The return of sunshine

I hate east coast winters.  Why?  Not the snow.  I love the snow.  I love large quantities of snow.  I don't even mind driving in the snow.  I hate east coast winters because the sun rarely shines.  And it makes me all sad inside.  This constant grey and dreary just doesn't fly for me.  So, days that the sun shines I am ultimately happy and cheery.  Downright bubbly even.  And that rare sun?  Its popped out the last two days!

Yesterday I just beebopped around my yard snapping pictures of the icicles and sunshine (only after creating some make-shift booties for Kenai to torment him bahaha).  I wanted to get out and take Kenai to the Bickle's tower overlook but unplowed Forest Service roads thwarted me.  So we came home and I had him pull 40lbs of coal on a sled for a quarter mile.  He was cranky at first but really took off with it.  Now, I only wish he'd be as energetic pulling me.

He walked around high-stepping with them on.  Hilarious.
His real booties come in a couple days.

Icicles along the back of our house

That beautiful sun shinin' over my head.

The view from our living room.

Pulling that 40lb bag of coal up the hill

This morning I woke up and fought with Fed Ex some more.  My dad's Christmas gift was slated to arrive December 12th.  Pff, as if.  Fed Ex, you SUCK.  Royally.  Crock of bull, all of it, everything, everyone.  The good new is that after a dozen calls to customer service, talking to a million different accents, and quoting my tracking number a million different times...the package is here.  I will avoid Fed Ex at all costs from now on.  Idiots.  UPS all the way.

After my brawl with Fed Ex I ran a couple errands and then went out to a local state park to exercise the pup.  The Cheat River runs along the edge of the park and is a big attraction for tourons in the warmer months.  I was the ONLY person there today.  Hiked a couple miles.  Kenai loved having so far to run.

And of course the first thing Kenai does?  Freak me out
by running right out onto the icy river.  Thanks, dude, thanks.

Look, I'm standing on the ice!

Aaaannnddd it didn't hold when I decided to jump/stomp.

Downstream from the swimming hole.

A current ripping through above the swimming hole.

Looking out into one of the BIG fields, pavilion for parties
in the distance.  This place is so, so green in the warmer months
and its great for ultimate frisbee, football, or what have you.  We
all had our graduation parties here after high school.

It was this deep!

Being manly, you know, and tough.