snowy slopes make for slippery ground.

I'm fairly certain we're going to be digging a hole out here pretty soon. Snow upon snow upon snow, and surprisingly, I'm loving it. We're loving it. Shall we say: Ben is definitely loving the new snowmobile.
Each morning Alasdair wakes up, kindly tugs on my lip until I wake up, and once officially roused I open the curtains to see what the weather entails. Most days it's either snowing or gray. Today, it was blue. blue. blue, which called for a near leap out of bed to get things started. coffee. playtime. breakfast. gear up, and we went on a nice ski + snowshoe (I'm still adjusting to the skiing bit and fear for Alasdair's well-being while on my chest, so I walked). Beautiful, so it was. After Ben and I walked around the lake, Alasdair and I continued on a circle up by the water shed.
The recent snow has been pretty dense, so the walking bit isn't too terribly difficult... just right, in fact. I love where I live. I love that I walk outside and suddenly I have the opportunity to ski or snowshoe however far I'd like ... while witnessing some of the most beautiful scenery in the Northwest (I think). And, there's silence. There we stood, surrounded by untouched, glistening snow, in silence. Aside from Morley's whimpers. No snowmobiles. No cars. Ni horns. Nay voices. It was lovely.
This life is lovely, I'll say.
To top it all off... throw Alasdair into the mix. The sweetest thing, ever. Here are a few photos from last night. He and Morley play really well together. Thank you, Morley. dats a ogoogogGGoOOod boy.


so, yes, life is grand. My mama should be getting her call any day now, and--I'll admit--I'm getting increasingly apprehensive. I am, however, psyched that she's going. Very, very psyched.

he's on the move.

alasdair practically blazes around the place now. scary. and, of course, he's loving cords and all things potentially hazardous. a few of his favorite poses: downward dog and the standing bit ...



we recently returned from a five-day trip to vegas where we met up with the ladies from my mother's side of the family. aunts, great aunts, cousins and beyond ... good times. my great aunt gladys, who is 92 and in better shape than most 70-year-olds, lives in vegas. she is my grandmother's younger sister. I was also able to meet my great aunt kat, gladys' baby sister. a photo:

while in vegas we shopped and walked and ate ... and, eventually, got sick. too smoky. way too smoky. I think alasdair enjoyed the pace and the people--they sure liked him. Nearly every person we passed stopped me to say hi to the baby, ask his age, converse with him through smiles and coos. he was a hit. and he was such a pleasure to have on the trip. he just cruised around in the pack, slept when he was tired, and observed the lights and sights while awake. he would squawk at people walking by---very sweet.
here he is being lulled to sleep by a sweet accordion player:

back at home it is still snowing. today we're supposed to get a couple of feet. excellent. especially excellent because we finally got a new ride ...

... which was much needed. we were down to one snowmobile, and not a super great one at that. life is great around here.

bottom two

I've taken photos upon photos of alasdair's teeth ... trying to shoot one where you can actually see them. here's the best shot, so far:

brief

I take photos of the mountains, lakes, roads, specs of snow, views, trees and footprints around our home as if I am taking photos of my first child. it seems like every time I head outside I'm entering into a new world of beauty, and I just start snapping away. here is a view of the lake, and here's what I see when I turn around. Ah, but how about this angle? and so on. and on. and on. ben and I walked to the car and I'm fairly certain I photographed every 50 feet of our walk. needless to say, this place is exceptional.
ben received his tele boots in the mail yesterday. good day. we're nearly set. I hope to get mine today. ben's in town now to check on it.
hmmm. not much to say today. it's snowing. not exactly new..news.
alasdair's newest position: downward dog. maybe I said that in the last post, but here I'll say it again because he loves it so. it's quite adorable.

the day of the great dig(yourself)out

... as ben dubbed it. well, I added the 'yourself' bit.
many cars went untouched this weekend. gathered together in a lot at the base of the wasatch backside. huddled, cold, buried---until today. that monster storm dropped about 4 feet of snow on us, and (for one night) nearly blew our place down with 114 mph winds. whip. so, ben, alasdair and I walked out. too much snow to deal with (in terms of using the snowmobile), and far, far too beautiful of a day to pass by any piece of ground/sky/views at any speed faster than placing one foot in front of the other. it was blue-bird. it's only a little over 3/4 mile to the car, a walk which is mostly downhill---until you decide it's time to come home.
so, today was spent walking, driving a bit, buying the growing boy some new clothes, and watching (still) the lsu/ohio game (which is not so much a game ... lsu is smoking them. excellent.) a good day.
company recently left. I feel fulfilled and a bit empty all at once. each morning, for the past few days, I wake up and proceed with my usual routine (greet the boy, change the dipe, smile and talk, prepare coffee, music ... ), then around 10:30 I start the whole 'looking out the window' business. looking. looking. looking and waiting for someone to come walking up the hill from the lodge. walking up to greet me and help with breakfast, books, what have you. but no one walks up. Gosh, I miss my family already and they just left.
alasdair and I are going to vegas. vegas, baby, vegas... on the 18th. we're going with honey (my mom), dana and a load of other female relatives. great aunts, aunts, distant cousins .. all of whom I've never met. well, most of them. I'm psyched. a reunion, of sorts. a gathering. though we won't be huddled, in the cold, buried in snow.
I expect we'll be parted, warm and swarming.
alasdair. ah, sweet boy. he is growing, growing and has even produced TWO teeth. simultaneously. the bottom two: on 12-30-2007. mark it.
they're still growing up, but at least they've popped through. poor boy. the pain, of which I cannot recall.
he is also all too close to crawling. he rocks and lunges and sometimes spurts out frustrating yelps. most of the time he's in a downward dog position...pushing off with his toes, face-planted, attempted to move forward. soon, though I can wait. once he is completely mobile I know I'll find myself forever mobile, too.
Ah, speaking of the boy: he cries.
and, to bed--again.
he's really taken to the pack. nearly as soon as he's in his snowsuit and in the pack, he's asleep. though I think he likes snowshoeing--the rhythm--as opposed to loud snowmobile rides.
other holiday rambling bits: ben + I skied. yay. ben rocks the downhill bit. as for me, I'll just say that I tend to prefer the flat and uphill variety. downhill's alright, so far as there are skins on the bottom of my skis, please.
me not so good at the speedy bit.
it's fun though. so much that we're looking to invest in boots, skis and skins. for now and future. lots of fresh, powdery snow to be had around these parts----and we mustn't miss out.
there's an update, in brief. ah, and the photo bit.
look right: under the photo of the boy. see: flickr. click and tour. I think it's best to view by "set." whatever works, though. there were far too many photos to post here.
here's one from today---to entice you, as I hope it will: