Around here - Snow!

 If I had to use one word to describe what we have been up to the last few weeks, it would have to be snow.  After taking a four year break from the white stuff I had almost forgotten how often the snow affects daily life - from the frustration of cleaning 6" off the car in the morning or the worries of driving through a storm, to the fun of watching the kids sled down the hill or throw snowballs at the dog, to the daily beauty of this place.  The kids are in love with the snow and Tyler in particular can spend hours out in it without complaining he is cold.  And for myself, I find that I am experiencing it and appreciating it in ways I haven't before.

I've also been having a lot of fun with the camera so I thought I would share a few photos.

Ok - not snow in this one per se, but I loved the photo and it's wintery ;)  Shortly before Christmas we took the kids to see the lights at Temple Square - the first time we had ever taken them.  It was beautiful.

 Horse photos in the snow with my brother.  He has had this horse since he was um...9 years old?  Forever, really and she's the best horse ever.  Anyway, it has become his tradition to go out for at least one bareback ride in the snow and I went out with him to get some photos.  I also rode bareback and without a bridle for probably the first time ever - pretty proud of myself for that one!

This is the view I have every morning at 8:15 AM while waiting for the bus with this happy kid.  The sun is just coming up at that point and though often freezing, it's gorgeous out there.  Plus the company is great!  (Sam waits for the bus stop with Kate an hour before this then heads to work himself)

Huge snowstorm last week dumped many many inches.  I never did look up the final count, though I know it was over 6" in the three hours I spent working in the shop that morning.

 And then there was the day the we woke up to over an inch of frost coating everything in sight.  So pretty.

I may have tried cross country skiing once or twice as a kid but have only recently discovered I like it quite a bit.  A couple of days ago I went up the canyon with a few friends and we had the best time figuring out how to ski and enjoying the views and the weather.  It looks like we will be making it an almost-weekly activity, and I'm excited about that.

 And these two - that's my dad and Tyler has him wrapped completely around his little finger.  Tyler wants it, Grandpa is game to do it.  Night before last I guess Ty and Gpa were having a talk about playing in the snow and Tyler came up with the big idea to use the trackhoe to build some sort of elaborate snow cave.  My dad knew the trackhoe wasn't the ideal tool for the big plan, but was excited to get Tyler on there and let him move some snow around.  They fired up the trackhoe as soon as they both got home yesterday and were out there for over an hour, with Tyler operating the trackhoe for much of that time.  They didn't end up with anything more than some random piles of snow, but they sure did have fun.

So, what do you like to do in the snow?  Still on my bucket list for this winter is tubing (we got the kids tickets for one of those places that pulls the tube up the hill for you), seeing the Ice Castles, and maybe snowmobiling...