Was there a hill here?

Yes, it's been a long winter. We've started questioning the true contours of our prairie. We're quite sure there's no hill under this snow, it's all drift. And it's only gotten larger since this picture was taken a couple weeks ago! Last Saturday we had some friends out for sledding and hiking. We used the drift as a slide for Conrad. I put him down from the top and Tim caught him below. We kicked steps into the side so he could "climb" up (he'll be an ice climber some day!)

I learned a new word this winter. Sastrugi - sharp irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface by wind erosion and deposition, and found in polar and temperate snow regions. They differ from sand dunes in that the ridges are parallel to the prevailing winds. We've seen our share of sastrugi, and other beautiful snow formations. Now if only we could see a bit more of our car...

Pipsqueaks

Earlier this month, I took Conrad to Pipsqueaks with our playgroup from church. It's an indoor playground, more or less. We really like hanging out with Carrie and Isaac, I'm not sure who was on his other side. Doesn't look like Conrad was minding it much! The crazy blue hat he's wearing isn't even his. When we left daycare the day before, he really REALLY wanted that hat put over his other hat. Since it's a daycare "spare" we obliged. The entire time we were at Pipsqueaks he carried that hat every step, down every slide, and into every car and firetruck he drove. Occasionally he would put it on when he wanted to use both hands. He's moved on now to new favorite things. Blueberries is his current favorite food. Red is his favorite color. Mommy is his favorite person. :)