For a whole week they kept on saying it was going to snow. Many times the weather reporters are wrong so we were hopeful but wouldn’t be surprised if nothing happened.
On Tuesday a cold front came in and whoa it brought those temps Way down!! One night it was 16 degrees outside, wasn’t sure what the wind chill was.
Wednesday because so many were trying to heat their homes we started to have rolling black outs. The kids were released earlier than usual.
Thursday morning the kids got a two hour delay and we got to sleep in. Oh wait, no we didn’t. For some reason the kids get up early every single late start there is!!!
Thursday night I went to work and while working it started to sleep, snow, graupel and everything in between. Once we were closed we had to ice skate to our cars. The best part was the drive home, I had slid into a intersection. I was so glad I stopped in the middle and no other cars were around to join in the fun.
Then overnight the snow started to fall. Around 5am Friday the schools announced there was no school, we were having a SNOW DAY!!!
Here are some pics for your enjoyment.
Snowing at 2am in the morning.
Our old Chevy with a blanket of snow.
Luna playing in the snow.
Crepe Myrtle seed pods filled with snow.
snow on the fence
Yes, the kids are standing in the deep snow in the middle of the road.Yes, we got a snow day because of all this snow!!!
Today is the first day of December and there is so much to do to be ready for Christmas. Now is the time to make a mad dash to the stores to buy those presents and get them wrapped and ready to send to family and friends. Another thing to get started on is our yearly Christmas cards. Usually we have the kids pose in front of the Christmas tree, or we find a random family picture taken during the year. This year was filled with so many occasions and a huge summer adventure. We wanted a card to show all those things, was that even possible??
The first thing I did was check online to see what options were out there. When I was looking I had come across Shutterfly and looked at the many different styles and found one that was perfect. I picked out the Family Story Christmas Card so I could share pictures that were taken throughout the year. From the snow in February, to the kids in the spring wildflowers, Nichole’s graduation picture, our big summer trip to National Parks and there was enough space to add our family picture.
If you haven’t looked into Shutterfly here are some links to get those Christmas/holiday cards. Or if you need a gift idea how about a calendar filled with pictures of the grandkids for the grandparents.
Now I am off to the post office to grab a roll of stamps to get all these cards to the mailbox. Crossing fingers they arrive to your homes before the New Year!
WARNING to all dishwasher owners. This is a warning to all dishwasher owners.
If you own a dishwasher please check the hose connecting the water supply to your dishwasher. If you see any bulging turn off the water supply and buy a new hose as soon as possible. Bulging could lead to the hose to slit open due to the pressure.
If you don’t do this often you could end up with water every where.
Have a few towels handy to help soak up the water when it happens.
For the last few years my church has been gathering unsigned Christmas cards to send out to the troops. We collect them for a few weeks in October then send them out to a church member who does contract work with the military every year in a war zone. He then passes it on to a chaplain who then gives them to the troops. There is no Hallmark in the war zones so this is a way the troops could get some cards to send back home to their loved ones.
The kids and I gathered all the cards and separated them and wrapped a rubber band around twenty five of them. That way they come in a variety and are easier to pass out.
This year we sent over a fifteen pound box containing five hundred cards. The woman helping me at the post office found it hard to believe that inside that box was all cards.
I tagged along with Emily’s first grade class for their fall field trip. This year they went to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm to check out pumpkins and learn how plants grow for harvest.
Here we have one of the owners explaining to the kids where the pumpkins come from starting with the seed. Then they were able to do a craft project and make a fake plant to show their parents the parts to a plant. Since the other first grade classes went on this field trip as well Emily got a chance to sit next to one of her best friends Amy. This year they are in separate classes but they do have recess together so they still see each other.
After the plant craft everyone climbed onto a flat bed trailer for a hay ride, with no hay?? So is it still called a hay ride if there is no hay involved? The ride stopped half way through the ride so the kids could scramble off the hay ride and go find some hidden pumpkins in the field of Christmas trees. The best thing is they got to bring home the pumpkins they found. All the parents were mumbling to each other, what are we going to do with pumpkins AFTER Halloween?? Em decorated ours and we will be cutting a hole in top and gutting it out and will turn it into a vase. We are taking it to my aunt and uncles for a centerpiece for Thanksgiving. Problem solved.
The farm had some goats and a miniature donkey the kids were able to feed, had a maze made out of wooden pallets to get lost in, and lots of room to run around and play.
I included this picture to show an example to pay attention to the back ground when taking pictures.
It was funny, after I was trying to get the class picture taken a few of the other teachers and parents were asking if I was taking pictures of everyone. They had hoped I was able to get good pictures of everyone there since I had this fancy camera with me. Sorry, I was only taking pictures of my daughter’s class I will remember to take pictures of everyone during the spring field trip.
Thanks for having us at your farm, I thought it was so nice for the owners to walk to the entrance to wave good bye to all the kids as they were leaving.
As you may have noticed after all the pictures and updates of our vacation the newer ones seem to be missing Nichole. I know I get behind sometimes on my updates but never this long. I just wasn’t up to writing updates these last few months. Some family know what is going on while most do not, so I thought I would update everyone. I figure it would be easier during the holidays when everyone around here will be asking where is Nichole, I will have to tell less of the story over an over again this way.
Mid September Nichole decided to move out of the house. The whole ordeal around that time she moved out wasn’t too great. She was not forced out, I would much rather have her home here where I know she is safe. Instead she has decided to move in with a couple of friends into one of their family’s home. The family itself are barely making it and Nichole is another mouth to feed. Currently she has no job, as far as I know the last time I had talked to her it was easier to get food stamps than get a job. Her father’s mother( na na) is helping her out financially so Nichole is able to get the bare necessities.
Through it all she has lost a couple of good friends, sadly she doesn’t care. I know at one time or another all kids want to grow up and be on their own. I understand that, really I do. The thing for me is WHO she is with, her lack of motivation to take care of herself, and her attitude to those who care for her.
In time I hope she changes her mind and it happens before something major happens to her. Or she actually stands on her own two feet and proves me wrong and start changing her life around.
She is my daughter, I will always love her but I don’t have to love her actions.
So there you have it. If and when I get any updates on her I will update it on here. They may far and few between cause she has it in her mind that it is o.k. to not let her mother know she is alive. Hint Hint Nichole if you read this.
O.k. everyone if anyone still tries to read my blog, this blog is officially caught up. You may have to scroll back some, o.k scroll back A LOT to read all the updates.
(A beautiful sun set, here it is called a Longhorn Sunset)
Well Halloween starts off with the carving of pumpkins!
Look mom, I love you. It is a heart.
Make sure you get all the guts out of there Emily.
We had a little help with the carving of the pumpkins.
Then after carving pumpkins you get in a mood for pumpkin bread. Sorry no pictures. I made too many loaves which I could of eaten all by myself. But I was nice and shared them with some church friends. I am sure little Michael will love it, he may even share with his parents.
A pic of my goofy fairy princess. The picture was dark cause we waited till after we went trick or treating to take it. We were hiding with the lights off so kids would stop ringing the door bell. There were SO MANY kids out this year. Next year will be a rule of no candy next year to teenagers, but how to enforce without retaliation? There were so many teenagers out this year and I don’t mind up till maybe 14 or so. But there were a lot of teenagers around 16-18 if not older without costumes trick or treating. Come on if you are going to trick or treat at least dress up.
Snowing at 2am in the morning.
Our old Chevy with a blanket of snow.
Luna playing in the snow.
Crepe Myrtle seed pods filled with snow.
snow on the fence
Yes, the kids are standing in the deep snow in the middle of the road.
Yes, we got a snow day because of all this snow!!!
