Snow Day... I mean WEEK

All the time I have lived in Georgia I have never seen this much snow. We usually get one, maybe two snow days a year. This year we had a full week, and it's the second time it's snowed this winter. The other was Christmas day.

I was very lucky to have done a full weeks worth of grocery shopping. Usually I do day to day or even meal to meal. Sunday we picked up groceries, picked up Beau to hang out for a while, and went home. We didn't even realize until Beau's nephew called him that it had started to snow. It must have come down pretty thick because by then we were already snowed in. We were trapped with our house guest.

It was a fun and relaxing week. We let all our responsibilities go and everyone including the kids just kind of did what they wanted. Daddy and the kids had sooo much fun playing in the snow. Andrew LOVES snow balls. There were even icicles hanging from the house.

Since Georgia has no reason to be prepared for this kind of weather, they close everything! Even the Wal-Mart was closed. Around here they called it Snowpocolypse or Snowmageddon. As the snow melted it got the roads wet and the temperature would drop enough to freeze it again. The third night we ventured as far as the Q-T down the street, going very slowly. There were inches of snow on top of the car covered with a quarter inch of ice. By the time I went back to work everyone's yards looks like ice rinks, all shiny and icy smooth, but the roads were more or less clear.

Winding it Up

January 1st we hung around the house and took it easy. I did laundry, Andrew made another lego kit with Jake and Jackie while they also colored with Lilly. Billy and Jeanette ordered pizza as our last supper, or rather lunch, together before Jake and Jackie's flight back to California. The rest of the day was easy and calm. Billy played the Wii with Andrew. I hemmed Jeanette's pants and packed for our departure the next day. While Jeanette had her shoes off to try on the pinned pants before I made the stitches, Lilly decided she wanted to try on the high heels. I think she walked in them better than I do! Of course being able to hold on to Jeanette was a help. It certainly was a foreshadowing of thing to come kind of moment. I hope she doesn't grow up too fast.

On the way back to Georgia, we stopped again to see Russell and Sandy in Gainesville. We had dinner with them and said our goodbyes filled with tears over the possible outcome of the surgery Russell would be undergoing the next week. Before we left, they asked if we'd like to stay the night there. I'm so glad we were able to do that!

It was a restful evening, and we met for lunch the next day so we could see Sandy too. When she went back to work, we went with Russell to a park so the kids could play for a while and we could talk. We had some good conversation and both Rey and I were able to say and learn some thing we had wanted to. I hope Russell was able to do the same. I told him that it felt like being family felt like family to me and I thanked him for the things I saw in Rey that I knew had come from him. It was a good afternoon and we left with a feeling of satisfaction.

It was a long drive home. It is sad to leave such a wonderful vacation, but good to be in your own bed. I don't think Jeanette will ever have a difficult a time convincing me to do it again.

Day Five: Universal Studios and New Years Eve!

We got a late start to Universal, but decided today was still the day! We went to Islands of Adventure! Walking through there alone is really cool the way they sectioned it all off. We walked through the front area and through Marvel Super Hero City. Andrew AND Daddy loved seeing all the super heroes on the buildings. Then we went into Jurassic Park. I had been telling Andrew how badly I wanted to be eaten by a dinosaur. He wasn't very happy about the idea. We tried taking our picture with a T-Rex, but Andrew would have none of it and ran away. So when we got to the Jurassic Park River Adventure ride, I was sure we should not take Andrew. I told him it was too scary when he asked. I was impressed with my boy! He watched the people after the splashdown laughing and all the smiles and told me: "Mommy, they don't look scared. And I have a forcefield." So we tested our forcefields so the dinos wouldn't eat us and took Andrew to see them. It starts out slow and scenic, showing you the nice friendly dinosaurs, and then heads into the restricted area. You know it's restricted by the flashing lights and loud noises. He got a little scared there. You go up and up through the compound surrounded by (somewhat cheesy) raptors and the big T-Rex is at the end in your way! Just as he comes at you to eat you, your boats drops into the dark and falls into a splash at the end. He made it through and did a very good job; and even though he was scared, he wanted to go on it again.

Harry Potter Land was amazing! I learned that I really like Butter Beer. It's like a cream soda with butterscotch foam on top. Yummy! The rides there were all really fun. In fact, the one in Hogwarts Castle was CRAZY amazing!!!! I've been wanting to go on it again since I got back.

After the ride being broken most of the day, Andrew finally got to go on the Spiderman ride! He loved it! It's a 3D ride and a lot of fun! Then Daddy, Billy, Jackie, and Jake went on the Hulk, which is a really big and really green roller coaster. After they rode and before they got off, it was stuck. They were about 20 feet away from the exit and not able to go anywhere. So of course Rey did his best to keep people entertained.

One last ride before we went home for Andrew was the Cat in the Hat ride in Dr Suess' Landing. It was a really cute area. Next time I'd like to go over there first. After hitting all the highlights as fast as we could, we headed back to the house where Jeanette and Lilly were waiting for us.

Lilly had spent the day with Jeanette making cookies and chocolate treats while watching Disney princess movies. We arrived JUST before midnight so we could ring in the New Year together. I don't know why, but Lilly was very upset when we started counting down. I guess she wasn't ready, but when we got to "Happy New Year" she was in tears. We finally got her calmed down by giving her a party blower that rolled out instead of making a noise. She was a happy girl after that.

Jake had gotten firecrackers, a ton of flowers, and some sparklers and the troop headed outside to play. The kids always enjoy this stuff. It was their first time really playing a lot with the sparklers. Andrew liked helping pick out what to set off next, and apparently Billy had never played with Snap "poppers" before. That was pretty funny to watch.

With only one minor burn on Lilly's sparkler finger, which kept hurting until we put an icepack on it and she finally fell asleep, we got kids in bed and rang in the New Year twice more; once for Utah and once for California. We were very worn out and tired after all was said and done.

Day Four: A different Day than Planned.

Day 4 of our trip was somewhat anticlimactic. Or rather, the "exciting thing that happened" was not the one we planned. We were supposed to go to Universal Studios, but as we were getting ready, due to allergies that had been bothering him all week, Rey took a trip to the emergency room with Jeanette. I'm informed that he was about blue by the time they got there, so I'm grateful he went. They gave him steroids and an inhaler, but also kept him there quite a while. We went out for burgers when things settled. Jackie was craving them.

Apparently when left to our own devises, we mature adults chose to glitter tattoo each other and the kids. But wait! there's more! After the kids went to bed, Jackie did Billy's hair in cornrows, Jake donned a fuzzy purple vest, and we stayed up all night. As Jackie put it, it sounds like a 10 year old girl slumberparty. Haha! Hooray for being grown up and getting to do whatever you want.

Family in Florida II

Day Three: St.Augustine!

Billy and Jeanette bravely took our three little ones while Rey and I with newly arrived Jake and Jackie made a trip North to St. Augustine. It was a little underwhelming in the cold weather without all the pirates out for tourist season, but a beautiful city nonetheless. We had dinner at a place near the bridge we had been before with Rey's family where I just HAD to have the key lime lobster and shrimp pasta. Yum. Afterwards we made our way down St George street and past the old fortress to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. I had wanted to see this for a long time. Perhaps our date day would have been better spent seeing one of the two movies we've been dying to see, but there were really cool things and it's a BIG check off my list! Finally. St Augustine at night was very pretty as well. We wandered around the fortress and by the water. After easing my nerves that our children were fine and the Barott's still sane, we made our way back to the restaurant for some dessert. It was a nice kid free day and a lot of fun spending time with my brother and getting to know Jackie.

Family in Florida

At the urging of sweet and wonderful Billy and Jeanette Barott, we took a trip to Florida after Christmas and through the New Year. It was AMAZING, and a much needed break for Mommy. The kids were great on the way down and we stopped to see Grandpa Russell and Grandma Sandy and had dinner with them before completing the trip to Port Orange. Although very late, there was good food and great friends waiting for us. We weren't prepared for the spoiling we got.

The kids were treated to all kind of goodies including tents, sleeping bags, sheet sets, chairs, blanket robes, flashlights, thermoses, and their own little Christmas trees with a few more gifts beneath them which turned out to be Star Wars lego kits and Disney pictures to color. Mommy and Daddy got plenty of spoiling too.

Day One: BEACH DAY!

It was very cold, but we made our way out to the water. Donned in jackets and bathing suits, the kids ran in the sand and walked and splashed in the water. Billy brought out his kite, though it barely flew, and even Mommy got her feet wet. Despite a heavy duty breakdown when the cold got to Andrew, it was a fun afternoon.

Day Two: DISNEY!!

Rey had been to Disney before, but for the rest of us, it was our first time. There are a lot of really great things about this day. I think going with Billy and Jeanette made it that much better because they knew where things were and how to get the most out of it, not to mention someone else could over think things for me and I could just be one of the kids. It was a really long line to see Mickey and even Rey was getting grumpy waiting, but it was worth it to hear Lilly squeal and run into Mickey and Minnie's arms. She was so excited. Then the boys went to the playground and the girls waiting in another line to see Princesses. We saw Cinderella, which is one of Lilly's favorites, Snow White, and Tiana from the Princess and the Frog. Lilly was in Princess heaven! Andrew went on his first roller coaster ride with Daddy and Billy and loved it! We made it to a lot of rides. The favorites were the Buzz Lightyear ride, Dumbo, Teacups won for sure, Peter Pan, Lilly likes the Small World Ride, and Mommy and Daddy even got away to see the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. Awesome! The fireworks were a favorite for sure! They were going off all around us, and the kids and Rey were having so much fun watching them that Mommy couldn't help but tear up. We definitely want to go to Disney again!!