A Dinner Date With the Ones I Love

For the past five years or so we have been having a Valentines Dinner that includes the whole family. Why just celebrate the holiday with one person you love when you can include them all? Plus, I have a crowd issue and you know, Valentines Day and restaurants? So, we decorate the dinner table with red and pink and try to include some of those colors in our menu. This year was steak (we left the center pink!), tomato basil soup, french fries (for the littlest), baked potatoes, strawberries, and cherry lime-ades. We decorated sugar cookies for dessert. I hope the kids enjoy this each year and it's one of those memory makers. You never know with boys because they don't say much and Trevor even said that he didn't want to celebrate Valentines this year. It was late at night when he said that and he was tired. But, you know, as the mom, you still want to have a little fun because frankly, most of the other days aren't so much that way. For the record, I had fun. I did. I love the holiday. Who wouldn't love a holiday that involved sweets, hearts, and the color red? So, let's hope the kids had as much fun as I did!

The Big Cheese

I am not talking about any one of my kids. I am talking about Trevor's pinewood derby car! It was a slice of Swiss cheese with a mouse riding on top. I was surprised that Trevor picked something funny, but it was nice to see him working on it and excited about it. The Big Cheese came in second in his Webelo group. It was one fast stinking piece of cheese. He said that was the best Pinewood Derby ever. He has only had two others to compare it to! But, since this one was his last, I am glad his derby career ended on such a high note!

An Essential Schedule

On Wednesday, when the power went out, Zane drove around town looking for a generator. I stayed home with the kids and we all tried to keep ourselves busy. When Zane called and said he had a generator, Trevor got to work on an essential schedule that he revealed to us a few minutes later. I am not sure if we stuck to it or not, but by the looks of it, it would have helped our lives run smoothly while living on the power of a generator!

Meet the Puzzle Man

I thought he might get sick of them and clean them all up in the hallway, but no, Gage is a puzzleman through and through. He puts these puzzles together all day up and down our hallway, only to mess them up and start again. When the power was out and it got dark, you would go down the hall hitting them and stepping on the pieces. He even sits on our kitchen table to get some done if the hallway is full. My mom got him a new "Kung Fu Panda" puzzle while she was here and that one has been put together at least 15 times in the last two weeks. He is starting to need more of a challenge and I am thinking of going up to the 200 piecers. So, after a long tradition of puzzle men in the family (okay, I can only think of one - my brother Brett), it is great to see this little guy at work.

The Big Freeze and The Melt Down

You probably know the what the weather situation has been in Kentucky last week if you have heard the news. We were all iced over, iced in, and without power. I am really grateful that we were without power for only a little more than two days. We all slept in the same room with a generator producing the energy to keep our space heater going and us as well. We used the power of body heat to keep us warm also. Each child had their own space on the floor where their little bed of blankets was made. We ended up with at least 2 in bed with us each night. The kids had wonderful attitudes the whole time. Zane couldn't do anything at work so he went around getting us a generator, hooking up other generators for friends, fueling up our propane heaters, and just keeping us going. There were many positives and blessings throughout this experience:

*Many of the stores still had power so were were able to go out and get a hot meal and more groceries.
*Friends and families came together and made the best of the situation and helped each other.
*I taught the boys some card games and we had so much fun trying to win at solitaire.
*Our wind up radio worked and provided nice music to fall asleep to at night.
*We now have a new generator and many many flashlights!
*It was a good trial run and really helped to prepare me for any future situations.
*I know my mother in law thought I was crazy whenever I said this, but it was absolutely beautiful to see all the ice and snow. It was like we were living in a beautiful frozen wonderland (that snapped trees and made the power go!)

A few downers:

*Dropped my cell phone in the sink while doing dishes in the dark and it no longer works (for now).
*Many trees were split and damaged from the freezing rain.
*It will probably cost an arm and leg to get this all cleaned up.
*The boys will probably have a million makeup days for school and may just end up eliminating summer vacation! Let's hope there is some mercy for this!
*With the power surge, our computer won't start up and I am using Zane's laptop.

I am so grateful to all the men who came from all over to fix the power lines. Whenever we see them out working on the lines, we honk and wave to thank them for coming to our rescue.

Viva Las Vegas

Zane just returned from a week long trip to Las Vegas for the International Builders Show. His company, Urbane Homes, was nominated for two awards through EVHA and won silver in both of those categories. They didn't win People's Choice, but thanks to everyone who voted. Check out the link to see their awards and their competition! The entire week was spent making contacts and finding new information to improve their houses. When I talked to Zane each day, I think it was the happiest I have heard him in a long time when it comes to work. It was a very successful and exciting trip. I, on the other hand, got to have my mom fly out for the week to babysit me. When we realized that I couldn't go out with him, he called my mom and asked her to come for the week. I don't think she realized that it would be 20 degrees here while it was in the high eighties in San Diego, but she was still happy to come. We had a great time crafting, making chocolate molten cakes, and playing with the kids. We did other things, but those were the highlights. I even knitted a heart shaped pot holder with a lot of help and encouragement from my mom. I realized what a great friend I have in my mom and am so thankful for any time I get to spend with her. We were all happy to have Zane home on Saturday. I am glad that he doesn't travel for his job because it is so much nicer to have him here.

Happy 2nd Mallory

The baby is growing up. I love this girl and didn't know that we needed a girl in our family. I am glad someone else did. So, Happy Birthday to the Dora loving, Diego watching, gum chewing (and swallowing), chair falling, funny girl.

The Perfect Amount of Snow

It's all we needed to sled down our driveway at 8:30 in the morning. The kids made the fun last for many hours. Mallory and I even sled down and it was great. The boys tried to build another snow fortress, but gave up after awhile realizing that there just wasn't that much snow. It was mostly gone by the late afternoon, but it was fun while it lasted. I couldn't get girl to come in even though she had been it for 2 hours. I am glad to see it leave...for now.

The Dry Spell Has Ended

After too many years of not having a family picture taken, the dry spell has ended. And, there is a flood my friends and boy, are we happy about it. My dear friend, Melissa, took our photos in November for our Christmas picture and I love them. We just went to a historic cemetery (exciting, huh?) close to our first house here in Kentucky. She did such a great job and especially did great at keeping up with Gage and Mallory. Trevor was getting over the flu, but was still a great sport about the whole thing. Then, we went to San Diego after Christmas and Tanya offered to take our family pictures for my birthday. That is the kind of birthday present I am talking about. She has been assisting a photographer for the last 4 or 5 months and is getting so good. She had the routine down and got my kids laughing and smiling. And, the lighting was amazing. So, in the end, we are extremely blessed with this many great photos of the kids and I cannot wait to fill my house with all of them. Tanya's are the first set with the golden hue and Melissa's are the second where we are all wearing red and blue!

P.S. - the photographer that Tanya works for, melaniesmithphotography, is traveling across the US this summer and is looking for interesting places to stop and perhaps photograph. And, she is setting up photography sessions with families is the places she stops as well. Check out Tanya's blog for more info.

Wicked

So when a friend asks if you are interested in getting tickets for the musical "Wicked" you never answer no. But, it sure does give you a long time to wait and look forward to it when tickets are purchased five months in advance. We finally got to see "Wicked" last Friday and after listening to music for almost a year, it was so great to see how it all went together. Even Zane liked it! The Jacksons came from Lexington and some brave young women babysat all nine of our children here at our house. We met the Mortensons and O'Briens at the theatre. It was a nice outing with friends and did our best to talk during intermission and on the drive to and from downtown. The musical was so good that I am trying to figure out how I can see it again before it leaves Louisville at the first February.

Meeting Cache

We finally met our nephew/cousin Cache when we were in San Diego. He is my sister Jennilee's 3 month old baby. He is such a great baby that Gage really took a liking to. He would rub the baby's head each time he walked by him. We all loved holding him and getting to know the cute guy.