HE'S ARRIVED!!!!!!! I'M AN AUNT!!!!!!!!!!!

My little nephew, Joshua James Gregory Blanchard, was born around 4:30 this afternoon. Look at his dark hair, so much for a blondee, eh Christa? ;-) This little doll arrived at 6lbs 7.2 oz and 18 inches long. Thanks so much for your prayers! Now I just need to decide what he'll call me... ;-)

Well, my nephew didn't arrive on my birthday, but it looks like he might arrive ten days after! :) Daniel and Christa are at the hospital right now, so please keep them (and us! ;-)) in your prayers... I'll try to keep y'all updated!

I thought my "little cowhand" was so cute, I figured it was selfish of me to keep the pictures all to myself. I'd post captions, but I really ought to get some sleep...5 o'clock comes early... So make up your own captions, leave me a comment, and who knows, maybe I'll use your caption later on! :) Enjoy!

"You seen my partner, he's got ears that stick out like this. Kinda looks like Bing Crosby..."

"This has got to be the worst tasting water, ever!"

"Steady, can't drop this bottle of nitroglycerin..."

"Boys, a trail cooks best friend is his wooden spoon. Never forget that."

"I think my horse just ran away and left me..." (No one could look that sad without losing their horse.)

"Bartender, pour me a Sarsaparilla! While your at it, get me a stool."

"Wow, that is the most amazing roping I have ever seen, your hired, cowpoke."

"I don't know Jeb, you sure that rope will hold?"

"Ma, we did it, we have our homestead."

"Wow! Texas is big!!!"

"Been a long day, and I'm tired; but we done good work, pardner..."

Thanks so much to Ben H. for providing these perfectly hilarious captions! We'll have to do this again. :)

Seeing as we've all been down with the flu, nothing really exciting has happened...except that it snowed again today...:( So, here are the pictures I took the last time it snowed.

Hey look!!! A little splash of color amidst the rest of the black and white yard!! :)

More color...so pretty, isn't it?

Fishing anybody?

Or how about a relaxing canoe ride...we'll bring a CD player and everything like last time!! :)

Here are some more the the foggy day pictures I took the other day. I took more photos of the snow the next day, so I might get around to posting those...then again, I'm sure I can get some flattering pictures of the sick people around here... ;-)

The gravel road.

The neighbors drive.

The speed limit down our road...

...another shot of the speed limit down our road...

...and yet another photo of the speed limit down our road. :) I couldn't decide which I liked better, so I posted them all. :)

The White Tree of Gondor.

'Twould appear that the snow is melting...er, rather, was melting...it snowed again the other day...

Our lake.

I hope this means Spring!

Aslan is on the move! :)

For my Grandparents...

From us...though, only some of us are pictured...:)

The slope, more commonly referred to as, "David's Hill."

Melissa makes the first trek down the hill...scouting out the trail...

So, I walked down the hill (I did consider sledding down, but seeing as I'm not an expert sledder, I decided to ensure the camera made it down safely ;-)) to get pictures of their faces (thanks to David for the fabulous idea :)) and while I waited at the bottom, I saw some "art-sy" photo opportunities that I just couldn't pass up. :) I'll be posting more on my photo blog tomorrow.

Jessica R. and Matthias trudging back up the hill...still wondering when David's going to put that ski lift in...:)

Melissa and Emma come flying down. Poor Em, she doesn't like snow to get in her face...

Jessica R. and Grace

Caleb nears the end where the "drop-off" is. I can't tell if the expression on his face is one of excitement or one of pain. :)

Jessica and Emma...hey look, Emma's eyes are open this time!!

Ashely R. and Grace

Yeah, Melissa found the "drop-off" sooner than she thought...

William decided that the walk back up the hill was too difficult, so he smiled at Jessica and got a piggy-back ride in return. :)

Dad and two of his "little women" come tearing down.

I love this shot!

Again, another "art-sy" photo taken while waiting for the next batch of people to arrive.

Mr. Ryekn, Kara and Grace kicking up the snow...

This photo is hilarious! Poor little Mathias looks so uncomfortable...

....but he enjoyed every minute of it!

Jessica and Jessica must have thought that the weedy things looked like something fun to plow through.

Dad and his little man take a ride.

And once they reach the bottom, William is already climbing off and ready to do it all over.

But you see, he doesn't have to do the walking...

He rides down the hill, and then back up!

Justin R. came down on his knees, reached the "drop-off"...

...flipped...

and, uh...played dead? ;-)

So, Caleb tried, but apparently didn't see the trees. :)

Now doesn't that look like fun!

Caleb came down face first and thought he went pretty far...

...so, then Justin came down. Check out the expression on Caleb's face! :)

Three giggly girls on a little sled sometimes proved to be funny...among other things. :)

Melissa and William came to a stop in the middle of the trail...not a smart idea when another team is coming along...we're just glad Mr. Ryken can steer a sled. :)

So, I think the dad's decided to see who could spray more snow...

...by the time they were done, though, both children were white and wet.

Such a happy, peppy baby.

Abigail blazes the trail alone...

Hey, it's the only picture of me...taken from the tree. I should have climbed up there sooner...

Now, if you thought that three giggly girls on a small sled was funny...

...they thought four would be better. :)

And so I leave you with this...instead of building a real snowman, Melissa made a Texan one. Thanks, Price's for the use of your backyard!