Too Many Tricks …

All I have to say is yeah it’s Monday! This past weekend was all tricks with a couple of treats. When I woke up Friday morning and saw the weather forecast all I could do was shake my head. We had not even had a frost yet and the weather man was calling for 6 to 12 inches of snow. Snow? Snow? Most of my trees were still green and full of leaves and my flowers were still blooming. I was completely shocked.

Noah and I were headed for the mountains Friday night for a camp out with the cub scouts and a Saturday of fun at Adventure Camp. Friday night was fun. We cooked dinner on a camp fire, sang songs, played games and heard stories, Noah had a blast. It was a lot of fun; unfortunately that is when the fun ended. We woke up in our warm cabin to the sound of rain and while we were eating breakfast it started to change to snow. By the time we checked in for Adventure Day it was snowing hard but there seemed little concern about travel or the severity of the weather that was coming. I called home which was about forty five minutes away and heard the roads were fine not thinking home is in a valley and I am in the mountains, my first mistake of many. We followed our guide and went on a nature hike, the kids had time to play in the snow, and they went to archery and the shooting range. By this time there was about 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground and I had a cold, wet, and tired little boy. He wanted to go home and so did I. Camp was still going on as planned but Noah and I had enough. We walked through the woods to the car, cleaned it off started it up and got stuck, for a second. I was so relieved I just wanted to get Noah home. Little did I know that the worst part of the day just begun.

We slowly drove out of the camp talking about snuggling on the couch and dummy me had no clue what we were in for. When we got to the road it was covered in snow and ice. We turned and started up the first hill slipping and sliding and not going very fast. We got a quarter way up the hill and stopped behind a bunch of cars stuck on the road. I couldn’t move I backed down and tried again, nope no luck, I tried again couldn’t do it. I decided to go back to the camp but when I got to the entrance I got stuck. Another car was stuck there too. The man helped push my minivan and I went to get help for him. I spotted one of Noah’s friends and we asked for a ride I just knew we would not be getting the van up the hill. We loaded up and got back to the main road, by this time there were a line of cars stuck on the hill and no way to get around them. Someone from the camp came up to the car and said they opened another road out of the camp that was passable and that it took you to the main highway and that that road was cleared. We went back to the camp and Noah and I climbed back in the van, my second mistake, and followed his friend’s dad out of the camp. We slid a few times but made it up the road. We got to the main highway that took you over the mountain and started up. Well we did not get far. It was an icy mess and before I knew it we halted to a stop. I turned around drove down and lucky for us a plow and a salt truck was heading up the mountain so I turned around to follow. Once again we could not make it up. I decided to try another route that I heard one of the instructors talking about that was a flat path and took you to a place that went through the mountain not over it.

We headed in the other direction went up over a smaller hill and when we started down there was a line of cars stopped ahead and a police car. I put my foot on the brake and I had nothing, my foot went to the floor and I could not stop. Instead of rear ending the truck in front of me I turned the wheel and ended up in a ditch, we were stuck. I got out, went over to the cop and asked what I should do, he said he would call for a tow and he would be back that there was accident on the mountain.

That is when I got scared, we were stuck, we had no cell reception, and I had a tired, wet scared little boy waiting in the back. I told him to wrap up in one of the blankets we had along and try to stay calm. We were lucky if we got stuck there for a while, we had sleeping bags, blankets, water, snacks, and extra clothes but I just wanted to get my little guy home. We were not there long when a young guy with a jeep and a chain comes up and asks if we need help. I wanted to run out and give him a huge hug. We were stuck pretty well and his first attempt failed. Then lucky for us one of his friends drove by and helped him get the chain around another part of the van so he could pull us out. This time it worked! So many people drove by us and no one stopped to see if we needed anything and then you have these two young guys who went out of their way to help a stranger. All I had was a few bucks on me and I gave it to him, I wish I had more to give. When we drove away I told Noah that I hope I am raising him to be considerate and helpful to others like those young men are.

We were finally on our way. The roads were horrible but passable. The newest problem was I did not have brakes we were 20 miles from home and we had no front brakes. I had to pump the peddle to stop so I drove slow and stayed back from other cars. The closer we got to home the better the roads got and three hours after we left camp we pulled in the drive way. I was so happy to be safe and home. I never want to get in that kind of situation again with one of my children with me. Looking back on the day I made a million mistakes that made it worse. I am walking away from our adventure day Saturday with the knowledge of what to do and not to do. And if I am ever in the mountains again and it starts to snow I am leaving before the first snowflake hits the ground.

Sunday the fun did not stop. We received about 6 inches of wet heavy snow. A lot of my trees and bushes are damaged. My big curly willow got hit the hardest. Twelve foot branches cracked off and it lost at least a quarter of its big branches. I went out yesterday and tried to saw off cracked limbs and remove some of the snow. I am so upset about the state of this beautiful tree. My backyard is a disaster and there is a lot of clean up. We are lucky in a lot of ways we made it home, we are safe, and we have power which many do not.

Today the kids have a snow day and it’s Halloween. I do not need any adventures for awhile.

I Heart Snow ...

This morning we woke up to a beautiful white world. Here are a few lovely photos I took looking out my backdoor.

Here is a little of snow art.



A beautiful female cardinal.



A pretty red House Finch.



Finch silhouette.

Metal basket with red flowers.

White Throat Sparrow.

Another pretty red House Finch.

I love this picture.

I love how the Curly Willow branches look when the are covered with snow.

If you want to see some more pops of red stop over and visit, It's A Very Cherry World! for Rednesday.

May All Your Christmas Dreams Come True …

I’m not sure if my Christmas dreams include a glass mug with Christmas balls and a winter scene in it, but I did have fun creating this piece. At first when I came up with the sketch I had peppermint candies filling the mug instead of Christmas balls, but I soon changed my mind. I hate painting the same thing over and over again. The thought of using red and white over and over bored me to tears. I love to use a lot of colors, bright colors, every color in the rainbow.

So what are my Christmas dreams …..

I would have to say that my first one would be for my children to have a magical and wonderful holiday. I have a feeling that this will be the last year Noah doesn’t question Santa, or at least I am hoping he still believes. There is just something magical about having little children around the holidays, they make it seem so innocent like anything is possible. Abbey keeps asking about Santa and when Christmas is coming, this is the first year where I think she understands the whole thing. It’s cute to see how excited she is getting. She is already singing Christmas songs. I just want my children’s Christmas memories to be as special as mine are to me. My parents always made the holidays such a magical time.

My second dream would have to be that everyone I love and care about has a happy, healthy, safe, and beautiful holiday. My parents are separated and my relationship with them is a little strained. Although I probably will not be with them over the holidays it doesn’t mean that I don’t hold them close to my heart and don’t want all the happiness in the world for them. I wish things were like they once were, but unfortunately I am not a little kid anymore and even magic can’t fix this. As a child they made sure I was happy, healthy, and safe and that is all I want for them. That is all I want for everyone.

Spending time with my husband and children would be my third dream. Life is always so hectic and sometimes it feels like if it wasn’t for dinner we would not get to see each other. I want to get to stop the craziness and enjoy being together. I love watching Michael get to spend time with the kids. He is so good with them, but he is always so busy with work that his time is limited. He takes vacation over the Christmas break so he is all ours from Christmas Eve until January second. I love when he is home with us.

I think my last dream would be to have a white Christmas. I don’t need the two plus feet we had in February, but six inches would be nice, just enough to build a snowman and make the Christmas lights glow.


I hope all of you Christmas dreams come true!

Let it Snow …

We didn’t get the 30 plus inches some people got but we were ecstatic with the foot we did receive. I get as excited as the kids do about snow. I think that is because when I was little snow equaled plowing, getting up at three in the morning, bundling up and hopping into my father’s jeep. The four of us my father, mother, little sister, and myself would enjoy the back and forth, the fumes, and that annoying noise the plow made every time it would lift up. Now the only noises I hear are my abominable snow monsters laughter and pooch’s barking as we play in the snow. Here are some of my favorite shots from the weekend. We are now anxiously awaiting our second chance in a week to receive and additional foot of snow, Noah is looking forward to his first snow day of the year!

Patiently waiting to go out ... Abbey was working so hard to catch me ... Our pooch Izzy had a blast playing with the kids, she kept steeling Noah's gloves ... Noah was having a blast ...
It took Abbey a little while to get used to walking in such deep snow ...