Roan Mountain adventure

It was a beautiful, clear and sunny day that we ventured up to Roan Mountain for a hike with some friends. Brian carried his 1 year old in a pack and then his 3 year old decided he didn't want to walk for sections of it, so he carried him in his arms. At times, he probably was carrying 60 or more pounds. Hopefully, they felt the view was worth it, because it was COLD and WINDY up at the top. They turned around because they aren't bad parents and didn't want their kids to freeze and the rest of us walked a little bit further out to Jane Bald. I think this might have been the coldest outdoor adventure we've taken Brie on!

Brie and Maddy

Ever since Brie was born, I've been trying to get Maddy to let Brie ride on her back. It hasn't happened. Maddy squirms away and gets all hyper and licks Brie. Until the other day when Mat tried it. Success. For about, oh, 30 seconds. Long enough to take a picture to document the event.

Max Patch

We went on a lovely walk up Max Patch this past Saturday.  It was a beautiful, sunny winter day.  Maddy absolutely loved running around in the snow.  She is a snow dog, even though she was born in the south (Oklahoma)!  Spending her puppy days in Colorado instilled that love in her, I guess.  Brie had a great time on the hike, as well, she was tucked away in the Ergo and slept for the most part.

Brie's growing and changing...

I knew intellectually that Brie was not going to remain a baby forever, but I can hardly believe that in a little over 3 months she has changed so much. No longer is she a wee little newborn that we didn't know what to do with and were completely intimidated by her, but she is now an alert baby that interacts with us and others.  Brie holds her head up and is able to sit up on the couch.  She can stand with us holding her under her armpits and just pumps her legs along.  Once she starts walking, we are going to have to watch out, but hopefully that isn't for several more months.  She has doubled in size since birth.  According to our unofficial scale she now weighs in at 14 pounds...she was only 6 lbs. 15 oz. when she was born and I've pulled out her clothes that are labeled for 6 months!  I don't know if her weight will taper off once she starts crawling, but she's getting to be heavy to cart around in her carseat.

3 Months Old

Brie is 3 months old today!  Her unofficial weight is 13 pounds and she is starting to wear some 6 month old size clothes.  Brie is spending more and more time awake now during the day and she is becoming much more interactive and social.  We treasure her smiles and are enjoying all the cooing and gurgling that she makes.

Snowed in...

We received 6 or so inches of Sunday night and Monday morning and the roads weren't getting plowed.  We really wanted to go somewhere like the Parkway to go cross-country skiing, but decided to ski around our neighborhood because there aren't a lot of opportunities to get to ski right on our road.  So here's some video from our afternoon.

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Leaving our house to ski the couple miles to our friends' house.

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Fun times tubing, until Maddy pops the tube.

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And we are back home.  It was such a fun experience to go wander around our neighborhood on skis and no one was around.  Maddy LOVED getting to run free.  There is still snow today, but the roads are plowed, so we'll see where we go exploring.

Good morning, Brie!

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Brie waking up in the morning...which I find to be adorable!

Happy New Year (a wee bit late)

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy New Year! I meant to get this out in December when other "on the ball" people sent their nice holiday wishes and annual newsletters out. And then I thought, "oh I will just skip this year." But in the back of my mind it kept nagging at me because I really enjoy hearing how people are doing, I thought I'd reciprocate even though it's now practically the middle of January!

2010 was an amazing year full of fun adventures and new experiences!

Mat worked with the Plant Ecologist along the Blue Ridge Parkway for a fourth season. He continued treating the hemlock trees for the hemlock woolly adelgid, monitoring rare and endangered plant species,and inventorying ecologically fragile areas. I worked in the Interpretive Division for a second season. No, I don't know a bunch of different languages, I worked in the Visitor Centers, do campfire programs and guided walks for those not familiar with Park Service lingo. This year, I spent the hottest summer on record in Asheville pregnant.

In October, Gabriella Lauren Levine, was born. It was love at first sight for all of us...including Madera.  She has accepted Brie into our lives without any issue. Having Brie hasn't slowed us down, she's been an awesome addition to our hikes and trips and we can't wait for more.

We love having you in our lives and are looking forward to another year of adventure in 2011!

Love,

Mat, Amie, Brie
and Madera

[caption id="attachment_882" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Brie"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_883" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Amie and Brie at the Bear River Bird Sanctuary"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_891" align="aligncenter" width="263" caption="Mat and Brie - Bent Creek"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_885" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Levine family (minus Maddy) in Zion National Park"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_887" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Maddy and Amie - Roan Mountain backpack"][/caption]

2010 in review...

We've had a busy year...hard to believe it is all ready coming to an end.



We went to the Everglades in February to get some fire training and did some exploring of southern Florida. We enjoyed camping in the Everglades National Park and seeing some amazing birds and wildlife.

We spent some time Phoenix, Arizona at the end of February for my little sister's wedding.  It was fun to be there and enjoy some Scoville family time.



Mat worked his 4th season for the Plant Ecologist along the Blue Ridge Parkway this summer.  He enjoyed his season of treating woolly adelgid in the hemlock trees, tracking rare plant species, and travelling to document the plants in some wetlands along the Parkway.  He also got on a few mountain bike rides to release some of his excess energy, along with some of Maddy's excess energy.

I didn't do any mountain biking this year because we found out I was pregnant in February.  So I spent the hottest summer on record for Asheville pregnant,  I also worked a 2nd season for the Division of Interpretation and enjoyed my time in the "cooler" weather of the mountains.

On October 13th, Gabriella Lauren Levine was born weighing 6 pounds and 15 ounces.  We've enjoyed having her join our little family.  Maddy hardly pays any attention to her unless Brie is in her swing.  Maddy then thinks Brie is playing with her when she swings back and forth.  Maddy tries her best to lick Brie's face and Brie doesn't seem to mind.

Our little family is winding up the year spending the holidays out in Utah with the rest of the Scoville clan and some friends out here.  We took Brie on her first cross-country ski and she is getting spoiled being held by her grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins.

As this year comes to a close, we wish everyone much love and adventure in 2011!