Mr. Pouty Face

My nephew will be 3 in March. He'd been making this pouty face for a while but it was difficult to catch on camera. He was at our house just before Christmas and I had the perfect opportunity--he and I were arguing over whether or not he was going to eat breakfast (I won, but barely) and I just kept taking pictures. It took almost 40 shots, but I finally captured the look.

My sister's a little bit scared of what three will look like...

Fish Creek Falls

These are Quaking Aspen, known as "Quakies" by every Colorado native except

The Mister, who had never heard the term. The two non-natives in the group (Little Sister and I) gave him a hard time about that.

This is skunk cabbage. It really does smell like skunk, which is too bad,

because it's a very pretty plant.

This little fellow had no fear. We were within 4' of him and he was not phased at all.

On Friday we picked up Nephew from his sitter's house and drove into town to meet Little Sister and BIL for dinner. BIL was delayed (always) so we had some time to kill. Little Sister had never been to Fish Creek Falls so we grabbed a snack and drove over. Nephew has just learned to walk so we needed a short trail--he gets heavy to carry and we didn't have a stroller with us. It was just as well that we had to take it slowly, because the scenery was worth the extra time.

Weekend

We're in Steamboat this weekend with Nephew, Little Sister, and BIL. Pictures and stories to come! Hope you all have a delightful weekend.

Thinking in Bullet Points

• Class was awesome. Students were a real joy. Second half at the end of this month.
• Bought a new sewing machine. Aaaiiiiyyy! Very excited. More to come...
• Headed to Steamboat this weekend to see Little Sister, BIL, and Nephew. Weather should be gorgeous, hoping to hike Service Creek.

Steamboat in the Winter

We went to Phippsburg/Steamboat Springs this weekend to visit Sister, BIL, and Nephew. On Sunday the Mister and I went snow shoeing and stopped at the ranch to take a few pictures.

The cows in the meadow.
This colt was born 2 weeks ago.

One of the many old cabins on the property.

The schoolhouse - BIL's mother attended school in this schoolhouse (when it was on the other side of the valley) until the 8th grade. When the district stopped using it they sold the building to the ranch. It is now storage for the oldest, most decrepit white pickup you have ever seen. It's literally held together with baling twine. Photos of that may never be posted!

Further up the canyon, from our snowshoeing adventure.

Good News

My nephew was born last Monday, on St. Patrick's Day! Little Sister gave birth 7 weeks early, so Nephew took us all by surprise. The Mister and I were able to go visit him in Steamboat on Friday. He's very small, 4 lbs. 10 oz., but he's making progress in leaps and bounds. We're so blessed!

Crafting and Cooking

I finished this tote bag a couple of weeks ago:

And I hosted a birthday party on Saturday night:

I used Ina's recipe for chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and they were a HUGE hit. Yummy!

Weekend In Review

Little Sister and her husband were in town this weekend and stayed at the Casa. So much fun! Dined at Vesta, did some shopping, played rummy. We were reminiscing about movies we love and came up with a list that need to be rented the next time they're in town:

• The Court Jester
• Pillow Talk
• That Touch of Mink
• Father Goose
• Operation Petticoat
• Some Like It Hot

And one that we haven't seen: Lover Come Back.

The Casa Is Now Open For Business

We've had our first official guests to the Casa! The house isn't done yet, but it is presentable. The weekend was busy with visitors. Friday night we hosted friends for dinner, Saturday my parents and in-laws all came over for a long lunch, and Sunday the Mister's cousin came down from Ft. Collins. Next weekend: Little Sister and Brother-in-Law from Steamboat Springs. The weekend after: The Mister's cousin and her husband from Minnesota. We've got to get the guest bedroom set up!