

Frosty days

We've had some interesting weather lately ...

Fog and frost the last few mornings. But, yesterday the frost stuck around (literally) ALL DAY.

When I got home from work I had a few short minutes before dark to snap a couple photos. And I'd like to mention that my Christmas lights are not regularly on anymore, I just plugged them in for the photo, then unplugged them. They did look darn pretty though.

That is all frost - not snow. The night before, the tree didn't have a flake of white on it. The frost was really amazing – it must have been at least an inch thick – so fluffy and pretty. If it wasn't the end of January I might have busted out the Christmas music.

The weather people are forecasting a possible blizzard (like the Christmas storm) later this week. The snow blower has a full tank of gas and is ready to go, just in case.

Snow fun!

With six inches of new fluffy snow and a beautiful sunny and warm day (high of about 15º) we decided to try our luck at sledding. The hills in west Mandan were the perfect spot. Corey picked out a steep area to sled down, which worked perfectly because there was a paved walking trail near it that we could walk up to get back to the top of the hill. It was a very steep hill which made for some crazy wipeouts. The best sled was Grandpa's old toboggan, which easily fit Caitlyn, Corey and I all together. 

My mom (ReNay) was our photographer, stationed at the bottom. The sledders included Corey, Caitlyn, my dad (Don) and me. Grandma, Grandpa and Ronda stopped by to check out the action and make sure we weren't getting too crazy. Dad was the best sledder, going the farthest and wiping out the least. Caitlyn and I topped the wipeout charts ... apparently I had a hard time keeping my feet in the sled - I guess I got scared.

I made a video of some of the best photos and action sequences. I'm rather surprised that we all ended the day without any serious injuries.

enjoy :)

Mittens from grandma

I'm the proud new owner of two pairs of beautiful toasty warm mittens - made by my very own Grandma Katy. Thanks grandma!