Little Red Hen & Selma

My darling true confidant, friend, and biking, running, hike up the steepest mountain and do push ups buddy Leslie Lords-Robbins gave me this wonderful book for Christmas. I now and will forever keep it at my bedside to remember to live in the moment, among other great life lessons. She called me her Mrs. Miller, which just kills me with love. It is simple, yet incredible profound and so applicable to so much of life. Thank you LLR. (And again, sorry about this morning, 3 out of 4 of the last days' of skiing and snowboarding totally slammed me, my heart was willing, my body wouldn't budge).

This morning as we ran out of bread and Andy volunteered to go to the store for milk, bread, and other provisions, I offered a challenge for him to make bread with our Kitchen Aid (in my relentless pursuit of a Bosch, which I believe makes whole wheat loaves the best, see Lacy Egbert-Meikle). He took the bait and now we have 3 loaves of deliciously, fresh, self-ground wheat bread in the kitchen just waiting to be devoured. Upon accepting this challenge, he dubbed himself the Big Red Rooster (well he said something else but I am not sure how appropriate it is unless you are a real farmer). This was one of H's favorite books from about 4 years of age until he was 6. We would read it over and over, a very tattered, old copy just like the one above (it must have been mine as a child or even my mother's). What a great life lesson, and I truly believe my little helpers get it most of the time.

And they are off sledding in the gently falling snow. After a restless night, a flaky morning, an emotionally draining R.S. visit (I was really okay, but it just sounds most dramatic), a late lunch for the kids, I sent them off. We had been planning to ski with the boys tonight at Brighton but I am quite tuckered (again, Saturday, Monday & Tuesday of snowboarding with H, skiing with both boys, then snowboarding with H). Hopefully I will have recovered by tomorrow to go in the morning with the boys. Holden is hooked. His favorite thing to do is the huge half pipe at Brighton, and he really does it (I just go down the middle). He loves to go through the trees and go off jumps and he keeps his tips straight (rarely does he "pizza") and we did some pretty great blues and a good, tricky, ravine yesterday. He wants to go all day and all night. O is not so convinced, but he is also a little ripper and is so fun to watch. I hear them now...oh no what to tell the Big Red Rooster that I accomplished...?