Last week was spring break, which for us isn't really any different since the babes are so little and we work the life of nurses.  Regardless of this, we managed to squeeze in one day off as a family and decided we'd head up the mountains, as we had heard there was snow up there (a few weeks prior almost all the reachable snow was gone which is just crazy early).  A short hour and a half drive and we found just what we were looking for - a day amongst fresh powder, quiet solitude, and mountain air.

Hazel was wearing my old snowsuit which is nearly 30 years old and at the end of the day didn't quite do the job we hoped it would do, haha.  The beautiful thing about a child, however, is she didn't even notice or care that she was soaked down to her undies.

We fired up the jet boil and had coffee & cocoa with a mountain view - pure bliss.

The girls went sledding (J's first time!) and it immediately brought me back to Hazel at about Juniper's age and how much she belly-laughed her first time as well.  It's funny how different the two of them are.  Juniper loved it, as you can see in the photo, but she was very quiet & simply took it all in with a smile throughout the day.  Hazel at that age was very verbal how her excitement, always blabbing & we knew exactly how she felt.  I've been able to tell their personality differences from the start, it will be interesting to see if it continues.

I sat by this pond and nursed June before we left for a solid 10-15 minutes while B & H had snacks back at the car.  There was a moment of complete contentment between us, where even June seemed to appreciate the stillness and calm.  I will hold that moment forever.

Hoping the rest of your spring breaks were lovely, friends.

{little ones fever broke, and we spent a very short amount of time outside today}

I'm going to cheat & take a photo from a few days ago.  H & I have been home with a fever, I just couldn't muster up the strength to pull out my camera (unless you want another crummy cell phone pic of a sad baby sleeping).

{family photo - everything about this photo, from my waaaaay too small coat to my photoshopped-looking dog in the back is hilarious)

{sled dog}

Today our neck of the woods had a 'winter storm' - funny, being from Michigan, that 4 inches of snow is equivalent to a storm.  I used to make fun of it.  But guess what?  Western OR does not budget for many snow plows and road maintenance during the rare snow days we get ... so now I get it.  

I especially get it after my 16 mile drive home from work took well over an hour, only to end up in a ditch on a blind corner right across from our driveway entrance.  It was a good place to get in an accident, if I had to choose.

I'm fine, and my boy saved the day, but I'm planning on hunkering down with Hazel through the weekend until some of this nonsense melts.

My car might not have made it quite as far, but I'm so happy to be here.

{serious snow therapy today!}

We spent christmas eve up in the mountains, about 35 miles upriver from our home.  The early afternoon was spent digging our car out of a snow drift right off the highway - not fun but my amazing husband made light of it, cracking jokes the whole time & keeping me calm.  Hazel slept throughout the whole ordeal which was such a blessing!  No one even stopped or offered to help us which I felt was odd & sad considering it's christmas eve but I'm over it.

The last hour and a half of daylight we spent snowshoeing (not at our normal spot due the lack of parking as mentioned above).  We went on a trail I've posted about before to blue pool.  We also went sledding, which we've discovered is Hazel's favorite thing!  

It was absolutely lovely to be around snow for christmas.

{strong momma}

Today was one of our days off as a family (the ONE we get in two weeks!) so we decided to take H up to see some snow!  We took her sledding, hiking, and let her taste and play in the snow.  She was SO thrilled the minute we got there, she couldn't stop staring & giggling at all of the snow.  The photo below was taken at the end of the day when she was very tired but I still love it, since we get family shots so rarely.  I decided to also include a video of her first sledding encounter ... it's rad!

{winter hike, family shot!}

{I am in LOVE with this video & how excited H is}