Tim had the fabulous idea of finding a place near Payson to go sledding today. Yee haw! Joseph has actually had quite a bit of exposure to snow already, but apparently doesn't remember much. We tried to explain to him things like "it's cold and white", but some things simply must be experienced to be understood! Here he is just after getting out of the van, seeing for himself.

Now, it's time to haul those sleds up the hill...





and ride them down the other side!

What a look of pure joy!

Here's a shot of me taking shots of Joseph. Tim's dad laughed at us because between the four of us adults there were four cameras available! There was some logic to it, but it's funny nonetheless.

Tim's mom let me borrow her long zoom lens from her film SLR, which was great for being outdoors like this. That Bald Eagle was way up there, baby!

We decided to move on a bit from that first short hill off the parking lot. We found a taller, steeper one where the snowplows piled all their snow off the highway. Here's Tim getting ready to give it a go...

and here he is in action! It may be hard to see, but his tongue is sticking out in this shot. Maybe that's where Rosalie gets it, huh?

Now that the hill has been certified safe, it's time for Joseph to try it out with Grandpa. He's absolutely loving it!

Now it's Grandma's turn...

and Grandpa's...



and mine! Although this certainly isn't the biggest sledding hill in history, it's great for Joseph, and we adults are loving it, too!



Meanwhile, Joseph is thoroughly fascinated with all this white, cold, crunchy, sometimes soft, and sometimes hard stuff. Here he is rolling around in it...



and here he is taking a few more rides with Grandma's help. He seemed particularly partial to the red sled, and wanted to do as much as possible without any help!



Of course, that snow tends to be a bit slippery and tricky, as well as lots of fun. I think he's about ready for a break from sledding now!

All snuggled up with Daddy now, here's our little Rosalie bug! I actually took her down the hill with me once...



and now she's off with Daddy! She wasn't scared a bit and seemed only mildly impressed with all the action, but I suppose babies get moved around through space quite a bit all the time!

She does love getting hugged by Daddy, though!

Everyone seemed to get a big kick out of watching me sled down the hill. I wasn't exactly sure why at the time, but after looking at this series of shots, I think I'm getting an inkling.

I especially like how my hair gets higher...

and higher...

and higher as my speed increases!

Whew! What a ride!

Although Joseph really did seem to want a break from sledding himself, he's still enjoying watching everyone else whiz down the hill. He seems especially attracted to Grandpa, who is always finding ways to involve Joseph in the action!

Here they are exploring the snow together...

sinking down in...

and climbing back out!

Of course, no snow outing would be complete without a few snowballs thrown hither and thither!

Grandpa thought he was safe here on this little perch...

but not so!

Luckily, these sleds also serve as handy shields when snowball-fight time begins!

Joseph thought the whole thing was so funny, he fell on the ground laughing. What a hoot!

The snow wasn't really powder anymore, but it certainly wasn't at hard-packed stage either. Here's Mom stuck in one of the many soft spots we encountered on our way back to the car!

I wasn't taking pictures anymore, because I had to make sure neither the fancy camera nor the precious baby fell to the ground, even if the footing was unstable!



Joseph got to go back the easy way, on his last snow ride of the day. Go, Daddy, go!

We had such a good time, in fact, that we plumb forgot about Rosalie's nap. She doesn't seemed to mind too much, though, especially because she has this nifty Clementine to play with. What a fun sledding trip this has been!

Joseph just loves playing with other people lately! Here he is pushing around a truck he and Tim made together this morning...

while basking in Grandpa Steve's attention. It really has been great for him this last week and a half having so many different family members to play with! Good thing Rosalie is just getting to that mobile and playful baby stage. He really needs a partner in crime, and no doubt it's sometimes nice to have a break from Mommy!

Here are a few shots of Joseph helping to set the table this morning...

and Tim pushing Rosalie around in the laundry basket this afternoon. It's been a bit of a lazy day today, but isn't that what's great about being on vacation?

This afternoon, we're off to Green Valley Park for a little fresh air and sunshine. It's beautiful outside today here in Payson! Joseph is on his bike...

Rosalie is in the stroller...

and we're off along this long, winding sidewalk.





One thing I just love about Joseph's little bike is that he's comfortable taking it literally anywhere his feet can go. He did fall once today on a steep downhill, but that's the only time he's fallen in weeks, and he's up and at 'em again already.

It's time for a break now to push Rosalie around for a while. That AZ sun is definitely bright today, and Rosalie is figuring out how to cover her eyes when she needs to. Otherwise...

she's busy working on getting those baby knee-socks off!

Here we are crossing the road to the pond...

where there are plenty of ducks, geese, coots...

and this impressive Great Blue Heron!

Joseph is having fun checking out the grass over here...

including a big display of Christmas lights...

at the top of this big hill! What a great day to be outside!