Beast-er Eggs

Step One: Dye some eggs. Use as many colors as possible.

 

 

Step two: Decorate! Use as many feathers as possible.

 

 

This one looks more like Halloween to me . . .

Snowboarding?

Yep, that's right! My super talented friend Julie, a snowboard instructor at Stowe, decided to try me on a board since I seem to have hit a plateau on skis. She was very patient, and very encouraging, and I had a great time learning. Maybe someday when I become a competent skier I'll switch over -- there is a lot I like about snowboarding!

 

 

After a while I put my skis on for a run, then I gave up and manned the camera while Julie, the kids, and Austin hit the big hills.

 

 

Austin gave up midafternoon, trying to save his legs for marathon training, but Julie and the kids kept going until the lifts shut down. It was a beautiful day to sit out on the deck, enjoying the sunshine and the company of some of my favorite people on the last day of the ski season.

 

Tuckered out!

Snow Day!

First day of spring, eh?

 

Last year this time, it was 80 degrees and we were putting up the trampoline early.

 

 

This year, we got a huge mid-March snowstorm dumping 12 inches (so far) and giving us the perfect excuse to play outside.

 

 

The kids are getting great at cross-country skiing.

 

But Lucy discovered that nordic skis don't work as well as her alpine skis going down hills. So skis soon got traded for sleds.

 

My favorite sled is this huge orange toboggan we call "the bus" because we can cram it full of people. It always goes fast and far, especially when Gavin is driving. But I love my Mad River Rocket too.

Sugaring

Some friends of ours have a sugarbush.

 

Non-Vermonters may need to know that a "sugarbush" is acres and acres of sugar maple trees, running sap in the spring, that can be collected and boiled down into the most divine maple syrup ever. (We have become hopeless syrups snobs ever since moving here.)

 

Today they invited us over to tap some trees the old fashioned way.

 

 

A drop in the bucket.

 

Then they invited us into the sugarhouse (where the syrup gets produced in a massive, wood-fired boiler) for some sugar-on-snow. Extra-thick syrup gets poured over dishes of fresh snow and takes on the consistency of taffy. Even Lucy, who never likes any new foods, loved it.

Even though I ran around taking pictures like a tourist, getting to do some REAL sugaring makes me feel like a real Vermonter.

Black-Diamond Babies

I know two kids who are not afraid of moguls anymore.

 

Unfortunately, the same can't be said of their mom. So today, I elected to be the family photographer instead of accompanying these crazy folks down the steepest, bumpiest runs on the mountain.