Well, Mommy I actually kind of like vacuuming. I mean I wouldn't give it up for ice cream or anything like that, but it is kind of fun! :)

Elena- age 11.

Ducky rumors...

So, if you hear any rumors of someone climbing through 3 feet of snow in their snow boots and pajamas, well I'm not sure I would believe them... or at least I'd contemplate whether someone would really do such a thing...
With a power outage and 18 more inches of snow greeting us this morning, well it's possible that someone may have panicked about not hearing the soothing sound of honking ducks first thing in the morning. And "someone", while still in pajamas may have quickly grabbed snow boots and hurdled through 100 feet of snow, three feet high... relieved at the sight of ducks (still moving), then hollered to their spouse who's waiting at the front door to hear news of whether they had survived their first serious snow dumping. Well, "someone" may have dug a path through 3 feet of snow with bare hands for them to be able to climb up and out of the pond while trying desperately to coax them off the pond. Oh mercy. And there may have even been tears, but there's no proof.

Once again, I'm not sure if I'd believe it or not, but what I do know for sure is that these duckies have caused a lot of drama today. But they actually seem to be fine, they're swimming around in the slush not a bit anxious to get off the pond. In fact, we haven't seen them leave the pond at all. We keep clearing a path for them and bringing them food, lots and lots of food well, because it makes us me feel better. But on one of my visits down to the pond I noticed some fresh ducky droppings in the snow. Never in my life have I been happier to see such a sight!

Obviously, we're rookie "duck farmers" but after today I'm not even sure I could even classify them as farm animals, I think we share a last name! I even wanted to bring them in the house for the night, but they refused my offer. They won't even leave the pond. Oh mercy!

Overheard late in the day: "The ducks are out of the pond!" "Yay! Yippee!!" There were lots of loud cheers!
Oh, and the temperatures are climbing, logic says that the ducks should be fine. Of course, I'll, I mean "we'll" be anxious to see how they're doing tomorrow morning.

Snowy Night!

Uh... so, I was on my way to bed and I took a look out the window and I was shocked! I mean, I knew they said the snow was coming, but wow! Look how the snow is sitting on the individual branches! Again, wow!

I swear I had just looked out the window an hour before and the snow accumulation wasn't significant. Not like this.

I opened the front door and had to snap a pic of this tree, this is the same tree in yesterday's post. It's so loaded with snow that the branches are touching the ground! I can only imagine what it will look like in the morning!

As I was looking out various windows in the house, I caught a glimpse of the trees down by the pond and I was giddy. They were so pretty! I needed a picture. So, like any true Minnesotan, (transplanted to the P-NW) I pulled my snowboots on and well, I already had my sweatshirt on so I grabbed my camera as I was more than prepared to frolic in the snow.

And I captured this. A beautiful starry snowy night! Ahh....

And this. Snowy night by the pond.

And a snowy night back at the house. I snapped one more pic of my flowering plum tree at the end of my frolic. And then I got all snuggled in my bed, with dreams of snowflakes dancing in my head... or, something like that...

Happy snow day to me! And you!

SNOW DAY!!!

The kids were so excited to have a snow day today! Elena asked me, "when is it too early to go out and play in the snow?" She was up and out the door early. Deacon made an attempt to get ready but, he has spent his snow day curled up on the couch with a tummy ache. :(

With Deacon all settled, I took a few minutes to go outside with Elena to watch her play, shovel a little snow and capture a few moments.

Here's what I saw. My little girl romping in the snow.

Our neighbor's adorable little barn. And yes, it has been snowing like this all day. We've probably got about 18 inches and we might have another 12 inches (or more) on the way!

This is our flowering plum tree, a bit weighed down by all of the snow.

And I found our web-footed critters having a snack in the back yard.

These girls almost blend into the snow.

And this little guy is "swimming" his way to the well-worn duckie path.

I forgot how fun the ducks are to watch in the snow. They really look like they are swimming in the snow, and they're so graceful... until they start honking.

There's my brief tour of our winter wonderland. I'm back in the house all snuggled up with seltzer water and saltines hoping the tummy bug doesn't migrate.

Christmas Tree Farm

On an unseasonably sunny day in late December, the kids and I borrowed our neighbor's truck and made the trek to our neighborhood Christmas tree farm to pick out our very own Christmas tree.

How about this one?

Or this one? Yes, it's a branch! And yes, he takes after his father! :)

After searching and searching, left and right, up and down the hill - we finally settled on this one!

Teamwork was in full force.

It felt like we sawed and sawed and sawed... and then it finally became ours. We hauled the tree down the hill and left our $15.00 in the hole in the door of the Tree Farm Cabin.

But we took one last look at the tree farm before we scurried home to set up our goreous tree. The tree farm is breathtaking - I'm so glad we get to live near here!

The Leighton Family Tree Farm has been a part of our family Christmas traditions for 12 years. We look forward to coming every year!

Every week-end between Thanksgiving and Christmas the Leighton Tree Farm is bustling. We see many, many cars driving by our house with Christmas trees tied on top. This year, I was relieved that we weren't the only ones getting our tree just days before Christmas. Whew! Anyways, when you arrive at the Tree Farm, you're greeted by acres of trees, a charming cabin, warm bonfire and friendly people. They provide the saws and twine, you come up with your own adventure! Sometimes our excursion lasts a few minutes, sometimes it lasts about an hour. But every year it's different.

One year I cut a tree down and hauled it home tied onto a wagon while I pushed the kids home in a double stroller. Yeah, not much will prevent me from getting my Christmas tree! And that's certainly one tree-getting excursion I will never forget! :)

I hope your tree-getting excursions are filled with fun and memories too! Or, maybe just fun!

Office Christmas Party

Ooh, look at this! Plates and plates of tiramisu...

It's a scene that made me really happy at my husband's office Christmas party. I really love tiramisu!

And here's a photo of us...

I'm glad I had the foresight to have our babysitter snap a photo of the two of us as we were heading out the door to the party. Photos of "us" happen so rarely that I really appreciate the ones that I have.

Here are a few more photos from the party.

We had a lovely dinner, played some group games, watched some funny videos and my honey did a comedy routine! Yep, a comedy routine!

He's smart, he's funny, he's a techie, he's handsome and he's all mine! :)
And his comedy was; smart, funny, techie, geeky, clever, office related humor.
And he knocked it out of the park!

Oh man, he did such a good job! One of his co-workers asked me if he really "did" comedy?
Ha ha! I guess he's a natural.

And the critique from the wife of the boss was; "my only complaint was that it could have been a bit longer." Way to go honey! You rocked it!

Oh, we also played a little pub trivia and we were a part of the winning team (yay!) and here we are with our giant trophy!

It was a lovely party! It seems like the company parties are getting better and better each year!
I can't wait to see what next year brings!

Bazaar Crawl...

After doing the local community bazaar with my kids, I found myself wondering what it would be like to be a vendor at other bazaars. Before I could leap any further, I decided to go to a couple of bazaars and experience it from a shopper's perspective.

But of course, I needed a couple of bazaar-hopping friends to go with me! Here's me and a couple of my favorite girls and our daughters at the first bazaar of the day in Stevenson, WA.
Yeah, we had a girls morning! Loved it!

We got there at the beginning of the bazaar so there were lots of people and the energy was high, in fact "frenzy" might be the word to describe it. We had a lovely time browsing through the merchandise, there were loads of vendors, samples to taste, and goodies to buy. I picked up a few items; some rings, some pot scrubbers and Elena bought this pink hat. Oh, and I picked up a jar of rhubarb-orange jelly, it sounds so interesting, I can't believe I haven't tried it yet!

Bazaar # 2

After a fun filled morning, I came home, unloaded my goodies and tried to settle in for a nap. But, with the knowledge that there was another bazaar within 20 miles, I couldn't sit still, I had to go. So, I grabbed my canned goods and $2.00 (yep, canned goods and $2.00 is the price of admission) and headed to Mosier, Oregon. I had heard people rave about the Mosier Christmas Fair, but in the 12 years I've lived in the Gorge, I had never gone. Today was my day!

I walked in and was in awe, there were so many vendors and it was so quiet. Granted, I went late in the day, so the crowds were minimal, but it was just so quiet and peaceful! Ahh...

To see the rest of the story, click here to see it over on my "creative blog".

Community bazaar

Oh, the kids and I worked so hard preparing for the little bazaar at our local school. We made cake pops, dipped pretzels, peppermint bark and dipped marshmallows. Deacon made a yummy toffee-cracker crunch and Elena made friendship bracelets and pom poms and I brought some of my "GretaBag" items.

At the end of the bazaar as I'm packing up all of the loot I wonder if it's worth it all... and then as I talk to the kids, their eyes light up, they can't wait for next year, they loved every minute of it!! They're even evaluating plans for next year; what to do differently, what to do the same, etc. Elena and Deacon both walked away with about $20.00 for their piggy banks and I sold a few "GretaBag" items. Oh, as I pull my weary self up, I realize there's no way that I can deny them this opportunity. They really loved it! And they did such a good job setting up our table, visiting with shopppers, keeping track of money and being responsible to manage the table. Hmm, I might even think about branching out into other bazaars next year, but only if I have my kids on my "bazaar-team"! They were amazing!

I guess, I better check out some of the local bazaars to get a feel for how this works... stay tuned.