White Stuff

More snow pics???  We know you're probably tired of seeing pictures of it on our blog, but we LOVE the stuff!  We don't get it that much so it's still a novelty to us.  It's coming down at a steady clip this morning and already is so much whiter than this pic I took about 15 minutes ago.  School is NOT cancelled.  Whoohoo!  I can stock up on a little peace and quiet in case school is closed later in the week.  I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for a heavier snow that's been predicted.  Make sure freezer and pantry are stocked.  Blankets and quilts clean.  Clothes laundered in case power goes out.

So. . . . . happy Monday morning! 

New Year's Brunch

Cannot believe I didn't take ONE picture of the potluck brunch we hosted on New Year's Day.  We had a wonderful turnout - 44 people to be exact!  I was in charge of making the coffee and made 100+ cups.  Had to keep the people who'd stayed up late New Year's Eve awake.  Lots of delicious food, too.  We hope everyone had a nice time.  I know we did!  After brunch, there was lots of visiting and game playing.  Great way to start off the new year - with dear friends!

These two pics were of our bonus room and the tables we set up New Year's Eve.  Not the best, but you get the idea.  We did simple centerpieces of silver/gold/black noisemakers and silver and gold wrapped chocolates.

Happy 2011!

Sky & Sea

While we were so close to Vancouver, BC, we wanted to do a little sightseeing.  We discovered that because it was the weekend, for just $1.75 - $2.50 per person, we could ride the SkyTrain and the SeaBus all around Vancouver and all day on that one ticket.  What a bargain!  So we hopped on the SkyTrain at a station and rode it to the Vancouver waterfront where we took the SeaBus across to North Vancouver and had lunch at East Side Marios.

 Riding the SeaBus from Downtown Vancouver across Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver.

 North Vancouver

"Our" SeaBus

 Another SeaBus we watched cross the inlet

 I'll take one of those yachts, please...

 The fish market in North Vancouver reminded me of our very own Pike Place Market.  I'll skip the octopus today, thank.you.very.much.

 Looking back towards beautiful Vancouver.

 Our trip back on the SkyTrain.  We purposely hopped in the front car so we'd have the best view.

Our holiday went all too quickly!

Wedding Barn

Keith's uncle has acreage further away with an amazing old barn on it.  Uncle Ralph had a granddaughter who wanted to get married here this last September, so they cleaned it out and set it up for an adorable country wedding!  We got to see pictures of the wedding and the next day we took a tour of the old barn.  I could totally move in and call it home.  It was such an awesome barn!  We were talking about how neat it would be to hold all sorts of events/parties in this barn if it wasn't for the liability factor.

 Love the old ice house sign!

 I could NOT imagine climbing the ladders in the lofts.  I got dizzy just thinking about it!

 A transom window above the barn doors - how cool is that?

 Leftover props from the wedding.  During the wedding, they even had a couple of calves in one corner with hay bales around them.  I guess the children just loved it!

 Looking at the old barn wood out back.  What I wouldn't give to use some of that for flooring in our house!

Back of the barn

 Loved this moment I caught of Cousin Kayla taking a pic to probably post on Facebook.

Beautiful farm country

 Waiting for the loooooonnnng train

 Of course, the first thing Brooklyn does when we get back to the dairy is check on the calves.

We can't wait to visit again!  The last time we really spent time here was when Brooklyn was ten months old and now she's almost 10 years old!

Dairy Farm

We spent the Turkey Holiday at Keith's uncle's dairy farm in BC.  Brooklyn was in LOVE with these sweet babies, and who could blame her!?!  She spent a lot of her time visiting them and bottle feeding them.  Most of the calves in this area were about 2 weeks old.

 This little darling was only 2 days old.

 The pens for the older calves.

Showing off their rubber boots.  The ground seemed even more mucky because of the recent snow that had just melted after raining all night.

 The feeding barn.

 Jaeden sitting on a tractor.  He got to go for a couple of rides on them with Keith's cousins.

 Keith's mother's maiden name is Newman and this is her brother's dairy.

One of two silos on this property.

I cannot believe I forgot to take pics of the milking barn!  When I went through it, it was all dark, and I didn't get up at 5:30 AM for the first milking.  Next time...  Jaeden, however, was ALWAYS up early to help out with the milking.  He loved every minute of being on the farm.  I would have to say we ALL did!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day, we were up bright and early and ready to head to British Columbia, Canada for the holiday.  Unfortunately, Brooklyn and I had been battling the flu since Monday, and she didn't make it out of the house without being sick once again.  We decided to relax for a few more hours to see what we felt like by noon.  She was feeling MUCH better so we finished loading up the van and off we went.  We made it to the bottom of our hill without any mishaps and were greeted by this beautiful sight.

 Picturesque, isn't it?

We stopped and picked up Keith's mom and made our way north.  It was a pleasant enough drive - the rains had started and the snow was melting.  Actually, the highways were quite clear almost all the way up.  We didn't see snow on the roads until we were north of Bellingham where they'd received a bunch early that morning.

Stickin' Around

Sunshine!

 Love it that we got sunshine and yet it's still cold enough to keep the snow around.

 Pics all from Tuesday but last two from early morning before sun came around.

Kids are out of school for the 3rd day in a row.  Imagine.  A whole week off for Thanksgiving.  Wish I were a kid again!  : )  The fun part about living on a hill with snow - perfect for sledding!