Snow Tunnels

Last week the boyz and I travelled up to KCity because Baby Daughter had surgery on her wrist. I went to change diapers and monitor bath time, but by Monday, three days after surgery, little Ms "I Do Not Need Any Help" was up and runnin' again. My van was packed with goodies for the grandchildren and weineroni for my son in law and warm, wooly clothes for me, so I trekked up there anyway.

It was SO fun to be there with no schedule, no deadlines to meet, no real "purpose" besides reading books and shopping for crickets for the frog.Yeh, the frog named Dav.... If you need more information on this family, Kathryn's blog is listed beside my posts.

Grace is nearly 5 now, and has (nearly) given up her pacifer and (completely) her afternoon naps. As a grandparent, this is Good News. Sleep is greatly overrated and a waste of valuable Time where grandchildren are concerned. Naps cut in to our Time Together.  Bedtime comes soon enough in that household.

So, while (nearly 2 year old) Samuel napped in the afternoon, I had one-on-one time with Grace. We shopped on the computer, we searched for hidden pictures, we played Polly Pockets, we read crazy GrandTone books.

AND....we played in the snow! Kansas City got over 14 inches of snow during Christmas, with more falling every week thereafter. Although it is beginning to melt, and the ground becoming quite saturated, there is still a huge "mountain" of snow in the middle of the cul de sac in front of the Farris' house.

I think I have my brother's engineering heart some of the time....Tho my "structural expertise" is quite lacking, my desire to build and create remains unquenchable. And when one sees a huge amount of snow and ice packed in front of one.....well, the challenge to DO something with it, despite the freezing temperatures and limited choice of tools, was more than I could ignore.

So we dug.  We dug with a garden hoe and a miniature shovel.....
And, of course, there Always must be a Collie helping to supervise the construction. That's James managing the job site.

At some point, in this cold endeavor, Grace exclaimed, "GrandTone! I can see your shovel!" She was on the other side of the tunnel.....mountain climbing, using the hoe as a stabilizer for reaching the peak.

Yep... East had met West....but we weren't finished yet! We had to make the hole bigger so that we could actually CRAWL thru it!  So the digging continued. Do you know how Warm you can get whilst shovelling snow! And while you warm up, the heat from your body can melt the snow you are kneeling on, making your pant legs quite soggy, and, consequently, Cold...

Meanwhile....Our very own Sir Edmund Hillary had reached the summit and stood victorious high in the thin,cold air.....

As a Responsible GrandTone, I must admit that she DID make me a bit nervous up there all by herself....But how could I take away her victory by telling her to be careful....So, I did what ALL Grandmothers do....I prayed for her stability.  Guess that is a prayer that I shall Always pray.......for All the mountaintops they scale.....

Tunnel completed, we now must see what Life is like on the other side.....

And, then, of course, it was MY turn....Once inside, the hole I'd dug seemed quite a bit smaller....and colder....Being born could not have been more difficult.

Never forget the Site Supervisor....He loves to "Go Tunnel!" It's Agility in the snow! Where's the weave poles, Mom?!

And now it is time for some Hot Chocolate, according to the Adult in Charge.....uh, that would be the person on the other side of the camera.....So...one last shot, then we head inside to peel off our wet drawers and warm up by the fire. Anticipating Spring is highly overrated.....