April Snow Showers....

...feel pointless until the May flowers pop up.  At least for me...because if it's going to snow, at least let us play in it!  But, that's what we have memories for, right?  And here we are sharing our fun with you...

For your viewing and reading pleasure, here is a summary of the Winter Adventures here at the Linstid Homestid!

Ben worked very hard this past summer revising the cross-country ski course.  He analyzed the slope angles, pitch depths, prevailing winds, vegetation, track of the sun throughout the season, migration patterns of elk - pretty much a varitable variety of variables, and came up with a plan.  Then he executed the track revisions.

Yup - that guy attached to the chainsaw is my hubby!

We've got great neighbors...ones that like to use their tractors and save us TONS of time.
(When I say "us", I mean Ben)

Then we waited for the snow.

Not yet....

Still need some more snow....






Ooooohhhh yeah....just right!

The groomer with his tools - height meter (Anika) and the snowmobile.

Driveway after a fresh snow.

The Homestid as it should be during the winter -
snowy on a bright sunny bluebird sky day :-)

Then we enjoyed the bounty of his work.  A Harvest of sorts, one might say.

Just enjoying the roof top view!



Aerial view of the back trail



Decisions, decisions....

Hill to National Forest

Tree tunnel!!!!

Peli's corner - behind the house with shade nearby in the event she gets too warm.

Yet another beautiful view from the trail!

The artiste enjoying his creation!

Happy man!

We did quite a bit of hiking - Ben generally had Anika in the backpack and I was a sled puller along the trails.

Walking back to the house with Biz in the lead.

One of the last times I wore non-maternity jeans!

We even had some Winter Fest fun!  We invited some friends up on a couple of different weekends and had lunch, hot chocolate, sledding, hiking, skiing and even snow coloring!  (Snow coloring = bottles of colored water sprayed on the snow.  The yellow was a little odd...)

Men carrying the kiddos...yeah, they got their workout in!

Gotta get some motorized fun in, too!

Our one-eyed, titanium kneed, 9 year old Peli girl even challenged Ben to various races all winter long.  Neither of them are competitive in the least (just kidding!).  Biz stayed back to protect Anika and me.  He's willing to give up his adrenaline rush for us.  He loves us. 

My college roomie also came out to visit...and we put her to work.

Peli is advising Dena...

 

Happy Dogs!  The kiddo is coming out to play, too!

Anika is saying: "Keep it up Auntie Dena!  Only 2 more miles to go!"

Biz is checking vitals...Anika is supervising.

Post recovery and pre-sledding!

A side note about the filmer you are going to experience...ummm...I know you can hear me breathe...and at times, not breathe.  I've had a bit of congestion this winter.  For me, it's also known as pregnancy.  I pretty much lost my voice for the better part of 3 months.  It's much better now, but my pregnancy induced laryngitis still rears its head every other week or so.  Believe me, repeating myself multiple times can get annoying...for everyone involved!

This first video still cracks me up...directionally challenged sleds are great fun!

Wanna go again?

In this one you can see for quite a ways.





Anika was tired by this point, but still has her manners!

And lest you think that I didn't get out and do my share of pulling Miss A up the hill, let this photo be evidence:

In the interest of full disclosure - this is how we got to the sledding hill, though...



Walking back through the memories has been fun and soothing...I can't believe I'm looking forward to next winter with the 2 kiddos - does anyone have a sled that the 2 of them will fit into?  Ben was happy with his trail system - just a couple of tweaks are needed.  Peli and Biz had so much fun playing with their doggy buds that visited.  Our adventurous friends and family came out to visit and experience the fun of the Linstid Homestid for themselves...and are looking forward to coming back this summer!  

Now onto planning for a bigger and more robust Winter Fest for next year!!!!