Merry Merry!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  

We sure did.

Thank you family and friends.  

HO! HO! HO!

Vacuum

We utilize our vacuum to her full capabilities.

Not one crumb is left unattended.

Snow? Oui, Neige!

I see a lot of locals looking to the sky and scratching their heads lately.  There doesn't seem to be enough white stuff around and everyone is wondering why.  Or perhaps more appropriately, when!  Luckily, Sun Valley Resort has an outstanding snow making system, otherwise there would be some really unhappy tourists added to the mix.  But us locals still are feeling a bit off this time of year.

Meanwhile, our ski patrol friend, Sebastian, in France has been sending photos of the amazing snow conditions they are having at Serre Chevalier.  So much in fact that an avalanche broke off at the resort and took out a ski lift.

Sebastian

Ok, Santa we know it's out there.  Could you send some our way?  S'il vous plait?

Weasel

Zach and I have an unofficial contest every winter to see who can spot the most weasels.  Also known as the ermine or stoat, these little dudes change from brown to white in the winter and are not easy to sight because of their small size and quick feet.

But as of Friday we are tied one weasel to one weasel and I got photos to prove it!

McCall Get Away

We had a mini vacation with our visit to McCall over the weekend.  Officially, we were helping celebrate Zach's cousin's wedding.  Unofficially, we had a great time exploring a different place in Idaho.

View from our hotel room at Shore Lodge in McCall.

McCall is a little mountain town not much different then ours.  It sits on gorgeous Payette Lake and reminds me a lot of a mini Tahoe.  Unfortunately, they are also wondering where all the snow is this late in December.

Nick, Kat, Jean, and Zach at the lake.

Nick & Jean put as all up in the Shore Lodge Hotel which I would highly recommend to anyone passing through.  Great food and first class accommodations made us feel like royalty.

Jingle Bells!

The grandparents make sure Dax is well fed amongst the party goers.

Aunt Kat to the rescue!

The weekend flew bye and before we knew it was time to head home.

This is how you decorate for Christmas in a mountain town.

We had a great time playing tourist and getting dressed up for a fun party.  Thanks Nick & Jean for bringing us along :)

Annual Tree Hunt

The Lathams gathered together for the annual Christmas tree cutting over this past weekend.  Nick & Jean got Dax his own sled so he could tag along.  Aunt Kat took pictures and helped navigate.

Santa says "cheese"

Grandparents and Dax

Timber!

The tree hunt was a success, it was decorated and home by bedtime.

Lucy's exhausted from all the hub-ub

Sunday we headed north to Galena Lodge for a little skate ski.  We towed the chariot with Dax tightly bundled inside.  He was happy so he fell right to sleep.  That made us happy so we carried on through the forest chasing after Lucy.  That made Lucy happy so she tried to run to the North Pole!

Mush!

I can never tell who likes winter more, Zach or Lucy. 

The Man in Red

Dax had a chance to meet Santa for the first time while in Reno.  I was prepared for long lines and crying but we managed to sneak in and out before Dax even noticed what had happened.

  Next year I may have a harder time confusing the little guy long enough to get a picture.  But we will mark this year off as a success with Santa.

Reno/Tahoe Thanksgiving Visit

Another whirlwind trip to Reno for Thanksgiving and we did our best to cram everything in.  The first day we made a trip up to Lake Tahoe and swung by our favorite eatery T's for some tasty tacos.

Thanksgiving day my mom made a delicious assortment of the usual fair.  All the ladies stepped in to help with the cooking, and the boys did what manly things were available.

Z carves up the bird.

Mariah & Ali make cooking look cute.

Ben puts the dishes away like a man.

Gigi distracts Dax so mommy can eat a yummy meal.

Thanks to Gigi's offer to babysit the next day, Zach and I managed a backcountry ski.  It was a beautiful warm Tahoe day.  The snow was lacking and crusty but it didn't stop us from having a good time.

Destination Castle Peak.

Sarah looking out towards the Peak.

Zach with Castle Peak in the background.

Didn't get a picture in with Papa Bob and our dinner/football watching but it was great to see him and catch up!  Looking forward to our next visit with him. 

Eating Thanksgiving Dinner

It was another wonderful Thanksgiving and we are so grateful for our loving family and friends for all that they do.  

Thanksgiving

Thankful for

our healthy baby boy,

For my loving husband,

Our dearest families,

Amazing friends,

Our little home in the mountains,

The blue ski and snow,

A beautiful life.

Happy Thanksgiving to All!  

Gobble gobble :)

Winter is Back

...And I'm ready to use it to my full capabilities this season!  We took advantage of the pre-season conditions this past Saturday to hike up Mt. Baldy.  Despite 10 degree starting weather our day was an easy skin to the top.  Thanks to Zach I had new skis, bindings, and skins to test out.  Thanks to Papa Nick and Grandmother Jean, Dax had somewhere to occupy his time while mom & dad earned some turns.

I remember this.

Looking up College run to the top.  About 3/4 of the way there.

David de-layers after a big climb.

Looking back at the 3400 ft. that we climbed.

Ian gets his game face on.

Time to ski.

David, Travis, Zach, and Ian pose at the top.

Lemon Meringue

We had a fabulous fall dinner at Nick & Jean's home over the past weekend.  Jean made a scrumptious Lemon Meringue pie.  I never knew I was such a fan until having a taste of this treat.  Well, I had a few tastes :)

The chef and her masterpiece.

Thank you Jean for the delicious meal and new found love of lemon meringue!   I found this recipe online appropriately titled:   Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie

Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 40 Minutes Servings: 8

"Fresh lemon juice and lemon rind make this pie's filling tart and lovely. And when it's poured into a waiting crust, topped with billows of meringue, and baked, it's downright dreamy."

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups water 2 lemons, juiced and zested

2 tablespoons butter 4 egg yolks, beaten 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked 4 egg whites 6 tablespoons white sugar

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
3.	To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
4.	Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Happy Halloween!

From Dax the Dinosaur.

The Standoff

On days when Zach is working near Hailey Lucy gets to tag along.  Frequently, she comes across a few natives and has to make her presence known.  A standoff ensues (mostly in her mind) between her and these large, loud, and stinky creatures. 

The sighting.

The standoff.

If that fence was not there I have a feeling everyone would be running in opposite directions. 

The final stare down.

Until next time...

6 Months and Growing...

Last year at this time I was keeping track of vegetables as size comparisons for the baby growing in my belly.  Now a year later we have our baby boy eating those vegetables left and right.  Six months old Dax is adventuring into the world of eating.

Carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, peas and avocado are on his starter menu.  I've been busy blending whatever I can find in season to feed the little eater.  A hilariously slow process he seems to forget what he's doing in the middle of eating and then eventually remembers again when mommy shovels another spoonful of something yellow or green into his mouth.  Then of course he wants to be in charge of the spoon which is a completely different activity.

Lucky boy, he has a lot of new tastes ahead of him and the two bottom teeth that are starting to show will definitely help.  Just imagine tasting chocolate for the first time (being related to me is going to be a problem for him as he grows).  Good thing we can start with the veggies.  I'm pretty sure he relates to his daddy when it comes to eating and somehow putting down more then he shows.  He is the light of our lives and everyday gets better and better with our little Dax.

Work to Play

My wonderful husband decided to spend the weekend with his family and catching up around our house. A rare opportunity we spent the weekend at home "nesting" which is great this time of year with iffy weather.

Auntie Kat offered to babysit the little guy so Zach and I could get a little mountain riding in.  Then we spent the rest of the weekend outfitting our pantry with much needed shelves.  Seriously, how did we survive without these?

A big surprise for me was an upgrade to my current skis for the new ski season, thanks again to my husband!  Zach swapped out my current set of sticks for a used pair of K2 Coombas.  Dax made sure to test them out :)