Schweitzer Overnighter! (Taking positive advantage of "OLD MAN WINTER")

A Room With A View!

Brian (in his own words) "skiied his guts out"!

Shaun relaxing! (Skiing is still, unfortunately, on hold for him because of knee surgery.)

More relaxing! Good old-fashioned nap!

Carmen hung out in the hot tub! A bad case of Bronchitis kept her off the ski hill this weekend.

Brian met up and skiied with good friends!
Lunch Break with Tyler and Sam!

Carmen didn't mind lounging "away" the weekend in her pajamas! More hot tubbing! (After a hard day of skiing for Don and Brian!) This was Carmen's fourth time this day in the hot tub! Life is so rough!Finishing up the night with a good game of "Scum"! Shaun won this round, and Carmen wants everyone to know that she was a 'close' second! Making family memories!

A Gentle Reminder . . . Winter is still with us!

Opened the curtains this morning! Poor picnic table may not be used until July!

Looks like cotton!
Majestic Nature!

It is a blessing to live in beautiful North Idaho. (A Special Thank You to Don for plowing the driveway . . . again!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Duffy's "love" Valentine's Day!
Lots of love!

Plenty of chocolate!

Big Valentine breakfast with Don's famous omelets! Scrumptious!

Carmen is all smiles! The Valentine Party goes on for days for her!

So Happy Together!

Skiing on a Cold, Clear Day! Magnificent!

Last Saturday was a treat! We enjoyed skiing at Schweitzer. (Carmen and Don are shown here.) Despite the frigid temperatures, it was loads of fun. The view on this clear day was spectacular from the top of the Quad Chairlift. Doesn't get any better than this!

Brian's Eagle Scout Project Day! Hip Hip Hooray!

The project began early Saturday and continued into the evening. Brian had great support from other Venture Scouts, Shaun, Don and Grant Oyler (mentor).

Shelves were cut, routed, glued and nailed for a large cabinet which will store music and a TV/DVD recorder for the Orchestra/Band room at Coeur d' Alene Highschool.Brian couldn't have asked for better help than from Shaun, Collin and Dan! Putting the cabinet together!Spreading the laminate glue! Roll hard to sqeeze out all the air bubbles! A big thank you to Grant Oyler for the use of his brains, shop and tools! Couldn't have done it without him!

Carmen was good at inspecting!

Attaching the laminate top to cabinet, and now all he has to do is sand and stain and sand and stain some more! (On a side note, two Eagle Projects down and one more to go!) Way to go, Brian! We are proud of you!

Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandmother's House We Go!

A quick trip to Boise (literally to and from in a 24 hour period!) to Grandma and Grandpa Hill's house! Carmen was able spend time with her cousins, Aundrea and Patrice!Grandpa's yard is the best! Plenty of trees to climb and room to run!Grandpa built a big shop and added a fun loft to the side of it for the grandkids! One of the favorite past times is swinging from the "intense" rope swing (attached to a large willow tree). The kids, big and small fly on it! Besides "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens" these are a few of Carmen's favorite things!

A Happy New Year in St. George!

We enjoyed one layover in the Boise airport! So, really, what does a person do for two hours in the airport?! Brian, Carmen and Shaun enjoyed sharing and listening to each other's music! It was "squishy squish" in the rental car from the Las Vegas airport to St. George, UT! (About a one hour and 45 min. drive) Here comes the Sun! Carmen loved hanging out with her cousins - Tatum, Tailey and Tara!

A very common sight - the guys lounging and watching the latest football or basketball game

These girls were inseparable! Fun times!