Even before Winter Storm Oliver, we had received several inches of snow, especially at Terry's folks' ranch. So on Sunday February 10 we headed out there to do some four wheeler sledding. I didn't think we'd done that since way back in 2013, but Terry corrected me that he had taken the kids last year. I had no recollection of that event and just discovered why; it took place during my sanity maintenance day last February! I even found a video from that day on Terry's phone.
After church we loaded up and started the forty minute drive. Ezra very nearly fell asleep but somehow he could decipher a camera being pointed at him and woke up. Just the day before he had started feeling unwell, as Evie had on the Friday before. We discovered two days after that they all, except Noah, had Influenza B! We felt so guilty.
We arrived and ate lunch right away before heading right out and then to put Ezra down for a nap since he needed it. We thought he was recovering but this day set him back. Evie was crawling around in the snow so clearly she wasn't feeling all that bad even though she had a fever two days before.
Evie and the cows.
I tried to sneak up on the cows quietly but they were pretty skittish.
Pregnant mamas. They'l be calving this month, March.
Pretty cow, snow, and hills.
I always take a picture of my feet for reference of the snow's depth. It was about eight inches deep or so.
Snow crawling.
I liked the piles on top of the barbed wire.
And the icicles on the gas tanks.
I love this tree in every season and often take it's picture.
Terry and his dad had to get the four wheelers out of the shed, but in front of them, covered up is Terry's 1969 Triumph Spitfire. We should really clean that up this summer and document it... Oh and drive it.
Patiently waiting.
Rolling the other four wheeler back into place.
Almost ready in front of the shed.
Final touches.
And off we went down the long driveway.
Just starting in the field directly across from the house.
One more shot before they took off and left me to take photos.
Off they go!
They'd trailblazer some tracks and them come back to me. My new camera and lens work so great! I can capture so much more!!
High five for Evie.
Look at that snow fly. They kinda look like they're grimacing here don't they? It was rather cold.
Ezra looks better here.
It was so pretty! I haven't seen it this white in quite some time.
Crossing paths.
They both look happier here.
Down nearer the creek.
Full circle.
Terry's thumb got so cold from holding the gas down.
Heading back to the house via the deep snow in the ditch in order to put my camera away.
Some video from the four wheeler.
Cute little snow covered Ezra.
When we dropped off my camera we also grabbed the blankets out of the van in order for the kids to cover up with. Samuel and Ezra rode in the back of the sled completely covered up with their blanket.
And you can see why they would want to. Look at all that snow on his face, even on his eyelashes! I love this picture. But I felt really bad when he got sick the next day.
When the kids were about done, I thought I'd like to take a turn and relive my first meeting of Terry. My first memory of meeting Terry and actually spending time with him was when I was visited Shari during the spring break of my freshmen year of college at SDSU in 2002. Mostly Terry pulled Shari and I around behind the four wheeler but two or three times Shari pulled Terry and I. How's that for a get-to-know-you meeting? Silly me just talked about Lord of the Rings most of the time, which I had just finished reading and was literally obsessed with. But I didn't scare him away thankfully. That day began our interest in one another and the rest is history!
But anyway, the whole reason I got into the sled was to relive that even, though Terry couldn't sit with me obviously. And it was a bad idea because my heavy weight offset the sled and we got dumped out on a tight corner. I think I landed on most of the kids, and there was lots of howling. Plus I think about every vertebrae in my back cracked. It made a lot of noise. We were officially done after that.
After those two runs, which were actually pretty short, we put Ezra to bed and then Terry and I went out on a short four wheeler escapade. We love to go the back of Terry's grandparent's land where there's a bank of pine trees.
Poor Terry took the brunt of the wind but wouldn't accept my cowl. Perhaps the purple was too much for him? Ha ha.
Back in those trees.
Though it was a cold ride, it was super cool to observe all the animal tracks. It was just fascinating!
This was on our way back to the house. Then we warmed up with a few hands of cards and then a light supper before heading back home. It was a good day, until Samuel spiked a fever the following day and Ezra was knocked backwards.
