More Snow

Just in time to possibly ruin B's long awaited arrival tomorrow night. It's been 2 weeks, and we miss him! It's supposed to snow all day today into tomorrow. For now, Lise' has school today with early dismissal. I must get out there and clear a path.


Normally, I'd be thrilled to see one last snow (one can hope). It's a beautiful one. The flakes are large and falling fast. It's absolutely breathtaking. There's a quiet in the air that only snow brings, and we love it. From my bed, you can look straight up and out the window and feel as if it's falling on you while in the warmth of my flannel sheets. We will definitely miss the snow and the thrill of getting our snow suits on and playing it.

Weekend was a Wash

We had big plans this weekend. The kids were off Friday and Monday for President's Day, so months ago, we planned a weekend with friends. We were going to go down to Lavalette, NJ to stay at Karen's parents shore house. It was going to be a last hurrah of sorts for our families, and the kids couldn't wait.

The girls and I flew in from Florida on Monday. Tuesday, Lise' went to school, and Wednesday the blizzard hit, so no more school for the rest of the week.

On Tuesday, Karen's family started coming down with the 12 hr bug that is running rampant through school right now. I didn't go near them for fear of getting this thing for the weekend. We even pushed our departure off until Saturday to give her family one more day to recover.

On Friday, B flew in. It was his birthday, but we were saving our celebration for the weekend. We had also saved Abri's 3rd birthday celebration for then too. She wanted an Orangey Party. I made an orange cake, everyone had their orange shirts, and there were orange party favors. It was all set.

12:45am on Sat. Abri wakes up vomiting. She wanted to go back to bed, so we let her. Maybe it was just a coincidence, right? NOT. We were up all night long. At 5am, Lise' joined in the party. It was a day of sitting around our family room with a 5 gallon bucket in the middle. I had an upset stomach, but that was about it. I had battled the nausea and thought I had won. True to what we had heard, 12 hours later, the girls were showing signs of great improvement. We decided to go down to join our friends the next morning after a good night's rest.

We arrived, we ate lunch, the kids ran off with their friends, and I had what I thought was a sinus headache. That grew into nausea, and by the evening, I was stalking the bathroom. Of all weekends! Are you kidding me???? I had to miss the lobster boil, I missed Abri blowing her candles out. I missed the Orangey Party. I'm so sad for that because she had been planning this for months. The night got worse before it got better, and halfway through the night, B came down with this evil bug.

This morning, we packed up and headed home. We've spent this weekend of birthdays, Valentine's Day and time with friends sick, and it stinks!

Right now, B is outside shoveling his car out so that he can make it to the airport tomorrow morning. More snow showers coming our way. The leftover snow is still piled high in the yard. I'm done. I've had enough snow. Send spring our way, please!

Have I mentioned we have a house for sale?

Thought you'd all enjoy seeing the final pictures of the kitchen. Thank to all who helped!

Click Here

Blizzard 2010 Continued

It's the morning after, and I've come to the conclusion that we can just blame B for the blizzard. When the transfer to Jacksonville came through and he left in the beginning of January to start his new job, I just knew we were in for a big storm.

Well, here it is. I have no idea how much snow we got, but I can tell you it is a lot. On the side of the house where no prior plowing was done, it's to the top of my knees. Thankfully the snow we had over the weekend had melted, otherwise it could have been much worse.

My neighbors have saved me. They came over with their snow plow, so for now, I can walk to the street and back. I've also uncovered my car. That alone took an hour, and I'm sure my arms will be screaming for a masssage pretty soon.

For now, we'll be hanging out at home. The roads are pretty icy, so I don't think we'll be venturing out. Call if you want, I'll be around.

For all our blizzard pictures, click HERE

2010 Blizzard

Lucky for you, I've had nothing but time. The girls went a little stir crazy, so I put their snowsuits on and let them loose on the back porch. At the moment, we're still in whiteout conditions for the next few hours, and who knows how much snow will be there for me to shovel tomorrow.

Here's a few pictures from the day. I'll post the outcome tomorrow.

A shot early in the day. The snow was continuous through the night. Around noon, we had a sleet/snow mix that compacted the earlier snowfall. Then this afternoon, the blizzard conditions began.


If you look closely, you'll notice the path my neighbors created for me next to the car with their snow blower. It didn't take long for it to be covered with another seven inches of snow.

Sometime around 4pm, the girls got stir crazy. We had plans to go to a friends house for dinner, but after surveying the streets, I was afraid to get out and stuck with B down in Florida. So, we suited Lise' & Abri up and let them loose on the backporch. They remained their for an hour and returned drinched from fun.



The real part of the blizzard began.

Notice the inch of snow on top of her hat.


Our our front window.

More 2009 Moments

We have a blizzard, so you get pictures.


B's Father's Day Present to Mr. Ed: A Yankees Game (2009 World Series Champions)




A cotton candy tongue.


ABRI
Catching Fall leaves

Exploring the arts


The attempt at potty training.



LISE'
After the Halloween Parade

Holding a butterfly

Pumpkin Patch


Sandy Hook


Flying a kite




Yankees Ticker Tape Parade

Vermont

It seems like years ago, but the week after Thanksgiving, we decided to visit Vermont. We were thrilled to have Grandma and Papa joined us.

First we celebrated Turkey Day by putting our guests to work painting. At this point, we knew there was a possible move on the horizon, so all hands were on deck. There was a reward at the end of the day in the form of a sunset stroll on the beach followed by dinner of lobster and clams. We can have turkey any day.




Once our bellies were full, we packed our bags and hit the road for Stowe, VT. Our home away for home for a week, Trapp Family Lodge. And yes, that's THE Von Trapp Family from "The Sound of Music."



Can I just tell you that Vermont is absolutely beautiful? We couldn't get enough of it. The resort was amazing too. It wasn't fancy by any means, but it had everything you could want and more, and it all started with the views of the Green Mountains.

When we planned this trip in February of last year, we thought surely there would be snow on the ground the week after Thanksgiving. Trapp Family Lodge is renowned for their cross country skiing, and it's something I always wanted to try. The joke was on us though. There was no snow on the ground, and we had only one day of snowfall, so we had to to find other ways to entertain ourselves.

We hiked, explored Stowe, swam in the indoor pool, put together puzzles, took a wagon ride through the property, got massages, and all out enjoyed a relaxing vacation.


One night B and I left the girls in our chalet to head to the main lodge to listen to John Cassel play the piano while we enjoyed drinks at the bar. It just so happened that we were down there when Maria Von Trapp was having dinner. She is the daughter of Captain Von Trapp and his first wife. She was portrayed by the character Louisa in "The Sound of Music." After she was finished, she joined Mr. Cassel at the piano. It was quite special to be in her presence and a highlight of our evening.

One of the days we were there, the weather was less than hospitable, so we hit the road for a taste of Vermont.


We started at Cold Hollow Cider Mill where we learned about the process of making cider and tasted (and tasted more) cider hot of the press.
*We didn't learn this at Cold Hollow, but a nice drink we learned to make while at the lodge was warm apple cider with a shot of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum and a Cinnamon stick. Umm Umm Good!!!! I highly recommend.


Now it was time for Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. You can only look from above down onto the manufacturing floor there, and since all the excitement happens inside the metal pipes and cauldrons, it wasn't too exciting for the kids. The treat came at the end though, so everyone was satisfied.
This was an actual customer who was visiting the factory.



After the ice cream, we headed to Cabot Cheese Factory. This was the best tour of the day. We actually got to walk down on the floor of the factory to see the process. It was Lise' favorite. At the end you had a table full of samples. For those of you looking for an alternative for your Spinach Madeline, I recommend the Habanero Cabot cheese. It's spicy, so beware. A little goes a long way.

We rounded out the day with a trip to a farm where they harvest maple syrup. The syrup process actually occurs in Feb/March, so we didn't get to see the actual process. We did watch a video about it and tasted the 4 different grades. I will never eat fake syrup again. So long Aunt Jemima!


All in all it was a GREAT trip. I highly recommend Vermont and the Trapp Family Lodge. You won't regret it. For more pictures of our trip, click here.