Snowy Day

These are from a few days ago, before the most recent snowfall. Collin and Willow had a blast, until Collin got snow in his boot, which threw a damper on far more than just his toes. He cried his way the rest of the way home. He was back out later that day, though, romping about happily. The puppy is Sophia Strawberry. She's five months old, and is almost entirely adorable. She's a much more active soul than Zoe was, and I think it's only partly her age. She's got a Cavalier temperament, which means she's snuggly and cuddly and loves everyone, but where Zoe was all gentleness, Sophie is a livewire. It's impossible not to like her, and while we still miss Zoe, Sophie has helped a lot simply by bounding about and being herself. It's wonderful to watch the kids with her - we have to go roust her out of Collin's bed when it's crate time most nights these days. (I might cave in and let her stay, if I weren't fairly certain that she'd wake up and chew apart his room. No nights out of the crate until she's done teething, at the least!)

And she finally returns!

I finally have a working camera again, courtesy of a friend willing to loan me one. I'm a bit trepidatious about using it, as it's much nicer than my own geriatric model, but I've missed taking pictures of the kids.

Summary in a nutshell before I get to the post with the actual pictures:
Collin is in first grade now. Zoe died on August 1st, which was heartbreaking for the entire family - everyone was touched by Zoe. She was a beautifully gentle spirit, and we miss her. Willow is five, and wants to make sure that you know this. We started, finally, planting part of my semi-formal garden in the back, and have mostly painted the shed as well.

As I type this, it is snowing outside. I believe it snowed all night, adding to what was on the ground from several days ago. I do not recall ever seeing anything quite like this.