The Darned Old Snow

So, it has taken me a while to get these photos posted. I think I've been busy pouting. Well, that and celebrating Christmas. The huge snow we received just over a week ago is almost gone, and the bitterness over my parents' cancelled air travel is slowly subsiding. Christmas morning just wasn't quite the same without them, but thank heavens for Skype, which allowed my parents to take part in some of our merry making. More on that later.

For now...back to the snow. First you have to remember we live in Virginia, which is considered the south. I know, it doesn't always seem like the south to those of us who weren't born here, but think back to your Civil War history. Virginia is definitely the south and southerners just don't typically experience snow like this. Add to that the fact that this was record-breaking snow and you'll understand why the city shut down for about three days.

I took this picture right at the same time my parents' plane should have been landing. Snow kept falling after I took this picture but only for about, oh, I'd say another five hours or so. You should have seen how far I had to lean out of my back door to take this photo. I didn't want to have to actually put on my shoes and go out in the stuff. In the end, we had about two feet of snow at our house.

Picnic anyone?
I hate to say it, but it almost looks....pretty.

Here is Evan's sand table at 11:00 a.m.

Here it is again at 4:00. We still had another five hours of snow after I took this picture. I couldn't bring myself to take another picture of the sand table. Sigh.

The aftermath the next day...Bryan was a sport and shoveled the driveway twice. Once to get it clear and again after cleaning off the cars.

The snow was too deep for Evan to trudge through, so we went to the street where we could walk in tire tracks. The car that made those tracks got stuck about 50 feet past our house, where the driver abandoned the car and blocked the street for a day causing the snow plow to bypass our street, but I won't go into that here. I try to run a family friendly site and the profanity Bryan spewed sort of rubbed off on me. I can't promise to use clean language when talking about the dumb*** that decided he needed to run out for some fast food in a Hyundai in two feet of snow.

Eventually Evan conceded defeat and we retreated to the house where we stayed for a few days. There is nothing Evan loves more than just being home, so the forced seclusion was a welcome treat for him. All in all, I have to admit I enjoyed our time together, too. I just wish the snow could have waited one day!

Snowed In!

We had a record snowfall here over the past two days. With about two feet of snow, we're snowed in for a day or two. That isn't as upsetting as the fact that my parents are snowed out. They were supposed to land in D.C. right as our 17th inch of snow was falling.

Needless to say, their plane didn't make it in. Two days of calling Delta finally resulted in the opportunity for my mom and dad to fly in on Christmas Eve, but since they were flying out on the 26th, they decided it wasn't worth it. I shed a few tears. When Evan asked me what was wrong I explained there was too much snow so Mimi and Grandpa Jerry wouldn't get to come see us. He patted my leg and said, "Don't worry. The snow will melt and then they can come." If only that were the case. When I didn't stop crying he said, "I told you not to worry. Why are you still sad?" I pulled it together for him.

I'm so disappointed! I was looking forward to seeing Evan's face when he gave his Grandpa Jerry a special present he picked out and watching my parents enjoy Christmas through Evan's eyes. I also wanted to hang out with my mom and make Christmas cookies and just enjoy some time together. We'll talk on Christmas and we'll Skype, but I'm still bummed. Boo to the snow.

Speaking of the snow, I took pictures, but my camera cable is CLEAR upstairs and I only have about 10 minutes until Evan's nap is up anyway, so they'll come in a separate post!

Strawberry Syrup

This year I gave some of our friends and Evan's preschool teachers pancake mix and homemade strawberry syrup. The syrup is so good. I like fruit syrups much better than maple, so I made sure we'll have extra for me.

Here are the jars of syrup and the little tags I made for them:

Here is the recipe:

5 cups of frozen strawberries

1 cup of sugar

1/3 cup water

Heat all ingredients on medium heat until the mixture begins to boil. Let boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and mash strawberries with a potato masher. Let cool and refrigerate.

Open to the World Again

I decided to open the blog up for everyone to see again. I realized that even I hated to log in to update it, which explains why my mom and Bryan (of all people) weren't reading it. It did mean I had to go through and delete a few posts and will probably delete a few more as I come across them! But hopefully this will get me posting more frequently again!

Our Big News...

We are excited to announce that Evan is going to be a big brother! We're expecting a baby in June and so far everything is going well. This week when Bryan asked Evan if he'd like a little brother or a little sister, he said, "I think neither." Hopefully he'll warm up to the idea over the next six months!

Guess What Evan Wants for Christmas?

Evan made out his list for Santa today. He likes to keep things short and to the point. That's one of the things I like the most about him--his direct communication.

In case you didn't get it from the video, Evan is hoping to get a white jersey and a Silverado for Christmas.

First Snow of the Season

One of the things I like best about the D.C. area is that it rarely snows. But I have to admit, as much as I don't like being out in the elements, I loved how much fun Evan got to have building his first snowman of the season.

We didn't have a whole lot of snow, so we (as in Bryan) had to import some from the side of the house.

He is a little Picasso with the snowman kit his Aunt Sandy gave him for Christmas last year. He loved rearranging the features.

And if the still pictures aren't enough, here is some video.



We built a snowman in almost the exact same spot in our yard in March. I can't believe how much he has changed in nine months.

And then that snowman we built in March melted...

There are still a few piles of snow in our front yard from this month's snowman, but he isn't going to be around for much longer.

Dear Santa

I've been thinking about what I want for Christmas--it must be because I've watched A Christmas Story five times already (thanks for sending me the DVD, mom!). Instead of a Red Ryder BB Gun, I'll take any one of the following:

1) A change of scenery. We've been living in Northern Virginia for almost eight years now and I'm getting ants in my pants. I'm ready to move on to somewhere new. I do like it here, but if Bryan came home tonight and told me we were packing up and heading in a new direction, I'd love it--no matter where we were going. I'd like to go somewhere where we either don't know anybody or back to Utah where we know everybody. I like extremes. Just ask Bryan how I handle the thermostat.

2) New dishtowels. Mine are old. They are gross. They have stains ranging from black permanent marker (thank you, Evan) to pomegranate juice. I wash them, I promise. I spray them with Spray n Wash. I let Evan spray them with Spray n Wash, which means they get doused in it, but the stains remain. I am hoping Santa hears my plea and brings me a new stack of dishtowels so I can throw out all of mine and start new. I don't know why I don't buy my own, but it seems like a selfish luxury I'm not quite ready to splurge on. I guess that also explains why I don't have spa days or this season's shoes (I don't even have last season's shoes).

3) Someone to clean my car. Cheerios, Goldfish, milk splatters on the window...my car is in need of a good detailing. My at-home and gas-station-vacuum versions aren't cutting it. I need professional help (in more ways than one, but I'll start with the car).

I've been a good girl this year, not necessarily by choice, but it doesn't matter, does it?

More Book Club News

I am giving away another autographed book plate from best-selling author Loraine Despres over on my www.mindywrites.com blog. Head on over and leave a comment on the Book Club with Belle post by midnight on Dec. 4 and you'll be entered to win!