A Taste Of New York Christmas

We took well over 400 photos during our week in NY, so there are lots of pictures to document what was a very fun trip for all. It takes time to crop and resize and select and such, so y'all (I recently have been converted to y'all as a gender-neutral pronoun) will have to be patient. Here's a small sampling of the fun.

There was snow when we arrived, but it was actually raining on the drive home from the airport, so that snow wasn't very fun. But then we got more! Enough for some sledding, which Darcy enjoyed, as you might be able to see. The quality isn't great, but the expression is perfect.


The whole week was the Darcy-and-Liana show from morning to night. They had a lot of fun together and amused the rest of us in the process. Darcy took to standing at this corner, leaning into the dining/living room shouting, "LIANA! LIANA!" Here, they are showing off the matching Christmas dresses Grandma made them. Their footwear was not coordinated, but the hand-holding added a little extra something.

More Snow, Endless Snow

This is our post office this morning. We went out to see if we could get to our postmistress's house to check up on her and see if she felt the need to go to work. She's 83. She has earned some checking. Even with four wheel drive, we didn't attempt her road (technically, it's our road, too, but we can go the other way and it's better). Instead, I hiked in about a quarter mile to find her in her bathrobe, perfectly fine, but happy for a visit and the fruit, cheese, and crackers I brought. I hiked back out with a list of phone calls to make for her. I don't think the post office will gets lots of business today.

Getting to the post office was really fun! This is weather in which I would rather not have to get out of the car to open cattle gates. Michael thought it was amusing. He got to stay in the car.

The skies were really dramatic. I have a shot-that-got-away that would have been ridiculous if I had just angled up a little bit more. Instead, I give you the mountain top peeking out from the clouds.

Darcy was playing in deep snow during the lull between the storms. So, in other words, on Tuesday. Last night, when the snow was still blowing horizontally and it was well below freezing and dark, she insisted on going out in the snow. So we took her out, with a headlamp and all of us very bundled, figuring she'd want to come right back in. No. She was happy out there. Must be her Alaskan birth.

Once we convinced her to come in, she was red-cheeked and ready to be warmed up. Here she is standing on the washing machine being divested of her 17 layers of clothing.

The snow really is gorgeous today. The sun has pretty much banished the clouds now and we have deep blue skies. Luckily, we're staying in. Or, luckily, we don't have anywhere we need to be today 'cause we're not getting out of here in our car unless they come scrape our road again. It's all a matter of perception.

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Cima House in the snow. It takes a picture like this for me to fully appreciate how big our surrounding Joshua trees really are. The one behind the house, in particular, is just massive. They are all looking a little more substantial with their snowcaps.

Our snow seems to have ended for the day, although snow showers may continue for the next couple days. We're hoping that our road miraculously gets plowed. I'm not sure I'm holding my breath, but I don't think the Corolla would make it out in this. This picture is the scene across the road from the house. We probably have another inch on top of this.

The yuccas want to be birds of paradise, I think. Or, at least this one does. All the desert plants look very cute and out of their element all covered in snow.

Darcy likes to hug Joshua trees like this one outside our door. Today, though, she insists that she is climbing the tree, not hugging it.

Darcy didn't spend a lot of time on her feet in this afternoon's deeper snow. She found it easier to crawl and then found the remnants of the flowers she enjoyed picking this summer and fall. I don't think the mittens were welcome at this point. Fine for letting her hands stay warm while on hands and knees, but very much in the way for picking/holding flowers.

Snow Darcy!

One to three inches? Hah! We laugh at that! Darcy finds all-fours a good way to get about in the snow.

Wild Friends

Well, our snow didn't start last night as promised, but did finally arrive around 8:45 this morning. Darcy has already played in it for well over an hour. She had fun, and that was even before it started sticking.

Darcy's well asleep now, but someone else came to play in our snow!! We have had a few coyote sightings over the past couple months. There's also been scat in the yard every once in a while, too. But our coyote friend has always come and gone too quickly to get a picture. Not today! I made several short videos of him/her looking for rabbits or ground squirrels (I assume, since there was a pounce involved at one point). They were all taken out the living room window. Luckily, the blinds were already up so Darcy could watch the snow fall.

I love our wild friends! Sorry the quality's not a bit better, but our connection sometimes times out if I try to upload too many plain ol' photos at one time, so I thought I'd be safe.

Happy Belated Halloween!

So, this post isn't really about Halloween, but it's a picture that I'd already resized, so this is what you get. I need to get a post up about our trip to Tucson for Jenna's wedding. Darcy danced late into the night (ok, not exactly, but it had been dark for a while). She had fun. This picture was taken after the frog costume got just too hot for a girl to wear at the playground.

This post is really about checkups and snow. Darcy had her two-year checkup today (yes, a month late; life gets in the way sometimes). She's staying on track for her weight and height gains. She's in the low-middle percentiles for both, and still has a larger-than-normal head circumference, although I don't see that. But the low-middle sizes does explain why quite a few 24 month/2T size clothes are still too big for her.

She didn't exactly love the doctor's visit. In fact, she has NEVER been that upset/loud/clingy before. Not once ever. She was climbing me as if I was the only thing that could save her. And that was just while I was trying to change her diaper in an exam room that wasn't even the one we were going to be in for the appointment. It didn't get better.

Tomorrow will make her forget all of that, I think. We are supposed to get SNOW, and maybe lots of it! The prediction is for 6-12 inches at our elevation, with the snow starting late tonight and continuing on through Monday night. I'm glad Darcy and I don't have any pressing engagements tomorrow, 'cause I'll be glad to stay put. I hope to get some good photos of Darcy and the Joshua trees in snow. It will be my first time seeing these odd plants snow-covered! I'm just sorry that I didn't get Santa hats at the dollar store for them ... that was my plan!

Portland

We all headed to Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR the day after election day. Darcy, as you can see, loved being on the airplane. We loved that our flight was not very full, so they were able to give us a row of three seats. Darcy sat still and quiet the whole way. Hardly moved a muscle.

Portland was a good place for Darcy. We had a great view of airplanes coming into the airport from our hotel across the river. She had a great time playing at the Children's Museum. A week after we were there, she woke up in a very talkative mood. I listened to her babble for a while through the monitor. She was talking about things she liked, mostly. And then she said, "Darcy play with trains on bus with kid Bennett. I love Bennett." And it's true. She played with a boy named Bennet on the "bus" at the Children's Museum. She had carried a bunch of trains in there with her. Her memory is scary.

We also went to this waterfall, a little outside the city. It was raining and a little cool, but it was a beautiful drive and the falls were gorgeous.

Here are Darcy and Michael on the bridge that can be seen in the first picture between the upper and lower falls. I stepped out onto the bridge briefly. It was high up. I didn't need to be there.

The next day, we hit the zoo before Michael took Darcy and I to the airport. This sealion "kissed" people standing at this corner of the viewing area. Darcy loved watching it, but didn't really want to get too close. Michael got kissed.

Darcy watched.

We also had a wonderful visit with my cousin, Tina. Darcy was, perhaps, most particularly impressed by Tina's housemates' pets. Mimi, a white cat, jumped into our car when we first parked in front of the house. The dog, Roxanne, was very excited to meet new people, but Darcy preferred the cat inside -- Sapphire. We're still hearing about her. Darcy followed her upstairs. Looked for her in Tina's closet (she was right, even though we all told her she wasn't in there). Followed her back downstairs. Then we went out to eat at a vegan-friendly restaurant where we all had very tasty sandwiches. Mine was full of roasted asparagus and carmelized onions. After dinner, we went to a supermarket to get diapers and all ended up chatting with our checker about how excited we are about Obama's election.

All in all, we had a good time. Our flight to Burbank on the trip home was very full, so I had Darcy on my lap. That was quite interesting. Even though I'm not thrilled about having to buy three seats from now on, I am very glad that Darcy will have her very own car seat to sit and sleep in when we head to New York for Christmas.