Hello Snow Day....Goodbye President's Day . . .

• We woke up to LOTS of snow and a school closing (day #6 - ugh!), so we got to sleep in!!


(Jenna made this snow measuring stick at school. According to her stick we got around 7 inches. The vwindependent says we got 7.8!)


• Chris tried to go get gas for the snowblower, but since our streets are not at the top of the list of streets to be plowed he had a little bit of trouble. Thank goodness for helpful neighbors (especially since I was still in my pjs!).





• Jenna's friend Savannah and her brother Tyler came over to play all day while their parents were at work, so we planned an afternoon sledding adventure at the reservoir.



• We met some friends at the reservoir which meant lots of sleds and lots of kids!








• We came back to our house for hot chocolate, banana bread that I baked this morning, and more playing. I even squeezed in a little bit of scrapbooking.



• My whole body hurts! I've been pretty achey this week and the sledding definitely didn't help. I would give anything for a massage or a hot tub right now.



• Time to go crash with the heating pad, eat supper, and watch American Idol and Lie to Me (anyone else watch that show last week? It's really fascinating!).

Looks can be deceiving . . .

It's official . . . I am sick of winter! I've had enough cold weather that I could wear my favorite sweaters and boots. We have had our 5 snow days plus a few 2 hour delays. . . we even got an early release last week. The kids have gotten to play outside and we've gone sledding. I've sat next to my fireplace and watched the snow fall outside. But I am ready for it to be gone. I think one month of cold, snowy, winter weather is more than enough. Unfortunately it is only mid-January, which means we have many more weeks of yucky weather left.

Sledding . . .

Last weekend we went sledding at the reservoir with our neighbors. It looked like we had plenty of snow, but when we actually got to the hills we didn't have much. It was still enough to do some sledding though. This past weekend we had plenty of snow...and lots of time since we had an unexpected 5 day weekend, but it was just way too cold to spend much time outside. The kids didn't even ask! Uncle Ryan took the kids out for a little while on Sunday once the wind chill warnings were finally over, but they got too cold and didn't spend too much time actually sledding.

Luke and Mia

Jill asked me to take some photos of Luke and Mia while we were visiting. We decided to wait and take them at the Stockyards. They were both so good! I am just so excited that Luke isn't afraid of my camera any more. In fact, he was actually suggesting photo spots and asking me to take his photo. He has really grown up since the last photos I took of him.


I love Luke's big brown eyes - they even look awesome in black and white photos! When Luke was just a baby, I was taking a photography class and I took some black and white photos of him to submit for my assignment. The instructor commented on his "soulful eyes"....and he still has them.

I love Mia's little hands in this photo - look how cute they are!!

How can you resist those cute little piggy tails and those big blue eyes??

This one is my favorite of the whole bunch. Look at Miss Mia's eyes - they are so sparkly !

F..f..f..f...freezing!!!

taken in my car this morning when I dropped the kids off to play with friends

- of course, that temperature didn't include the windchill

As I type this, it is -27 degrees with the windchill. Brrrrrrr!! We have had school cancelled for the past two days and as of today reached our limit of 5 calamity days. The cancellations mean we have a 5 day weekend, which will give me lots of time to get to all the things I didn't get done over Christmas break. By Monday I hope my house is clean and organized and I've crossed off most of the items on my "to do" list. We've passed some of the time over the past 2 days looking at vacation house rentals at the beach. Too bad we aren't going until the end of July! I'm ready now!! I'm sure I can pass lots of time watching all my DVRd shows that started back up - Gossip Girl, Bachelor, Grey's Anatomy, American Idol....and the best news....Friday Night Lights starts tonight on NBC. I'm so excited!

Stay warm!!

Brenda and family....

Brenda and I had been planning her family photos before I even got to Texas. We were excited to try out a new location since all her previous family photos had been taken on the ranch where they previously lived. On New Year's morning we headed to the square in Weatherford to take photos at a few spots we had scouted out earlier in the week. This was by far the easiest family photo I have taken of them and I really like how they turned out. (you can see last year's here . . . Payton wasn't so sure she wanted her picture taken .) THANKS for letting me take your photos, Brenda. I hope one of these is worthy of the spot above your fireplace!

A new twist on an old favorite . . .

I loved this song in it's original format since it is from one of my all time favorite movies. . . but I also like the new version I found. It's not quite as upbeat and cheezy, but I still really like it. Please ignore the less than exciting video - the song is way better than the video.







ps If anyone knows where I can download this song, please let me know! It's not available on itunes yet.

It's your birthday . . .

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people!!



Poor Cheryl woke up with strep throat and had to send her sweet baby boy to her mom's for the day so she could rest (and so he could stay healthy!). We also had to cancel our plans to get together tonight. Not exactly the best way to spend your birthday. We love you and hope you are feeling better soon. We'll celebrate as soon as you are feeling better!!

I shoulda been a cowgirl . . .

I am starting to think that maybe I should have been a cowgirl. Maybe my dad's love of western movies and John Wayne is starting to rub off on me, but I am fascinated by cowboy boots, hats, horses, and the rodeo. I would absolutely hate all the work, but I think I could be a cowgirl (just a rich cowgirl who could have hired hands to do all the work!). I mentioned that I could have spent an entire day at the Stockyards by myself, just walking around and photographing all the culture there. I did manage to get several photos during our short visit, but I am definitely planning my return trip. I love how these turned out and hope that someday I can go back and take more.

PS Be sure to scroll down my blog . . .I have added lots of posts with photos in the past day or so!!