Winter Wonderland (sort of)

We have finally been getting a sample of winter weather here in Syracuse, although overall the amount of snow has been disappointing.  I am entirely impressed with the "snow upkeep" as a whole.  Last weekend we had an amount of snow which would have sent Delaware into a State of Emergency, and here, the roads were clear, salted, with no ice and NOTHING closed.  I was worried because I had a vet appointment with the dogs (big mistake to take both of them at the same time, by myself) and a hair appointment on Saturday, but nothing shut down.  I am still holding out for snow storms with the term "feet" in it.  Hopefully in February.

We have been enjoying the "weather" though, and managed to get in a day of snow-shoeing last week and a nice winter hike this week.  Kevin discovered this neat little state park(i think? maybe county) called Camillus Unique Area, and it is about 15 minutes from our house.  We had a great time on our inaugural snow-shoe trek with another couple from Kevin's program and their dog, Frank.  We now know our warm winter gear really works, because it was 15 degrees out and I had to unzip my coat!  That L.L. Bean long underwear and wool socks really do the trick.

The dogs had a great time too!  However, Emily is not a fan of the snow in general.  Her paws get too cold, which never really happens to Baxter.  I am trying to come up with a dog boot design for her ... I'll keep you updated.

Here's a couple more from this weekend:

There's a nice view from the top of a few hills on this hike.  If you look closely in this picture you can see our lake and the city.

 

Kevin was very happy to see all these antler rubs ... he thinks he might have some luck antler hunting this Feb.

Digging for something ... mice maybe

 Poor girl does not like those spiky things that stick to her.

In other news, Kevin has been busy studying for the third part of his board exams, which he takes tomorrow and on Tuesday.  I have gotten a lot busier at work, which makes me enjoy it that much more.  We're both getting excited for our vacation in February!


Also, I finally spotted some birds at my bird feeder today!  I hope they keep coming back:

We're Back!

Sorry about the lack of updates, I have been much busier working and trying to keep up with everything else (you know, as opposed to staying home all day with nothing to do!).  We had a very busy, but very fun Holiday season.  Kevin happened to be on a fairly easy rotation for the month of December, so he had every weekend off, plus three days over Christmas!  We went home two weekends in a row, so we managed not to miss any Holiday celebrations.

I was happy to be able to attend our annual girl's Christmas Exchange (thanks to Juls for hosting)

Juliana loved her slippers!

 Baxter approved

 

We really missed Christine!  She sent Kylee some upstate NY ice wine! 

We rounded off the event with some games ... of course!

 

Some McCoy Family Christmas fun:

My best attempt at getting all five dogs in a picture on Christmas morning

I sadly forgot my camera for my family Christmas, but we did enjoy brunch at Kendal and some fun family time.  We were so lucky and blessed to get some really wonderful gifts this year.  We are now well equipped for a true winter in CNY ... even though we have only gotten a small dose so far.  I am also still waiting for birds to come visit my new bird feeder !

Things around here are going great.  I still really love my job, and it is getting better every week.  Kevin is still chugging along in residency, and we are both looking forward to getting a vacation in February!  Thanks to his parents we will be enjoying a week in Kauai, HI!  I am super psyched to see some Humpback whales ... which has always been at the top of my wish list!  Unfortunately, we recently found out that Baxter tore his ACL and will eventually need surgery.  We have decided to postpone it until after we get back from vacation, and to give us some time to save up some $!  We are relieved to find out the cause of his sore leg, and the vet also started him on a prescription NSAID, which has really been helping him feel better.

We are also happy to report that we are finally getting some real Syracuse winter weather.  We have had about 10 inches of snow over the past three days, and are supposed to get more next week!  I'll be back with some pictures of our first snow shoe adventure.