New shades...

...Because she asked to PLEASE go into the Libby Lou store at the mall "just to look"

...Because she found the rack of sunglasses and started trying them on

...Because this particular pair was dark pink and had rhinestones on them

...Because they were big sunglasses "just like the big girls wear"

...Because they looked so cute on her little face

...Because she looked at us with huge brown eyes and said "please Daddy"

We bought them for her....and then had to take photos!

From blizzard to fog.....

We woke up this morning to thick, thick fog. We started with a 2 hour school delay, then went to a 3 hour delay with an hour added on the end of the day, and finally ended up cancelling. It's now 11:00am and the fog is just as thick. Hard to believe we were digging out from a blizzard a week ago and now we have fog. Crazy Ohio weather! Along with the fog there is a really pretty frost covering everything, so I squeezed my boots on (not easy to do with a broken toe) and ventured outside to take some pictures. I love how they turned out!!! The first photo is the view down our road....and I think the last one is my favorite.

Saturday Night Randomness.....

• It's a three day weekend - HOORAY! (and how sad that I'm excited about a 3 day weekend after only working 3 days this week)
• As of tonite, there is only ONE more regular season basketball game left. The end is in sight!! :) Of course there's always tournament games.....
• Speaking of basketball tournament.....IF Van Wert goes far enough in tournament, it will be at the same time as the NYC trip for the journalism students. IF VW wins three tournament games, Chris and I - along with several other students who play basketball, cheer, or are bb coaches' kids - are not going. I really want them to do well in tournament....but I really want to go to NYC, too. We'll see what happens.
• And...speaking of NYC....very long story, but I am not going to see Wicked now. Maybe next time.
• And...back to basketball....Jacob also only has 1 game left (tournament). Today he scored once and had at least 4 jump balls.
• There is still tons of snow outside and it's freezing. We even got a little more snow today. I'm so ready for capri's and flip flops (and the weather that goes with them)!
• Grey's Anatomy....anyone else watch this show? The past 2 weeks have been pretty intense. I had to cover my eyes and ears this week when Izzy used the drill! So...what is going to happen to Meredith? Can they really have her die when her name is in the title of the show?!?!
• I spent most of the day cleaning the house and have decided that I really, really need a maid. I love organizing and don't mind picking up, but I hate cleaning -bathrooms, mirrors, dusting, sweeping - yuck!
• My toe hurts! I got up on Friday morning when it was still dark and hit my little toe on the end of the bed. It's swollen and purple...and IT HURTS!! And now the rest of my foot and leg are sore because I've been walking weird for the past 2 days to avoid putting pressure on my toe.
• We're having a family day tomorrow and going shopping in Ft Wayne after church. YEA for tax returns! We're going to look for a treadmill. I'm also hitting Archivers so I can spend my last gift card. Unfortunately, it's Sunday...which means Chick-Fil-A will be closed. No Chick-Fil-A sandwich and sweet tea for me.
• I love guitar hero. I ROCK! :) I think I was meant to be a rock star. HA!
• Is it bad that I've been using Chris' Valentine's gift more than he has?!?! I got him this docking system for his iPod so we can listen to music without the headphones. Gotta love Kohl's.
• I bought yummy ice cream today - a new flavor...."Take the Cake" ice cream (vanilla cake flavor with sprinkles and swirls of frosting). YUMMY! It's almost as good as cake batter ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery.

I'm off to put ice on my toe, eat ice cream, and watch mindless TV for the rest of the night.

Snow, snow, and more snow

This was actually taken while I was standing in the road. You can't even tell where the road is supposed to be! Luckily we didn't have to go anywhere this morning.













Our house - you can see some of the drifts, but it was really hard to capture a picture that showed what it was really like.













I'm going to call this photo "Snowblower Envy". We don't own a snow blower. Luckily we have very nice neighbors who do own snowblowers, so he didn't have to shovel for long (and yes...it took 3 snowblowers to clear out our driveway!).
































Jenna had to crawl over the door to get into her playhouse. You can see some of the drifts around her house (and on top!!).



















Jacob and Jenna spent lots of time digging tunnels through some of the drifts in the yard!

2.14.07

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

BLIZZARD

From Webster's Dictionary:

bliz-zard
Pronunciation: 'bli-z&rd
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
1 : a long severe snowstorm
2 : an intensely strong cold wind filled with fine snow
3: an overwhelming rush or deluge
- bliz·zardy /'bli-z&r-dE/ also bliz·zard·ly /-"z&rd-lE/ adjective


Yes...I stepped outside to take a few blizzard photos. I just had to share our beautiful weather with the rest of you!

Photo 1: "Blizzard Boy" - He thought it would be fun to bundle up and go outside this morning...he lasted 10 minutes.

Photo 2: Jenna all bundled up to go next door and play with the neighbor girls. I had to walk her over because the drifts are so deep and the wind is so strong. I thought she might get buried or blow away!

Photo 3: Jenna's playhouse on the patio in our backyard.....Look at all the snow on the roof!

Home again.....

Another snow day....which means we only have 1 left before we have to start making days up! We actually cancelled last night and as of this morning we have a BLIZZARD WARNING! Crazy! Right now they are prediciting 12-16 inches of snow for Van Wert along with possible sleet, freezing rain, and winds. YUCK!!! We're definitely staying home and inside all day.

Jacob....YOU ROCK!!

If you had a tax refund, what would you spend it on? Well, like most sensible families, we decided to spend a portion of our refund on.....a GUITAR HERO game for Jacob's PS2. Seriously! We have played the game several times during the past couple months and have had a lot of fun with it (Okay..I'll admit it...I am probably the one who wanted it the most, but Jacob was a close second!). Last night it was actually in stock at Target and we bought it. Jacob and I have had a blast playing it...and Chris joined in the action this afternoon. It really is quite addicting and I'm finding that years of piano lessons really have paid off with this game. :) We each have started our own "band" - complete with catchy names -and are having fun "touring the country". Here's just a few photos of Jacob, including his "YOU ROCK" hand signals after successfully completing a song.

Lovin' this one....

This photo is something a little different for me....it doesn't fit my usual style. It was a spur of the moment photo taken of Jenna while she was playing dress up. She was spinning in circles in front of the bay window in our living room and I decided to snap some photos. I love how it turned out....definitely one of my new favorites.

A picture is a worth a thousand words......

See that little arrow that says "freeze"?? See what the temperature actually is? Enough said.

















PS We are home again today. The forecast is bitter cold temperatures PLUS 1-2 inches of snow. I sure hope not!

BRRRRRRRRRRR

WOW...it is way too cold outside! I just checked and it's 2 degrees with a windchill of -20. That's crazy cold! We even cancelled school today because it was so cold (Nancy...did you get a day off???). It's supposed to be the same tomorrow, so we'll see what happens with school. I have been totally and completely lazy today. I think I'm just to cold to have any motivation. Remember that long list from last week's snow day??? Well, no list like that today! I did manage to clean the bathroom, watch a movie (Little Miss Sunshine - strange, strange movie), and play on the computer. I also worked on some photos for my photography class.

While I was playing on the computer I discovered this:















Where have I been for the past 5 days??? Harry has a new CD out and I didn't know?!? Definitely going to have to do some downloading...I love Harry!

STAY WARM!!

Coach Covey

My neighbor asked me to take some photos of her son, Bret, at the basketball game last night. She really wanted a photo of him as they announced the players...and to do that I had to go to the opposite side of the gym before the game, which meant I was right behind VW's bench. As the guys were warming up, I snapped this photo of Chris. He had no idea I took this, but I love how it turned out!