Vitto Cappin'

We had ourselves a merry little Christmas.

We'd love to tell you all about it sometime, but today is not the day.  Today, we are simultaneously unpacking from a week at Grandma and Grandpa's, while packing for a weekend at William O'Brien State Park, where our {heated} camper cabin awaits.

Maggie woke me up this morning, shouting excitedly VITTO CAPPIN'!  VITTO CAPPIN'!  It's winter camping, friends, and she cannot wait.

Greta

Five and a half years ago.  Heavy sigh.

Love the One You're With

Let us remember these times in March.

These days when the snow is new and clean and fun.

Before it becomes dreary and soggy and dirty.

You can be hard to love sometimes, Winter.

But for some reason we just can't quit you.

Somewhere In the Black Mining Hills of South Dakota

Noah has his Orange Kitty.  Greta has her Beatrice.  It took Maggie over two years to find her stuffed and stitched companion, but now they are inseparable.

Meet Rocky.

Frozen Falls

Me:  blogging in small, manageable portions.

The story of this day, in November. The kids were restless on a Saturday morning.  No one wanted to take their restless souls out into the cold.  Until I filled water bottles with hot cocoa {coffee with cream and brown sugar, for some}.  We drove to the Willow River and hiked down the familiar trail to the falls.

Most faces were cocoa covered by the time we got to the bridge.  Frozen falls.  Numb fingers.  Wet blue jeans.  Rosy cheeks.  Loose tooth.

Souls quiet{er}.

The end.

Seriously

This. 

Flash Back Friday

This image came floating across my slideshow computer background just now.

It's three degrees out there, friends.  And the baby of the family is two years old.