Strap on your party helmets, it's vacation time!

Returning from a long-distance skid across the lake


Waiting at the bus stop


Our snowshuttle


The Payoooooooooooooff!


Affectionately known as boomball


Triple, lutz?


Sig making tracks


Only hills slowed Kola's snow-jogging


Hooray! Kola's 4!


Ethan on a solo flight


Kola picking a snowball fight...


It's so telling that every year, Ethan starts his winter countdown that ends at Afterglow, with Christmas as a milestone but not the final destination. This is just a glimpse (let me know if you'd lke to see 115 more on snapfish!) of the outdoor fun we had with grandma and grandpa in WI near the U.P. border. Every day was a new adventure and the boyz never once complained of the cold. Could it be that they were fueled by cookies, birthday cake, hot chocolate, and grandma and grandpa's hugs, smiles, and book-reading? Returning from each activity, I'd peel off the boyz layers to find snow where snow should never be, chapped faces, and wetness wicking from every appendage. I was proud to see them walk 2.5 miles on a snowshoe trail, tube solo for the first time, try broomball (a.k.a. boomball) -- not discouraged by the falls, and have to be coaxed off the lake after an hour-long 0 degree skate. Funny how today, they complained about the cold trip from the house to the car.

We all made new discoveries - Sig learned how to play rummy royal, grandpa helped the boys find a trail of squirrel pee in the woods (in 44 years, I swear, I've never seen it), grandma shared her theories about why there would be a live fly in our cabin, and I learned the plural of Fez, among other things.

We all felt very lucky to have shared such a great trip and are counting down to our 2010 reservation! Now, we're all in party mode, sans helmets (though that might be a mistake) as we celebrate Ethan's 6th and Kola's 4th birthdays. Also, check for updates on Ethan's loose tooth! xo b/s/e/k