Snow Shoe Thursday

One of the best parts about my husband's job, hands down, is the fact that he has a day off in the middle of the work week. Yes, he puts in long hours on the other four days, but when Thursdays roll around, I have a tendency to forget about that. The frustrating moments fade away and I revel in the fact that it is a Thursday morning and we're having breakfast at Rockwood. Or it's Thursday afternoon and we're having family time at the Y. Or that it's Thursday and we're off snow shoeing with friends at Mt. Spokane.

Yes, snow shoeing is exactly what we did this past Thursday. We met our friends Kelly and David (and their darling little one, Norah) for an afternoon of trekking through the snow at the top of the mountain. David doesn't usually have Thursdays off, but he managed to take a well deserved break.

I've only snow shoed a handful of times, but this time felt much more adventurous than all the times before. Maybe it was the fact that it was snowing. Or maybe it was because we never ran into another live soul (it was a Thursday, after all). It could've been the fact that we forged our own trail some of the time. Whatever the reason, it screamed adventure.

We both left the mountain feeling like successful parents. Somehow we managed the napping situation just right so that we could go on our trek and let Clara nap, at the same time. Glorious, I know. We'll tuck that feeling into our back pockets for a later date when we need a little parental pick me up ;).

Here are a few pictures of our day. As you can see, the girls were bundled to the max!

You can probably infer who was behind the camera the whole time. How did I never capture a picture of Jonathan? Instead, here is his artistic tree picture.

Horrah for Thursdays. And friends. And snow (although I'd be happy if this event marked our last snow adventure of the year. Bring on the heat, please!).

Resemblance

My cousin recently sent me this picture. He took it at the lake this summer. It was around July, I think. I can hardly handle looking at it. I mean, of course I can handle looking at it. It's darling. I just cannot believe how much she looks like my husband. Like exactly like my husband.

Eyes.

Eyebrows.

Nose.

Lips.

Facial expression.

The pinkish-purplish shirt resembles something I would've worn as a child, but that's about all I can find in this picture that is me. I might not have believed a female version of Jonathan would be that cute, but I now I admit it. I was wrong. ;)

Highs & Lows

It has been one of those weeks. Or maybe months. I guess I could go even further and say it's been one of those years so far. Maybe I'm slightly exaggerating. But still. It's been one of those seasons with lots of highs and lows. Hard things. Good things. Reminders that I am blessed despite the toughness of these days. I suppose this is life. The highs and lows just seem especially extreme these days. Here are just two of them.

Low: Major heart surgery for Jonathan's dad. We are thankful that it's over and he's doing well.

High: Weekend getaway to Red Mountain with our home group from church.

I love these people. Yes, seven couples crammed into two condos for a weekend of skiing, relaxing, and being together. And six kiddos came along too (there would've been seventeen kids if all parents would've brought them along). That might've been a bit crazy. It still felt just slightly nuts. But it was wonderful. Some highlights?

Hot tubbing, for Miss Clara.

Skiing! It's been over three years since I've hit the slopes. I had forgotten how much I love downhill skiing. It was a beautiful day, as you can see.

Eating. Relaxing. Playing games.

Snow shoeing with Jeff & Mel. The day couldn't have been lovelier.

And so it has been and will continue to be, I'm sure. Highs and lows, lows and highs. I'm okay if they get a little less extreme, though.

LOVE

There has been much to love about this past week for Miss Clara...

A bouncy birthday party for her friend, Griffin. What could be better than a bouncy birthday party?

A co-op carnival. This happened directly after the birthday party. It might've been a bit much in one day (Clara had to leave early because she was basically falling asleep while standing up. Just look at her eyes in these pictures).

A special Valentine party with friends from co-op. I couldn't believe Laura's decorations; they were borderline ridiculous! And the kids loved every second, of course.

Making and receiving valentines. This was maybe more enjoyable for me than Clara. Confession: I love valentines.

Laughing with friends at play dates. This is a random picture taken of Clara with her pal Sophia (officially "So So" for us since "Eeya" is her cousin with the same name), but I love it. Yes, Clara certainly has a full mouth of teeth. And Sophia is thinking, "who is this girl?"

And finally, a few pictures I took today of Clara with her love, Levi. These two are hysterical together. I'm not sure what Jonathan will think when I show him the pictures tonight. He's made it clear that he will be Clara's only Valentine for a long time. Hmmmm. I'm not so sure about that ;).

Happy Valentine's Day!

Eleven Years Ago Today...

...Jonathan and I went on our first official date: Friday, February 11, 2000. It was a hot first date. He asked me to the Lewis & Clark High School Valentine's Dance. What could be better, right ;)?

We set up two of our friends, Janie & Joe, to go with us. It was a bit of a blind date for them. They didn't fall madly in love over the course of the evening or anything, but they had a great time (thank you Janie & Joe) and even escorted each other down the isle at our wedding 3+ years later. The boys picked us up in Jono's 1979 Plymouth Reliant and drove us out to Couer d'Alene, where we ate at the Dockside restaurant at the resort. Then we went to the good old LC gymnasium to dance the night away. We finished off the night with some pies at Shari's restaurant. Like I said before, it was a hot first date. ;)

Here we are in our glory (our scanner didn't work - so I resorted to the classy "taking a picture of a picture" method). What an incredible beginning, I know...

P.S. I showed Clara this picture today. I said, "it's mommy and daddy". She said, "yep, it's mommy", while pointing to the picture of Janie. She had a 50% chance and still guessed wrong. Maybe we've changed a bit?

So tonight we relived our hot first date. We drove out to Dockside for our 7:30 reservation. We both nearly fell asleep in the car on the way there. Jono had lost his voice during the day and we were both on the verge of sickness. My ears were plugged so I couldn't hear half of what he was saying. He kept saying "use context clues", as I attempted to repeat what he was asking me, unsuccessfully. Our dinner wasn't that delicious. And I wasn't even hungry for the Reese's sundae we split at the end of the meal. Let's just say it wasn't top ten best date material (or top 100 for that matter).

We were going to come home and dance to some of the songs we remembered dancing to at the Valentine's dance. Instead, we crawled into bed, exhausted. Maybe I'll have to que them up for Monday night. We weren't about to revisit the Shari's pie bit. Maybe someday.

But it was still great to reminisce and to celebrate ELEVEN years of dating the man I love. I feel blessed beyond measure that he has been in my life for eleven whole years. It does make me kind of old, but I'll take it. He is mine. For better of worse. In sickness and in health ;).

Smoothie, Of the Greenest Variety

We have been making green smoothies for the past six months or so, about three times a week. They have been a great solution for our veggie detesting little girl. After she consumes multiple servings of vitamin-rich spinach, I can kind of relax for the day. Of course we still offer her regular vegetables. And she is slowly getting there. But these little concoctions are quite great for our family. I drink a nice serving of green smoothie myself. And it's delicious. You should really try it.

Usually I put LOTS of spinach in the blender, followed by frozen blueberries and any other fruit I happen to have frozen. I add about a spoonful of orange juice concentrate and a half can of coconut milk (which is why we buy about three dozen when we happen upon a Trader Joes), and then water. Clara loves them. And repeatedly asks for "moonies".

This week I ran out of blueberries. So I made a spinach, pineapple, mango medley. It was heavenly. And ridiculously green. Blueberries must tame the greenness ;).

Yum. Delicious.

Remembering

It seems impossible, but I have somehow managed to post 199 times. It's true. This post is officially #200. That is a lot of posting. What have I even had to say one hundred and ninety nine times? So I looked back. And spent way too much time doing it.

And then, to justify the last two hours of my life reading old posts and looking at pictures, I remind myself that looking back is good. I've always been a bit of a sucker for the sentimental. I love going through memory boxes and looking at old pictures and notes. I remember posting about these great discoveries quite a while back. There is something about stepping back in time - revisiting the emotions of a certain place or set of circumstances. I think I often get caught in my current world (of endless naps, diapers, meals, dishes and laundry) and lose sight of the big picture. Don't get me wrong, I love my current world, and I wouldn't trade it. It is just all too easy to start having tunnel vision. It's also easy to sit in present hurts/fears/uncertainties and slowly start to forget how God is still working. And how he has proven Himself faithful time and again.

I think this little trip down memory lane was just what I needed today. I remember that I am blessed. I remember that God is good. I remember that I have much to be thankful for. And I remember that I can trust the Lord in the midst of all the uncertainties that come my way.

And for fun, a few of my favorites in the trek through time. I narrowed it from 199 to 6. Not bad, if you ask me ;):

1. Anniversary remembering...

2. Jono is a werewolf

3. Clarabelle enters the world

4. Colorado love

5. Australian quirks

6. Fond memory + I love food