Lessons from New Hampshire..??

Pres. Obama brought the DC area's snow confusion problem to the Nation. Now every state and their mother has decided to try and give us some advice...All this was going through my head this morning as I was taking my kids to the bus stop, 2 hours late. The rain froze on top of the snow, making a gigantic ice rink out of our yard and driveway. the tenth of a mile walk up the driveway consisted of me chipping away areas to walk in and pulling greg along...Alex, Melissa and David chose to "ice skate" their way to the bus stop...once we got there David could not manage to stand up! I kept falling down trying to get him over the last little incline...the bus arrived and I still couldn't pull him up from the icy ground! The bus driver was very patient and laughing hysterically at me which made me laugh which made it even harder to get David up!! Eventually, I was successful and all the kids got on the bus safely and I skated back down the driveway on the ice (only fell twice)


I thought about when I was a kid and we managed in New Hampshire where the conditions were much worse than here in Maryland. New Hampshire's 4 seasons are: Cold, Warm, Colder and Snow. New Hampshirites would have to hibernate for a season if they shut down everytime conditions were icy or snowy, .. I never remember school being canceled...In New Hampshire, there was quite a bit of personal responsibilty in dealing with the weather...you had to have shoes with traction, eskimo coats with knitted mittens and scarves, you had to have chains for your tires and you had to have your family friend, Homer, come over and plow you out, and if your car got stuck somewhere you would treck to the nearest house and call your other friend Louie, and he would load up his tire chained El Camino with some shovels and his five, already in eskimo coat daughters, Lippy, Lumpy, Bone, Dink and Peckerface, and would come shovel you out. Schools didn't close, you had to go to work, and even if the roads and sidewalks were bad, it was up to you to figure it out. Generations had dealt with snow and everyone knew what they needed in order to deal with the weather...I remember oohhing and awwwwing over Moonboots and Duc boots because of how much easier my 1 mile walk to school would have been, compared to my rubber galoshes that were not only boys, but 3 sizes to big and looked terrible with my mismatched clothes and my matted, uncombed hair. Point is, maybe the DC area could learn a little bit about the weather and how to deal with it from places like New Hampshire, or as President Obama suggested, Chicago. ...I am not a fan of school closures..the days are added at the end of the year, and it's not like you can do much with the days off when they happen..they are unplanned and it throws all kinds of schedules into upheavel. The point of my ramblings is this , that despite the fact that New Hampshirites allowed for the infamous "man in the Mountain" debacle to happen(see footnote), I think my adopted home of Maryland (where my heart will always be no matter where I end up) could learn some pointers on how to deal with snow from New Hampshire folks like Louie and his 5 darling daughters.





I have never stopped wanting moonboots..I am so happy they are back in style!

I was delighted to put galoshes like these on everyday! They were the perfect accessory to every single outfit I pulled off the floor

*Footnote* New Hampshire's natural rock formation on Cannon Mountain (part of the White Mountains Chain) became known as "the old Man in the Mountain", this unique feature drew thousands of tourists each year and became a great source of pride for New Hampshire. I am not sure if it was expert opinion on the longevity of this formation, or the overall pride of it that led officials years ago to make this the state's Logo. Everything from stamps, to Highway signs, to the quarter have the man in the mountain's image on it...in 2003 the man in the mountain slid down the mountain and is a now pile of rubble, For those of you from Utah, it would be like the "Beehive" getting stepped on or something.. ...The overall reaction of the state was sort of "Huh, that sucks", not a huge rush to change logos, and they actually added a monument to the old tourist site and added new binoculars that allow you to see where it USED to be..so they made an attraction out of the fact that it fell, and just went on with life..I guess it amuses me because the people of New Hampshire amuse me. They are down to earth people with little pretentions and never seem to worry what the rest of the nation thinks of them. (They have to be the only people on the planet that take pride in their political unpredictability) I can see a little bit of myself in them despite all the years of trying to distance myself from the state. My roots are deep there, generations and generations of my family have been there, and still are. I spent the first 8 years of my life there and a few short stints as a teenager living there, It is where I am from and gets a piece of my heart and as I get older, I am learning to love the "New Hampshire" in me...that being said, you will never see me living there!

The state Quarter, the stamp and the state highway sign... just a few examples of how much the "Old Man in the Mountain" was used

Before the "fall"



After the "Fall"


A photo overlay depicting the part that fell...

more snow day fun!

So today we had more snow, followed by RAIN! Greg REALLY wanted a train layout put together...I showed him the directions with little explanation and watched him work...he had a few questions during the process, but take a look at what he put together!!

Snow Days....

To those not familiar with the DC area, let me explain how we feel about snow...we are confused by it...it comes in little incriments and rarely does it stick around... we never really know what the snow plan for our area should be...do we follow the example of northerners and have lots of equipment and people ready to plow, or do we follow the southerners and just deal with the snow that does fall because it won't be around long...?? this confusion leaves our public school's confused also...some days the kids will go when it is absolutely treacherous for our non- prepared vehicles to be on our non prepared roads, and some days, school will be cancelled for what amounts to rain....today, a tiny amount of snow came...and schools were cancelled (we already had a four day weekend for a scheduled break, and today makes it 5) Yesterday I took the oppurtunity to teach the older three kids how to snowboard and Dale took the younger boys tubing...today when I saw that school was cancelled because some snow started to accumulate I was excited to go out and snowboard on our cheapy boards (20 bucks at target) , only to find that we were all wiping out because of such little accumulation of snow...it was hilarious, I grabbed the camera but had already missed the best wipe outs...here are few...enjoy...! I hear that they are calling for more snow tonight...so tomorrow may be the day to showcase the kids actual new found snowboarding skills....!



The kids had told me they snowboarded into the woods already, they said "we already made a safe and smooth trail into the woods!" I got excited so we headed over to this trail..I headed down the trail and completely WIPED OUT!, I asked the kids just where exactly the "safe to go on trail that we made into the woods" was...they explained to me AFTER I flipped, that it wasn't today that they had made the safe trail, THAT trail was safe and smooth on a different day! (Thanks guys!)

(Snowboarding in platform boots also doesn't help!!)

what I am happy about today

Here is what I am thankful for today (I took this idea from Petra's Blog)

*I am thankful that I have NO errands to run today, and other than Shawn's chorus concert, I will be home all day! (babysitting, but HOME!)
* I am thankful that my house is 70% clean
*I am thankful that my kids have not been sick this winter
*I am so thankful that even though the economy is affecting us, I feel completely at peace and feel like everything is going to be ok
*I am thankful that the right man is running our country and feel confidant that he has the approach that we need in these tough times
* I am thankful to be an American
*I am thankful that my husband suprised me with the best date ever on friday night
*I am thankful that the last time I played scrabble with Dale ,I got a 102 point word! (and won the 15 minute massage!)
*I am thankful that I get to have a lunch date with the love of my life every wednesday, right after I play basketball with my buddies, Wednesdays are my favorite day!
*I am so thankful that I have started exercising again and feel much better
*I am so thankful for the joy I feel from watching my kids pursue their interests
*I am so thankful for funny material my kids provide to keep me laughing everyday
*I am thankful that we have a half day on friday and no school on monday I love long weekends, especially because we turned in the science fair project and the book report that was due! (Although, Alex still has to read the book that he did the report on!)
*I am thankful for being able to watch movies with a fire going while sipping a cup of hot chocolate or herbal tea with honey...this is the first time in my life that I can say I am thankful for winter, and I can find happiness in winter even without snowboarding!
*I am thankful that I can enjoy life even when it's not perfect!
*I am thankful for my Savior's example and sacrifice, and my Heavenly Father's love and mercy


I am thankful for "Mr Bob Bob", who has moved into our house to help the kids keep their rooms clean. He goes around before bedtime and "eats" anything that is left on the floor...he had a large meal one night, but most of the time he is left starving, he gets credit for my house being 70% clean


I am thankful for the many laughs my kids give me each day, Greg fell asleep in my bed one night, I photgraphed him exactly as I saw him, I call this "Boys will be boys"

I am thankful that the big projects are done, Alex in the costume for his report on George Washington , I am glad he has a long weekend to be able to actually read the book he did the report on

I am thankful for each and every moment I have with my life's greatest love. Dale suprised me with a date on friday night. He sent me to my office to get ready, (he had picked out my outfit and he prepared dinner with dancing afterward...he set up the table in our bedroom(the table from the deck) and cooked dinner (shrimp and lobster linguini, salad, and crepes for dessert) It was very delicious! We ate, talked, and danced, ..no lines, no babysitter, no bill, no self conciousness about our dancing, he wins the award for BEST DATE EVER! I am so thankful for Dale!

In the eye of the....

Budding artist!.......... Artists tend to pick subject matter that means something to them...with that in mind, I present to you the "Dale" exhibit....

Painted by Melissa January 2009

Drawn by Shawn, January 2009 ("My Amazing father")

Drawn by Tammy, 1994

Painted by Forestte, December 2008

Sports, sports and more sports!

On saturday Shawn started his first season of basketball with the Young Men..I have to admit that I was nervous for my little guy! Even though he is almost my height, he looks so short next to the other young men! Luckily, my man was slated to ref the game, so I was a little less nervous for Shawn (after all, 6' 3" Dale would be the biggest person on a court full of YM, right?) wrong! I freaked out when I saw Dale ref the game before Shawn's ...Dale looked AVERAGE Height next to these YM! It's weird enough that Dale has to play POINT GUARD when he plays with the men in our ward (for those of you unfamiliar with basketball...that is usually the short guy who brings the ball up and throws it to the bigger guys ..so at 6'3", Dale is the 'short guy') To have Dale look average next to the YM was crazy!


as the teams full of freakishly tall YM left the court, Shawn's team was up... the two teams went on the court and I was slightly comforted with the size of these guys, they wouldn't step on Shawn. Shawn started on the bench. When he checked in, he played point guard and did well! He has always played with kids his age, it was a new experience for him to play with tall, quick guys. He had a few turnovers, but he adjusted his game pretty well and will get better as the season goes on. The boys played well together and won the game ! In the picture below, Shawn is left of the shooter (he is looking at the camera) (just to clarify, the gray haired ref is NOT Dale)

Alex is also in basketball, but I have forgotten my camera for his games!! he plays kids his own age, and can hold his own...

I also play basketball every week (year round) with a bunch of woman in our ward...I am the point guard (of course!) and love it! but you can forget getting pictures of that, even if I had them I wouldn't post them!

My man also plays basketball ,twice a week...he scared me a few years ago with serious back problems, For a short time I worried that he wouldn't ever play ball again, and I am thrilled that he not only plays twice a week, but from all accounts is getting some of his quickness back! (no pictures of him either! )

Last night was practice for David's hockey team and it was picture night..In addition to the team photographer, my brother came and took a few shots, here is one of his (I will get the other ones later)

When does baseball start??