We Cheated

We didn't make it over to Williams Valley Winter Recreation area where we normally go sledding. We cheated and headed over to Show Low so I could do some other errands, too. I had to pick up pics at Walgreen's and I wanted to stop in at The Book Barn. Love that place!


This picture of Tjei shows what our truck looked like once we maneuvered a brief off-road stint just behind Pizza Hut. That's the "in town" hill we visited to let TJei sled for a little bit.


She didn't know all she was missing out on at the winter rec area. She was just happy to be sledding at all!


Little did I realize I'd be at the top of the hill looking down on all the activity. Mike was at the bottom of the hill, me at the top.


TJei climbed up empty handed after her first attempt to climb up with the sled in hand. That didn't work out well at all. The second time down the hill, Mike just tossed the sled back up. It was somewhat like a mix of a frisbee and a football. The sled was light enough to catch air and for the most part, could be directed a bit better than a frisbee. At least the frisbees I've thrown. They never went that straight.


TJei got to where she could navigate that hill pretty well. Up and down. After an initial ride on a hill that was pretty smooth, TJei wanted to go "over there where the big kids are." So off we went. To a bigger hill, a hill with much larger hills and dips. She managed them quite well. A mom up there with her kids asked how old she was. They were impressed to learn she is only 5. Their 5'ish boy wouldn't go down the hill except nestled in his dad's lap. The bigger kids commented, "She's really brave."


She was having a good time. I was freezing. :)

Come to think of it, she is pretty brave. She didn't even complain about the stick that poked her in the eye as she took her first step onto that hill. That hill wasn't getting the best of her. :)

Happy New Year!

Snow Again Today

We had snow on the ground again this morning. It looks like most of it has melted off right now but it sure had a good covering on the ground to start the day. Seeing the snow made missing the lunar eclipse a bit more bearable. (I love the night sky!) Jacob called last night and reminded me to go and look. I'd spent some time standing out in the yard, freezing my tail off because I hadn't put a coat on, and strained to see any glimpe of the eclipse. It wasn't to be ... there was high cloud coverage over most of the sky. I did enjoy the early morning glisten of the snow though!

Wednesday Visitors

Wednesday brought many visitors to SJ. Robert Lewis and his friend Morning Star stopped by to visit and see how Philip is doing. Robert has been in touch regularly and has tried to be supportive of Philip. Robert was in SJ for a hearing on his young kids, he has been working hard to increase visitation and time with his youngsters and be reunited with his young daughter who is now living in Texas. He's making progress and we're wishing him well!


Our precious little 3 month old Mia came up for a visit along with her Mommy. They arrived late Wednesday afternoon and stayed until Friday afternoon. It was great to see her and spend some time cuddling and playing with her ... good to see Jodie, too. :) TJei went home with her mom and sister when they left. :(


Quentin came up late Wednesday evening. He stayed in SJ just overnight and returned to Pima after a long day of snowboarding fun at Sunrise with Tom Tanner all day Thursday. It does look like they had a lot of fun playing in the snow!

Zero Degrees Fahrenheit

It is a cold morning! Even now, it is only two degrees. Earlier this morning when I checked the weather it was zero degrees. brrrr There is still snow on the ground from earlier in the week.

The sun is coming up and it is looking like this will be a bright and clear day. Sadly, there have been terrible storms in the southeast area of our nation. Currently there are 47 confirmed dead and hundreds injured by tornadoes that have moved through that area. I'll take the cold any day.

Toboggan Hill

We'd gone to Show Low earlier in the week and picked up a pair of snow boots for TJei. She is quite pleased because she can put the boots on herself and has been marching around in her boots over the last couple days. TJei has taken advantage of every little bit of snow she can find. The tiny patch of snow in the shaded are between the two trucks held just enough snow for her to drop backwards and create a snow angel for us. It was so cute that she had done that!

Since Mike had the day off Friday, we decided to head on up the mountain and visit Toboggan Hill and introduce her to snow tubing. TJei was more than ready - she has been so anxious to play in the snow!

With all the kids gone and a complete absence of snow on New Year's for several years running, we haven't really visited Toboggan Hill much in recent years. It used to be a favorite place for outings with family and friends. It was an especially fun outing on New Year's Day when family would travel up from the valley and Cottonwood and friends would travel over from New Mexico. Everyone would get up early on New Year's Day and get wrapped and bundled for a day of tubung and sledding. We'd take along firewood and start a campfire to keep warm and to heat water for our cocoa. For lunch we'd devour baked potatoes, prepared in advance and wrapped in foil then transported in a lined ice chest to keep them hot. With a jar of melted cheddar cheese and a jar of chili to top off the hand-held baked potatoes, most everyone was always warmed from the inside out after a filling lunch.

I miss those large group outings to the snow and look forward to having a return of snowfall earlier in the winter to again enjoy Toboggan Hill over New Year's. For now, we'll cherish the chance to visit the winter recreation area with TJei ... only, we had to do some real looking around to locate a snow toy for her! Ack! The stores already have Easter toys out - not a hint of winter toys. After going to several stores looking for a small saucer type sled, or any other sled, Mike stopped at a tire shop in Alpine, Arizona and purchased a TJei sized inner tube.

What a shock when we got to Toboggan Hill! It has been a long time ... now there are restrooms and even a picnic ramada with grill for cooking. I've no idea when all those features were installed - they weren't there last time we were there! :-)

TJei did have fun, not the kind of fun we would have hoped for but fun all the same. There was too much powder (fresh, light snow) on the hills. She wasn't quite heavy enough to pack it down and make it work for her. There was just too much drag. Grandpa gave it a good effort to try getting some traction for her but it just wasn't working. The wind was blowing too - does that surprise anyone?

It was so much fun watching TJei play in the snow and try marching around in her snow boots. She really enjoyed a snowman that earlier visitors to the hill had left. There was still one surprise left for us. When we returned to town and turned the corner heading home, a large gaggle of geese (couldn't get them all into one picture) had settled into Jimmy Heap's pasture. They were a nice compliment to the especially large herd of antelope we'd seen just outside town on that day we went to Show Low. :-)

Winter Wonderland

With all the rain we've been having in recent days, it is quite a surprise to wake up to a couple inches of snow on the ground this morning. :-)

The wind was blowing quite fiercly last night. We probably would have had another 6 inches on the ground had it not been for the wind! It was a harsh, cold wind, too. brrr

I love this time of the morning. At any time of the year early morning is special but in winter it is especially captivating with small sparkles of light glistening across the town illuminating little patches of darkness. The scene is lighter and brighter in other seasons. In winter there is a deeper darkness casting a softness to each little light.