It's funny, it seems that if we have snow in Reno, there is none in Battle Mountain. However, if it's dry in Reno, there is an abundance of moisture out of town. This trip was just that way. We took
Xiana with us and went duck hunting. I didn't get any.... I know, big surprise. Brian got one but it eluded him by landing way out in deep...cold...cold...cold... water.
The following day
Ecko and
Xiana were big Thanksgiving day helpers. I am a little concerned they were more effort than they were worth, but grandma was very kind to them and set them up with spray cheese and crackers to make turkey footprints. These little aprons were darling and they looked the part for some kitchen help.
Thanksgiving afternoon we went out for a snow adventure. The girls had a blast and the whole
fam joined in.
Snow angels are a must.
Xiana kept asking me, "are these pants water proof?" Once she was assured that they were she would plummet into the ground.
We went for a little walk along the frozen creek with a few casualties. Ella scraped her hand up pretty good and I would imagine they all had sore bums, but to this day
Xiana talks with fondness of that time she went ice skating on the ice. Sometime soon we'll take her real ice skating.... I'm just not convinced that it's an appropriate pregnancy activity.
We walked up to a supposed falls.... it was winter...
And Brian thought it was important for the kids' survival skills to be able to cross the river. I thought it was madness to put 5 little kids on a snow covered log above a freezing body of water, but.... who cares what I think? And, in the boys' defense, there were no casualties.
It only took four adults to every one child.
Ekco was apprehensive about crossing and was leaning towards opting out and walking around. In the end she gathered courage and made it across with zero regrets.
The rest of the
fam headed home, but we are gluttons for punishment and decided to stay out.
Ekco and
Xiana were the most concerned with finding some more frozen water to walk on
which became our task at hand. Brian took them here and they got to walk across water that I would have never let them go on (it was slushy on top and I insisted that he go across it first). Again, he was right and there was nothing to fear. Apart from the slushy layer on top, it was a frozen mass.
It could even withstand the weight of the whole family.
Brian set up the
camera and came charging across the ice.... he barely made it into the first shot. It was pretty comical.
It was a beautiful day.
The following afternoon was spent sledding. The kids had a good time, but 3 more inches of snow would have made it perfect.
Still, they managed to gain quite a bit of speed on the meager amount of ground covering.
And look darling doing it.
The two little ones dragging the sled up the hill was priceless. They were so determined and old.
Though I
didn't get to make a run, Brian made his way down eventually.
This little one is Rowan and Ella's cousin.... she didn't make it far with
Xiana on the back, but she sure tried. Plus,
Xiana learned that it was much easier to be dragged than to walk and opted for that for the remainder of the day.
Doing what toddlers do best.... eating snow.
I pretty much sat on the bed of the truck the entire time. Though it's a bummer not to be able to sled this season, it's still amusing to watch the kids have so much fun.
When Tim showed up with his
motorcycle Xiana wasn't letting him go anywhere without a ride insisting that it was her bike. She even told her cousins as much.
Ekco and
Xiana made it upright the entire length of the run which was pretty impressive. Too bad it was at the end of the day making them both sufficiently angry that it was time to leave.
Brian shot a few coyotes this week....four maybe.
Xiana was happy because she said she didn't want them to eat her. I will admit, it felt a little wrong to kill an animal and then just leave it. I'm used to Brian cleaning it, carrying it, and eating it. He made me feel a little better when he explained how overrun Nevada is with coyotes and how devastating they are to the area.
Our next trip to Battle
Mountain entailed a light parade.... it was
about 12 degrees outside and the girls were both so sick they didn't leave the house all day but.... the people on the floats throw candy so we trudged out in the freezing cold and let them gather candy and watch the lights. It's a neat tradition that this town does yearly. Brian kept
Harlee warm.
And the girls ran to gather candy keeping them sufficiently warm.
I, on the other hand... froze in this winter wonderland.
The following day Ecko and Xiana were big Thanksgiving day helpers. I am a little concerned they were more effort than they were worth, but grandma was very kind to them and set them up with spray cheese and crackers to make turkey footprints. These little aprons were darling and they looked the part for some kitchen help.
Thanksgiving afternoon we went out for a snow adventure. The girls had a blast and the whole fam joined in.
Snow angels are a must. Xiana kept asking me, "are these pants water proof?" Once she was assured that they were she would plummet into the ground.
We went for a little walk along the frozen creek with a few casualties. Ella scraped her hand up pretty good and I would imagine they all had sore bums, but to this day Xiana talks with fondness of that time she went ice skating on the ice. Sometime soon we'll take her real ice skating.... I'm just not convinced that it's an appropriate pregnancy activity.
We walked up to a supposed falls.... it was winter...
And Brian thought it was important for the kids' survival skills to be able to cross the river. I thought it was madness to put 5 little kids on a snow covered log above a freezing body of water, but.... who cares what I think? And, in the boys' defense, there were no casualties.
It only took four adults to every one child.
Ekco was apprehensive about crossing and was leaning towards opting out and walking around. In the end she gathered courage and made it across with zero regrets.
The rest of the fam headed home, but we are gluttons for punishment and decided to stay out. Ekco and Xiana were the most concerned with finding some more frozen water to walk on which became our task at hand. Brian took them here and they got to walk across water that I would have never let them go on (it was slushy on top and I insisted that he go across it first). Again, he was right and there was nothing to fear. Apart from the slushy layer on top, it was a frozen mass.
It could even withstand the weight of the whole family.
Brian set up the camera and came charging across the ice.... he barely made it into the first shot. It was pretty comical.
It was a beautiful day.
The following afternoon was spent sledding. The kids had a good time, but 3 more inches of snow would have made it perfect.
Still, they managed to gain quite a bit of speed on the meager amount of ground covering.
And look darling doing it.
The two little ones dragging the sled up the hill was priceless. They were so determined and old.
Though I didn't get to make a run, Brian made his way down eventually.
This little one is Rowan and Ella's cousin.... she didn't make it far with Xiana on the back, but she sure tried. Plus, Xiana learned that it was much easier to be dragged than to walk and opted for that for the remainder of the day.
Doing what toddlers do best.... eating snow.
I pretty much sat on the bed of the truck the entire time. Though it's a bummer not to be able to sled this season, it's still amusing to watch the kids have so much fun.
When Tim showed up with his motorcycle Xiana wasn't letting him go anywhere without a ride insisting that it was her bike. She even told her cousins as much.
Ekco and Xiana made it upright the entire length of the run which was pretty impressive. Too bad it was at the end of the day making them both sufficiently angry that it was time to leave.
Brian shot a few coyotes this week....four maybe. Xiana was happy because she said she didn't want them to eat her. I will admit, it felt a little wrong to kill an animal and then just leave it. I'm used to Brian cleaning it, carrying it, and eating it. He made me feel a little better when he explained how overrun Nevada is with coyotes and how devastating they are to the area.
Our next trip to Battle Mountain entailed a light parade.... it was about 12 degrees outside and the girls were both so sick they didn't leave the house all day but.... the people on the floats throw candy so we trudged out in the freezing cold and let them gather candy and watch the lights. It's a neat tradition that this town does yearly. Brian kept Harlee warm.
And the girls ran to gather candy keeping them sufficiently warm.
I, on the other hand... froze in this winter wonderland.
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