Snow

We've been having our share of snow here in Nashville. Monday gave us several inches and we've been getting a little more every day since then. I'll admit that it's kind of pretty. But, I'll take sand any day over snow.

Harper's kind of partial to it. She thinks it's pretty and tastes good. Don't worry. We've had the yellow snow discussion.

We have a great sledding hill in our back yard. It's so great that all of the neighborhood kids flock to our house to play on it. At the crack of dawn. When it's still dark out. Seriously. But it's ok. They're having fun and they let us borrow a sled every once in a while. Here's Harper's first time down the hill.


Did you catch how the worried grunts turned into a wow at the end? That makes me happy.

Snow day

The bad news:

This morning, our neighbor took out our mailbox. What you can't appreciate from this picture is that the road is a solid sheet of ice. 

The good news:

Harper looks cute in her snowsuit and...

it is (kind of) pretty.

Keystone Update 2 - Ice Capades

Today, Harper went ice skating for the first time. She did great! I was really impressed with her ability to balance on the skates.

I took this right after I got her all laced up. She really liked the skates and kept showing everyone her "new shoes".

I am not an expert skater and didn't want to take any chances while trying to balance myself and Harper. So... I wore these nice little slip on ice shoes instead of skates. They worked well.

Here, Harper is taking a break on some of the snow that they cleared off of the ice.

We had a great time today (and my talk went really well tonight by the way). Tomorrow we are headed to the slopes! Wish us luck!

Keystone Update 1

We've been in Keystone for about 2 days now and we're having a lot of fun already. Harper has weathered the altitude like a champ! Yesterday, we took a walk around the condo to get the lay of the land. Right outside our door is the largest maintained outdoor ice skating rink in North America. Harper loved watching the skaters. I think we're going to have to give it a try tomorrow.

She also liked looking at (and sitting on) the various ice sculptures that are scattered around the property.

But, her favorite thing so far has been making and throwing snowballs!

We've got a lot planned for the next few days. Stay tuned for more updates!

Snow Day

Rob has today off, so he and Harper are hanging out. Whenever Rob is home alone with Harper, he sends me pictures of their adventures - probably to reassure me that she's fine and that the house isn't burning down. I appreciate the gesture. Here are the pictures that were in my inbox when I got to work this morning.

A car seat makes for a comfortable way to sit at the front door and watch all of our neighbors struggle to get up the (tiny) hill at the top of our street.

Putting her new snow suit on to brave the flurries outside

Happy Snow Day!

Icy Roads and Panties

Not much to say today (I know, I know. I don't have much to say most days. No laughing please.)

• Yesterday, I had to wait a good 15 minutes for this lady to maneuver her car out of the middle of the road. Some good Samaritans who lived in a nearby house came out to help her. I have a feeling that she probably ended up in a ditch somewhere else. It was not pretty.

• There are a couple words and phrases in the English language that I very much dislike. They include panties, tramp (as in tramp on the gas), moist, and eat on it (as in we will eat on these leftovers for a few days). I know there are others, but I must have selectively blocked them from my memory. Do you have any words or phrases that you don't like?

Snow Emergency

38 of the 41 counties in Middle Tennessee canceled school today. This is a picture of my back yard taken at approximately 7am this morning.

Yep. It's definitely a white out. Maybe tomorrow, my university will close and Harper and I can do some sled riding. Good thing we stocked up on bread and milk this weekend. Who knows when/if we will be able to get to the store again.

Monday Morning Update

Well, it's Monday and we're back from our vacation which means back to work for me and back to baby school for Harper. All things considered, we had a pretty good morning - meaning no major meltdowns from either one of us. I don't really have a proper post for today, just some things that are on my mind this morning. Here goes.

• Yesterday, I committed to running a 10K with my friend Allison. I am not a runner. I think running is silly. Furthermore, I don't really like to ride in a car for 10K, much less run it. I'm pretty sure I can do this, but I'm also pretty sure I'm not going to like it. I'm going to the gym tonight to start training on the treadmill.
• While I was in Florida, I read this book. It was really good. Here's a synopsis: God and sex go together. You can’t separate the two because this physical world is intimately linked to deeper spiritual realities. And so, in order to make sense of sexuality, at some point you have to talk about God. With beauty and unusual insight, Sex God explores this connection. Yeah, it's a book about sex and God but it's also about what it means to be fully human. It talks about how we really miss out on the life that God intends for us because of how we make connections with some things and choose not to connect with other things. This is a book about sex, but as I read it, I thought about just about every other aspect of my life. I would encourage you to read it. I think I need to re-read it.

• It was snowing when I walked outside to start my car this morning. I like the snow. It makes the 17 degree temperature slightly more enjoyable.

Let It Snow

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

This Robert Frost poem is one of my all time favorites. While I am enjoying the mild Nashville winter so far (it was 59°F yesterday, and yes I know it's not officially winter yet), I do miss the lake effect snow of my youth. These pictures were taken (not by me) in Mill Creek Park - one of the best things about the town I grew up in.