The Meadow

A few weekends ago we went up to the cabin for a quick and quiet get away.
On Sunday, we wandered down a dirt road that follows the backside of the meadow near town.

We were hoping the cows would be there, but they hadn't been moved from their winter pasture yet.
Even though there were now cows to speak of, the kids had a great time tossing rocks into the creek, KUR-plunk!

Winter Walk

Walking in the woods, by myself on a cold Sunday morning.

  It cleared my head and I could just be.



I love that photography has given me the gift of time.
I have an excuse to wander aimlessly around an area, exploring like a kid
and truly see the world around me.

Happy Fourth of July!!!

horsing around

Over the Memorial Day weekend we went up to Greagle, CA to hang out with my husband's family at their cabin. It was a quick, little "get out of town" trip with a beautiful drive.

The weather had been cold and wet, with snow showers on Saturday leaving a dusting of white when we woke up on Sunday morning. It cleared up enough by 10:30ish for us to take the kids down to the stables so they could have a ride on the horses.

O was really cute as we drove down to the stables and asked,
"Did we bring any treats for them"?

pretty details

I hadn't even thought of doing that. It made sense for him to ask since we usually visit the neighborhood horses when we have leftover carrots or apples to share.

O watching from the sidelines

Buddy riding Merlin

It took a little encouraging (and some cousinly peer pressure), but he eventually put on the helmet and got on the horse named "Kid". The horses are so mellow and the cowboys(and one cowgirl) leading the rides were really great with the kids making them feel comfortable with these wonderful animals.

introducing himself to Kid

an unsure smile (how cute is that ca-boy?)

hobble-de-hoy, hobble-de-hoy

O and his cousin B taking a ride

Last night, as we were getting ready for bed, O randomly spoke up and told me ,
"I love horses. I want to ride again."
I think this summer we could arrange that. And, I would like to take one of the trail rides that are offered- I haven't been on a horse since I was probably 9 or 10 years old.

Chop It Down

We had a very busy day on Saturday. After we piled both kids, our housemate, my mom, the dog and all our gear for the day into the truck, Daddy-O and I hopped in and we headed to Plumas County, California to hunt for a Christmas tree. The forest service allows you to cut your own for around $10 or $15, a heck of a deal for a nice big tree!

We met up with our neighbors and good friends about half way there in Chilcoot, CA and caravanned the rest of the way to the turn off onto forest service land.

O could hardly wait to get out of the car and into the snow. He was instantly wet and refused to wear his jacket. (note to self, make getting into water resistant snow clothes a non-negotiable issue. A cold, wet kid is no fun).

The first order of business when we go tree hunting is to get a little 'warming station' set up and ready to go. This means hot water for cocoa and cider and bratwursts on the grill. There were marshmallows for the kids cocoa and peppermint schnapps for the adults.

This year we also had to make sure the littlest hunters were toasty warm, so a bit of snuggling and bundling up was necessary.

Then the hunt begins

Scouting out trees (and making/dodging snowballs)

photo by my mom

And some family pictures have to be snapped. The Geo-family:

and us:

photo by my mom

See Fifi's little feet sticking out by my belly. Love the ergo carrier and so glad she finally fits in it now. She was fast asleep while we hunted for our tree.

At last,

 a tree is found and agreed upon.

TIMBER!

This is the part in the story where I am glad that Daddy-O is strong. O got really cold and SUPER fussy. He HAD to be carried and he had to be carried by Daddy. So the entire way back to the truck Dad lugged not just the tree, but the boy too. See that little blue peaking from the bows of the tree- that's the kid! We need to remember a sled next time!

 

Back at the truck, we swapped into some dry clothes and shoes and piled in to get warmed up while the guys strapped the trees to the roof. As you can see, sleepy time wasn't far away for O, he was out within minutes of this photo.

photo by my mom

We headed to Greagle where we met up with Daddy-O's family for dinner and then headed to Portola for the Santa Train. I will post about that on Thursday.

At the cabin...

We celebrated our holiday with part of the family early. We had a great dinner (thanks Lo!) and played board games. Opened presents for the kids and just enjoyed the snow.


Sat by the fire and drank funny eggnog.


Kept little hands busy by making a gingerbread house.



oohed and ahhed at the tree (this is the first Christmas for three of the four cousins)


and some of us even got a nap in or two..


I made "pajama bags" for the cousins this year and filled them with a few toys, two new pairs of and pj's each and of course a good bed-time book.
(The idea came from the "Creative Family" book Soulemama.)


Happy Solstice!

Happy Winter!