Winter Festival

Idaho small town + lots of snow + winter boredom + super chilly weather = The McCall Winter Ice Festival!

On Saturday DH called me around noon and asked me to put my "flexible" thinking cap on.  He wanted to take the whole family 2 1/2 hours away to the yearly Winter Festival.  "Sure!" I said.  And this from the man who says he has a hard time with new plans (I later found out that this was not news to him ... he'd had it in planner for 2 months, which explained why he so easily switched gears).

We had a such a great time together...

 On the frozen lake.

 Little C insisted on getting a turkey leg, which he held for an hour 

occasionally sharing but mostly just saying, "Mine!"

 I bought the kids two cheap sleds, which being so cheap myself I don't usually do.  

But I was so glad I let loose ... they had such a great time sledding.

 Miss A and I with frozen lake behind us.  

Look how far out people were walking on the lake!

 Honey insisted on getting kettle corn, so of course being addicted myself, 

I obliged and bought 2 bags.  Three cheers for kettle corn!

DH devised an ingeniously nerdy way to carry the corn.

Odd little udders, I thought.

The Main Attraction: taking the town's copious amount of snow and making something beautiful:

 "Tale of Sharlie:" The town claims their Loch Ness-type of creature in the lake.  

Here 2 fishermen unwittingly catch her.

 An old outhouse, double decker.

 Kids grimacing in front of cool train.  Harr, harr.

 Hard to see, but there's the state of Idaho and the town of McCall on the map.

Very neat display of a log cabin, trees and several bears ... you can see one's bum.

 Another Sharlie, who looks more duckish than monstrous.

Honey shouting to everyone to watch out, "Dragon.  Eat you!"

Next year we'll be more prepared and come with snow clothes (there were a lot of cold children at the end of our time there) and sleds that will hold up to several runs.  I love new traditions. Good times!