A Smattering Of Recent Days

A look through my iPhone camera roll and recent pictures on my Canon didn’t provide anything amazing, but at the same time gave a glimpse of the last week or so.

This iPhone photo was taken in my neighborhood on a drive home from work.  Notice the hood of my vehicle on the bottom right.  I did stop and park before taking the picture.

Freshly Fallen Snow | March 21

 

Here’s an iPhone photo of Sophia before she headed off to Wolf Ridge Environment Learning Center for three days last week.  She was super excited for the trip with her 4th grade class.  She returned home with wonderful stories and memories which included seeing a porcupine, starting a campfire and looking through owl pellets and assembling the skeleton of a mouse.

Packed & Ready To Go | March 26

 

Here’s another recent snowstorm photo.  The sun had just come up and the tree to the far left was glowing in the morning light.

After The Storm | March 28

 

Sophia took this picture of the race car Sebastian made in his PTLW class at school.  He learned how to use power tools to create it and then finished it off with a fancy paint job and red tires.  Very cool!  (p.s. He got an “A” on the project)

Hot Rod | March 28

 

It has become commonplace to see a Coast Guard Cutter out on the lake.  Sebastian spotted this one on Friday coming back in towards Duluth.

Across The Lake | March 28

 

We have an ongoing tradition of Friday night “pizza & movie night”.  This past Friday was a bit hectic – Sophia had just returned from Wolf Ridge, Mike was coming home from a day trip to the Twin Cities for a funeral and Sebastian was heading out to a preseason baseball team gathering.  Despite the chaotic day, I took out my awesome Kitchen-Aid mixer and whipped up a batch of pizza dough.  Mike and I shared a tomato-basil pizza.  We finished the whole thing that night.  I think Mike ate three-quarters of it himself.  I guess he liked it as much as I did – or maybe even more.

Homemade Margherita Pizza | March 28

 

We attended a fundraiser brunch this past Sunday.  This is one of the beautiful ice sculptures that was on display.  The food was amazing and we all went home very full.

Nice Ice | March 30

 

With baseball season just around the corner (or when the five feet of snow on the field melts), Mike and Sebastian went shopping for a new baseball bat.  Sebastian wanted to try a few swings at the batting cage after brunch.  There is also a huge game area in the complex and Sophia was very happy to kill some time there.  She ended up hitting two jackpots and accumulated over 500 tickets to redeem for “fabulous prizes”.  She came home with a large stuffed frog, a green ball, two Thin Mints and a spinning top.

Winner! | March 30

 

In order to work off all of the brunch food, I took Daphne for a long walk on a trail near a pond.  We spotted some ducks and geese (not pictured).  I think they migrated north a bit too soon.

Snow Ducks | March 30
On Frozen Pond | March 30

 

While I was busy walking Daphne, Mike and Sophia worked on creating a snowman.

Building Olaf | March 30
Sophia & Olaf | March 30

 

Upon my return to work this morning, another Coast Guard Cutter was docked in the harbor.  The Morro Bay had returned from its journey out on Lake Superior and was in need of repairs to its rudder.  With the ice as thick as eight feet in some areas, the Cutter was no match for Lake Superior.

In Need Of Repair | March 31

Mini Olympic Games

There were no gold medals, no world records and no opening or closing ceremonies, but we did have our own Winter Olympics this past weekend in our backyard and front yard and even from our rooftop.  When mother nature gives you snow, what do you do?  Our latest storm gave us over 15″ of snow.  We had plans to take a mini ski vacation to Giants Ridge while the kids were on winter break last week, but with the “blizzard” predictions, we changed our plans and stayed in Duluth to ski at Spirit Mountain.  The white out conditions caused Spirit Mountain to close at 4pm which was probably a good thing.  We got home before the worst of the storm hit.  By the next morning, drifting snow buried our driveway, sidewalk and everything else.  As a family, we ventured outside and began digging out.  After most of the work was done, the kids decided to have a little fun.  Out came the snowboards and sleds and our mini Olympics was underway.

Girls Division | Driveway Snowboarding

Boys Division| Driveway Snowboarding

Senior Division | Driveway Snowboarding

After a quick photo next to the tunnel that leads to our front steps and door, we moved to the backyard snowboarding course.

Girls Division | Backyard Snowboarding

Boys Division | Backwards Skeleton

Girls Division | Swing Set Jump

Boys Division | Swing Set Jump

Preparing for the jump.

The big jump.

Pairs Roof Jumping

Relaxing before the jump.

After the jump and digging out.

Boys Division | Luge

Senior Division | Roof Shoveling

The snowman that was created back in December has not melted, but is nearly buried by snow.  Here he is during the early December snowstorm when Mike and Sophia made him.

Mr. Snowman With His Creators

Here he is now…or what is left of him.  Look for the tip of his red hat.

Buried

One final collage of the snow cover.

Subzero temperatures are in the forecast, but no snow…for now.