Blizzarding......

Blizzard of the century happening. Right now. Outside my warm and cozy house. The kids were released from school early yesterday as it started to rain ice. It didn't start to snow until the wee hours of this morning. And it's been going strong ever since. And blowing. Ridiculous amounts. Shawn went in to work around 6:30 am to do an epidural, but he returned around 8 and his been home since. I've just been enjoying doing absolutely nothing. Wait. I did shower. Then I put back on my pajamas. Glorious. For some odd reason at 2:00 Shawn decided he better see if he could pull the Denali out of the garage. He does have to work tomorrow. Early. I guess it was his little test. I had just finished page 3 of a book I've been trying to start for a few days when my cell phone rang. It was Shawn. And he was stuck. "Could you come push the front of the Denali to get me moving?" (I vividly remember doing this exact same thing when we were brand new marrieds to our Toyota corolla. But not because of the snow. Just because that is how we got it to start.) I donned my boots, hat, and coat and headed out to the garage. Only he had just got it maneuvered enough that he was able to pull it back in. We decided if we shoveled a bit it might help the situation. Remember. It's a blizzard outside. Whatever. Because we lack a snow shovel I trudged through the 4 foot drifts to our neighbors the Heaths to borrow one. Lucky day. Chad Heath has a new snow blower. I took the shovels and he followed behind with his new toy. Pretty soon Jack and Kennedy were dressed and outside wanting to help.

Chad blowing the snow. We owe him. BIG time.

My front door. My wreath is dusted with the white stuff. Kind of pretty. If you are looking from the inside with your blanket and hot chocolate.

Shawn was following the blown paths with a shovel just to keep it clear. Underneath the snow is our very own private ice skating rink. Treacherous.

Kennedy was shoveling her own little spot. Chad aimed his blower just right and she fell over. Hilarious. She loved every minute of it. Crazy girl.

My frozen man. While I'm typing this he is still out there trying to keep the driveway clear. "It is like shoveling snow in a blizzard".

I've got my own little Jack Frost. Minus the teeth.

It's supposed to keep snowing and blowing until tomorrow morning. School has already been cancelled. My guess is they are out the rest of the week. As I was standing in the garage, taking turns with the kids and the snow shovel, I came to the conclusion that all along my lines of thinking have been correct. I've often said "Doing laundry in this house is like shoveling snow in a blizzard!" Or "Doing (insert whatever) is like shoveling snow in a blizzard." Today confirmed that statement for me. Shawn just walked in the door. As the door shut I looked out the window and the driveway is once again covered. Much like when I exit the kitchen admiring the cleanliness only to return to a cluttered counter and a sink full of dishes. After only 5 minutes. Painful. And all that clean laundry in the laundry room waiting to be folded? I have just as much in my kids bedrooms waiting to be washed. My life is like shoveling snow in a blizzard. Depressing? Sometimes. Discouraging? Sometimes. But. There are those few moments when you sit down with your hot chocolate and warm blanket despite the blizzard of life. It makes all the shoveling worth it. (Now I have to go see what damage was done to the kitchen while I took the time to blog this event. Lovely.)

Girl's Weekend....

Arizona. The place I want to live all winter long. Lucky for my sister Lyndsey, that is where her and her cute family currently reside. We decided to girls trip there---and we found a groupon for a hotel we couldn't pass up. I flew in Thursday which happened to be Lyndsey's birthday. So. I was able to spend some time with these two cuties while their parents went out to dinner.

The next day we picked my mom and Katelyn up at the airport and headed to lunch. The food was amazing. Another reason one would choose Arizona in the winter.

We shopped. We ate. We shopped. And we ate. A lot. And we talked and laughed even more than the two of those combined. The hotel we stayed at must have been something back in the day. It's been remodeled, but they kept it pretty retro. We apparently had the John Wayne themed room seeing that there were 2 portraits of him donning our walls. As my mom was falling asleep the first night she said "John Wayne has his gun aimed right at me". Hilarious. Probably because it was 2:30 am.

The pool at this place was beautiful. And we definitely took advantage. All Saturday afternoon (after a short hike at a nearby hiking trail) we found ourselves lounging in those fabulous red chairs. In swimsuits. In January. Perfectly Lovely.

Saturday night the hotel hosted a Sweet 16 party for a group of hopping teenagers around the very pool posted. Which happened to be outside our room. We all discovered that when it comes to thumping music, we are all just kind of.....old. However. While this party was still going strong we decided to check out the rooftop lounge. Which turned out to just be a bunch of couches up on the roof. We did learn, however, that my Mother is frightfully afraid of heights. She stayed on the second floor while we took a few pictures up top.

The free snacks at the front desk offered between 10 pm and 7 am were fun. We enjoyed the quirkiness of them. Doesn't take much to entertain a bunch of women who don't get out much.

Sadly, when we woke up Sunday we had to check out. But not until we enjoyed the hot tub and a little sun. Which made the 11 o'clock check out time impossible. We're so rebellious.

Matt drove over from Yuma Arizona so he could see me before I flew home. And he also might have come because Brian was making us all Cafe Rio Pork and banana cream pie to help celebrate Matt's birthday along with Lyndseys. Whatever.

What an amazing weekend getaway. I'm so blessed to have such a great family The only thing that would have made it better? Not having to return to frigid temperatures and a car at the airport waiting for me to uncover the snow it was buried under.

*This trip was brought to you by an adoring husband that understands his wife's need to rejuvenate herself far away from her beautiful children. I love you Shawn. *

Elmo....

I took Landon and Presley to "Elmo's Healthy Heroes" at the sprint center. We had awesome seats. 3rd row. I've never been that close to anything like that in my life. It's amazing the different perspective you have sitting so close. However, when the characters came down to the audience, they could touch the heads of the people in the second row, but we were just out of reach. Which actually was fine. I'm guessing it might be kind of intimidating to have a 6 foot bird trying to pet you. When we first walked in there was a cardboard cutout of Elmo next to a souvenir stand. Presley ran to it screaming "It's Elmo!!". If I would have known that was all the excitement she was looking for I would have saved a few bucks and made a cardboard cutout at home.

Unfortunately, it was when Landon saw the spinning Elmo light up souvenir that I caved. I bought them each one. Who can argue when you only have to buy two rather than 5?! The kids enjoyed the show. At any given time you could see one or the other (sometimes both) dancing to the music. It was fun to see their enjoyment. And watching Big Bird and all the old characters brought back a lot of childhood memories for me. Nostalgia. Totally wasn't expecting that to occur. Awesome.

Snow days....

December's weather didn't last. We got blasted in January. We've had 5 snow days thus far. And are expecting more this week. (I've got my Costco size bottle of Advil on hand.) When it first snows, all is fun. The kids head outside to sled and play. Then it freezes. And turns rock solid. And the wind blows negative wind chill. (That's when my Advil comes into play). This particular day was a fun outside type of day. And also Presley's first snow experience. She kept tasting her glove covered in snow and saying "this is delicious!" Love that baby girl.

Shawn had the brilliant idea of using his jet-pack leaf blower to just blow the snow off the driveway. After 3 hours of blowing, he was freezing and came inside. We then watched our neighbors shovel their driveway quite efficiently in a quarter of the time with twice the effectiveness. The next time it snowed we payed a 17 year old boy to shovel it for us. Genius. But. Not quite as cute as my man blowing the snow all over the driveway.

The kids played in the snow until well into the evening. Kennedy asked to be buried. Her wish was granted.

Since this first "fun" snow, we've had one other that brought over a foot, and a bit of sunshine with it. (Also a few more snow days due to the melting stuff turning to icy roads). The kids built a fabulous cave in our front yard that took hours. Amazingly fun. I'm hoping that this next storm blowing in brings "fun" snow days rather than "Advil" ones.

Christmas at the Crook's....

Christmas this year was nice. Mostly because it's the first Christmas in over 5 years that Shawn actually didn't have to work. Fabulous.

Christmas Eve we headed to the Independence Visitors Center to see their statue display of Christ. Mostly centered on faith. It was amazing.

Then of course we had the traditional pajama opening. I wasn't going to uphold this annual tradition, but I couldn't just skip it. I tried. I made it clear until the 23rd before I caved. And Presley loves her "monkeys". I'm glad I stayed true.

Christmas morning found Jack wanting his two front teeth (and a few bottom one's too)

And Landon was just irritated that everyone woke him up at 7:30. He grabbed his new pillow pet and fell back to sleep while we opened gifts.

All of the kids were happy with their loot. Everyone received pillow pets. The Christmas Toy of the year. According to the commercials anyway.

Presley was in awe. She loved her "pill-ooo pet". She didn't let go of this candy cane until she dropped it and all it's contents landed around her feet. Shawn was against purchasing her anything this year because "she's only 2. She won't know". Oh, the underestimation Father's often make. She acted as though she was in Heaven on Earth. Perfect. (excuse the pictures. She's really hard to catch in a photo. She moves pretty fast)

Crazy enough, Christmas break's weather was unbelievable. Mid 60's most days. You better believe we took advantage and hit the park. Where the kids found a branch the size of a tree in a small slushy stream. What happened to just going down the slide?

It was an enjoyable holiday season for all.

Ethan's Birthday....

Ethan turned 11.....on December 5th. He opted to take one friend to a place called Paradise Park. Indoor money-sucker that has arcades, climbing walls, bumper cars, and all you can eat pizza. His only request? No siblings. Yes. All he wants is to be an only child. Alas, he has to settle for birthday celebrations without them. He and his friend Ethan (the irony) had a great time. Their favorite activity was the rock climbing wall. They both made it to the top a number of times. Good times.Ethan being 11 is crazy to me. I remember the day I birthed him. When they laid him on my stomach I couldn't suppress the tears. The words that came out of my mouth? "It's a real baby!" Sounds weird, I know. But for 9 months I had this person growing inside me and it truly became real when I could see the babe. I was not prepared for motherhood. Poor Ethan took the brunt of that. And he still does. He is so honest it's amazing. A very trustworthy boy. And so stinkin' smart. Unbelievably smart. For instance, our dinner conversation tonight surrounded comedy. What's funny, what's not. Ethan said, "comedy is only funny if it fits the current situation". Who is this kid? So logical. Analytical. And just plain smart. His latest talent is the Rubik's cube. He got one for Christmas (per his request). I fondly remember taking the stickers off to make the thing right again. Ethan. He actually solves it. Every. Single. Time. "Mom, it's an algorithm. Once you know that, it's pretty easy." Yes Ethan. Like it's easy to turn water into gold. But to him, it's just that easy. He's going to go far in life if he puts any kind of energy into it. If it's his passion, he's submerged. I'm glad he's my oldest. He's a great example to the younger ones. I love you Ethan.

Culinary Kennedy....

Grandma Deb sent Kennedy an apron for Christmas. (And me too, but I'm not near as cute in mine). Ever since, Kennedy has been whipping up food like nobodies business. Donuts, waffles, spaghetti, brownies, cookies, and cupcakes to name a few. She prefers baking to cooking. (As does her mother). She's been dying to make a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. Today the cake made it's debut. The boys are currently banging on the door to the room I've locked myself into to blog about this because they are dying to taste the culinary confection. Great job Kennedy! Thanks Grandma for the magic apron. Can you send one that does dishes too?