In like a lion...

We returned home this evening from a little mini-vacation. We went to North Conway (that's in the White Mountains in New Hampshire for you non-New Englanders) for two nights. This is our third year of doing this, and it's a nice little break.

The first year we went, we thought we would take family ski lessons. K and I are NOT skiers, but it seems unfair to EJ to not try it just because of us. So, we trekked up there only to arrive in bitterly cold weather. Not wanting to spend nearly $200 for rentals, lessons, and lift tickets to be in 5 degree weather all day, we opted for tubing for two hours instead.

Last year, we returned and gave EJ the option of skiing or tubing (she picked tubing). We also stayed in a hotel with an indoor water slide, which was a big hit.

This year, we again stayed at the same hotel. While K and EJ went tubing yesterday (skiing next year, maybe?), I bundled up little Sophie (it was in the low 20s) and we hiked it down to the outlet center to do a little retail therapy. Just doing my part to try to help out the economy, you know.

After dinner (restaurant recommendations below), we went to the water park. Sophie and I sat and watched EJ for a little while. When I asked her if she wanted to get in the water, she shook her head no. But, a few minutes later she was ready! She went down the little tot's slide (about 4 feet high) and daddy caught her at the bottom. She did it about 5-6 times before saying "All done". She was cold and shivering. A nice warm bath, a nice warm bottle, and she fell asleep in my arms.

We were both AMAZED at the amount of snowfall up there. After another 10-12 inches last night, this is about the 5th-6th most snowfall on record. The snowbanks along the sides of route 16 are about 10-12 feet high. You can't see the businesses as you're driving along. At the outlet center, I would walk out of a store and couldn't see the store across the way because of 20 foot high piles of snow (they've run out of places to put it). Everyone was having their roof shoveled off...looked VERY dangerous. Nothing like seeing people standing on a roof shoveling off 3+ feet of snow.

Anyway, here's a pic of Sophie enjoying the kiddie pool:



And EJ, who enjoyed watching Sophie splash around:

Today, on the way home, we stopped for lunch and then drove back to the campground we frequent in the summer. Here we are in front of the lodge...you can see that the snowbanks are about 8 feet high here. Dad and E, when you're here this summer, maybe you'll still be looking at snow out your 2nd floor window!

Sophie had fun sticking her mittens in the snow. And then she would shake the mittens off...

She also enjoyed putting snow in my hair:

And finally, here's EJ in the parking lot. It's hard to see, but just to the left of the tallest trees, you can see the top of a lamppost. That lamppost is about 12 feet high!

And here are my restaurant recommendations if you're in North Conway:

• Muddy Moose - Kind of like a Bugaboo Creek, but not chain food.
• Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery - Our favorite place in the Mt. Washington Valley. I highly recommend the Curried Crab Corn Chowder and the Longhorn Nachos (with barbecued beef). K recommends the chili and their dark-brewed beer!
• Bellini's - Delcious Italian food with meatballs the size of baseballs (no joking!) and yummy gelato.
• Whittier House - Nice sandwiches...

And last, but not least, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some online buddies who are hoping to get their referrals in the next week. These folks all have LIDs (application dates) of 01/05/06 with our agency. Last year, while we were on winter break in North Conway, we were on the cusp of getting our referral and we missed it by two days. These folks aren't sure if they're in the next batch or not, but even if they aren't, they're almost guaranteed to be next, so there is some peace in their future (and shopping, and packing, and traveling). Here they are, in case you want to follow their journeys to China:

• Lookin' for Number Four
• My Answered Prayers
• Baby Grace

What's amazing is that these folks' paperwork arrived in China about 70 days after ours. And they are almost a year behind us on the timeline for travel. I can only tell them that China is a wonderful place to visit in late Spring!!! :)