playing after the blizzard & Shari's bday at the ranch

The day after the blizzard finally lifted, we were able to finally get out of the house and make it to the optometrist for our yearly exams. Last year we had waited too long and Noah and Evie's eyes had changed at a bit of an alarming pace. We wanted to stay on top of that. Even though I had Lasix done just over two years ago (January 19th, 2017), I figured I'd better make sure everything was still okay with my eyes. And it is. I can still see 15/20. 

We all were dilated, including Terry and Noah. 

Noah was motivated to make contacts work this year. I think running with glasses is irritating and he wanted to be able to wear sunglasses too. He tried contacts last year but just could not get the hang of it. This time he couldn't get them in on his own so the optometrist finally put them in. So he was on his own to take them out that night, which he did after a long session in front of the mirror with dad. Mastery came after many hours of practice, but he's finally got it down now, a month later.

Terry was modeling what to do for Noah.

We're so cool. But driving while dilated...I wouldn't recommend.

After lunch and a short rest we decided to go to Canyon Lake to see if we could sled. Our normal hill at Meadowbrook was barren, as was the hill by Kathy's where Samuel went into the creek bed. But in the shade of the trees at the park we found the perfect spot. 

The kids tried just about every trick they could. 

I wandered around under the sun a bit. It felt so good. 

Terry took Noah to track practice after an hour and I stayed behind with the rest. I don't think I've mentioned track yet. Yes, Noah decided to compete with RCC this spring and practice began February 25th. They've had several meets cancelled due to adverse weather. Not sure I want to sign up again next year but Noah likes to run in the cooler weather of spring verses summer/fall. 

Zoom in to see Evie's air on that jump. They went over it countless times and had so much fun. One other boy about Evie's age joined them. 

Evie and I very still very much needed our eye protection. Can you tell hers are just the inserts behind her actual glasses? She thought it was great. 😆

I have iMovie on my phone and I just discovered I can combine all of my shorts clips together. It's a lot less work. Yay!

The following day, Saturday March 16th, we went to the ranch to celebrate Shari's birthday, which was the 17th. We had lunch out there and then I accompanied Alice outside to check on the cows. Some of the hens followed us around, ha ha. 

The snow from the blizzard was already melting and everything was a muddy mess. Jerry laid down as much hay as he could. Hopefully the cows would calf in the hay and not in the mud! 

Pretty hen. These are my favorites, the fluffy feets.

While we didn't get as much snow as they were predicting (18"), but the wind was rather strong and whipped up some pretty big drifts. I'd never seen such a large drift here, at the back porch corner of the house. 

Around the back of the house.

This was taken from the front yard. 

Gotta sled if there's snow I guess, even if it's just a really short drop. Ha!

The drift was taller than Evie!

Looking northwest towards the roller coaster.

I climbed to the fence line for this one.

"The hills are alive with the sound of music...!"

Little cousins and big cousins.

Noah was so sweet to stay out there and help the little girls. 

Dwidgie sliding on his knees.

Back inside we sang, had some cake, and played cards. 

Shari and I took some Snapchat filter St. Patrick Day selfies.

Ha!

See? Muddy, muddy mess.

Terry had been out to the ranch a couple times to get Jerry's new cameras set up. They can swivel and zoom very well and were finally working correctly. 

I restrained from putting this photo anywhere on social media, but since practically no one reads the blog, it should be safe here. Afternoons at the ranch are for naps! 👍😴👍