Winter into Spring

There is still the smallest patch of snow in the middle of our street, but I suspect it will be gone tomorrow. There's quite a bit yet in our front yard, but since there are crocuses and daffodils here and there, I'm guessing we've finally reached spring. I thought it was a great reminder to catch you all up on our activities from January forward. One of Big Sister's birthdays was in January - she has several during the year. Fortunately, she doesn't mind celebrating with the same cake each time.

Hazel enjoyed attending several UAA hockey games, and at her very first game, someone gave her an errant puck which she was very excited about.

One day she called me up to show me she had gotten her dog sled team harnessed up - her idea.

I think these dogs are part of the team as well, but I'm unsure why they're hanging from my dresser. Hazel just said this is where she tied up the dogs for the night.

I've mentioned Hazel's new interest in antiquing. Her purchase this day was a giant postcard commemorating the purchase of Alaska. I thought it was neat that it happened to be from the year I was born.

This is "the bluff" - my favorite spot to view the surrounding water and mountains. It's difficult on this bright day to see where the bluff ends and the mudflats begin. We thought the sunny day might be warm enough for a short jaunt, but it was well below freezing and my uncovered eyebrows hurt from the cold. Hazel was a bit more resistant to the temperature, probably because she was making snow angels, kicking clouds of snow and generally running amok.

Hazel's got a bin of "tinker" parts, as she says she's a tinker fairy like Tinkerbell. This is a necklace made with a wire nut and small styrofoam square. She took a wire nut for show and tell during "w" week, and no one knew what it was, including the teachers.

This was her first snow shoe trek in the yard. She thought it was fun right off the bat.

There are indeed moose in our neighborhood. For awhile they wore a path beside our house, stopping to nibble on the bushes in front of our living room window.

A day trip south to the port of Whittier past never ending mountain ranges. 

The only way to get to Whittier, other than by ship or rail, is a tunnel through the mountain. The entrance is a bit unassuming...

Nearby Portage Glacier, at the end of Portage Lake. See the lake behind us? No? Here's a day we wished we had tucked our snowshoes in the car.

Fresh snow pile in the middle of our street - they finally hauled the first one away, as our driving track was getting very narrow. The kids were disappointed to see it go, but another soon replaced it.

Sliding down the snow pile on a snow shovel. Sadly, we only got our sled out once or twice and only used it in the neighbor's driveway. It was too cold to go sledding most of the time.

This day was so bitterly cold, and Hazel was throwing snow into her face and down into her jacket. Crazy kid!

Near the end of the winter's snowfall, we had the snow cleared from our roof, and they piled it up in front of our window. I took a picture before asking them to spread it out just a bit or I'm sure this view would have driven us crazy. That's also why there's still snow in our yard...

On this day Hazel and several other children decided to put on a play of some sort at school. Mostly they just dressed up themselves and several stuffed animals. Hazel says she was one of three or four swan dancers.

Nope, I've got no idea why she did this, but I'm sure it denotes some sort of genius.

Valentine's treats made with other kids at a neighbor's house. We brought the candy eyes with us, and they turned out to be fun.

Boat show... 

As the season lingers, the snow pile changes from fluffy white snow to dirty ice coated glacier. Still, the kids enjoy climbing all over it.

Daddy's new ipad for work... at least it's his in name, but when he gets home it belongs to Hazel.

Hazel's showing off her Cubbie Bear pin she received for finishing her workbook at church club. This means she memorized 24 verses this year. She had great fun with all the kids and now knows the Pledge of Allegiance. I don't know if she needs to know that for school next year or not, but I'm glad she knows it.

The last day of club was fair night, with games like dropping the clothes pin in the jar. Hazel won lots of candy and was brave enough to leave me to play games while I waited in line for 45 minutes so she could get her face painted. You might notice her pony tail in this picture. She's talked me into letting her grow her hair this summer, and she now expects me to be an expert in pony tails and braids. I hope she doesn't mind if I need lots of practice as I'm all thumbs in this area.

Here she's trying to talk me into buying her yet another stuffed animal. I won't tell you how many she has, because I counted them not long ago, and the number is quite embarrassing.  

Finding old friends as the snow melts...

What a great bike riding outfit! Helmet worn incorrectly (since fixed), new sweater from Gramma, fleece gloves because the snow is too cold to touch, and mismatched shoes. She has an almost identical pair she wears as well.

Here's the new bike. It's princess themed with a carriage on the handlebars that has a storage compartment in back and a doll seat in front. Her favorite feature is the shiny streamers. She hasn't gotten much bike riding time in the past, so I'm glad we're on a cul-de-sac and she can practice fairly safely all summer. She's got braking down, but her reaction time is very slow, and I'm in no hurry to take off those training wheels.

"Fishing" in a puddle in the driveway with a friend. I was impressed that they actually sat here for about twenty minutes, pretending to catch and eat fish. The kids like to walk up the wall and jump off the end.