Day 3 Of Snow Break January 2011

Day three of snow break, thank God David has gone back to work and I go to work tonight, a little nervous to drive in all this but the main roads seem fine, just the neighborhood roads and back roads that might be a challenge, pray all goes well please.

Anyway those that know me know I am so not a nature girl but my gosh to look out my back windows this morning was quite magical, these pics really don't do it any justice but the branches were covered in ice, it was so pretty and with the sun shining down on it, as I said just magical :-)



Don't laugh don't often get these moments but here you go, this is one of them :-)



Hopefully schools are back in session tomorrow and hopefully with not much of a delay as I need to be at work bright and early again, bundled up for sure, it's cold out there.

Second Snow Fall In A Month !!!

Second snow fall in a month ... this time January 10th resulting in no school, Dave used to love to go to work in the snow, one of the scrazy ones but in his new car, not so much (hehehe) !!! So he has been home too, not to be seen though, in the study all day only to have Amber in tears every time she caught a glimse of him and then he was gone again, enough to agrovate me but oh well what can you do right ???

The only difference from the last snowfall was that it covered the road this time around. I actually think the Christmas snow fall was way prettier either that or I am done with the snow already which I think can also be the case, don't know how people live with this for months !!!



About as much as last time ...



Now this was cool, it didn't last long though, it snowed all day but not like this, Dave and I think this is about the most snow we have seen fall at one time :-) Jade called it a blizzard (hehehe)



Maddie, Erin and Jade playing in the snow, Jade really needs some decent snow stuff though but it is such a waste to spend money on it though when it's a day here and there maybe and then she will be grown out of it. She has a snow jacket and snow boots thank Heavens but I don't know how she plays out there when her legs are wet through to the bone, it's crazy !!!

I have a childhood friend coming to visit from Canada in February, I am so excited, anyway I asked her to bring Jade some decent snow gloves since the ones I have have thankfully lasted and done their thing but really they are not decent ones and with them playing with the snow all the time, they need to be good.



Now Erin has no snow boots so that leaves her cold all the time poor thing :-(



A few neighbors had these ATV's are were zooting around on them, that's the way to do it. Must have been cool doing all the trails on them.



Now this is why she needs decent snow clothes, even though she is tough and says she can handle the cold (hehehe) oh to be young again.



Sent Dave to the store, of course he took my car ... but he said the roads were not too bad at all.



That's about as much as we got all day ... not much more than the morning considering it snowed on and off all day.



Picture from my bedroom window, through the glass so not clear but just really pretty, Jade and I lay on my bed half way through the day just watching all the squirrels and birds out there, was amazed how much activity there was, woodpeckers galor !!!



This was day two of snow day, no more snow falling but lot's of ice, again schools were closes and Dave is home which he decided I think last minute when we overslept. That being said the roads were really icy, glad he decided to work from home instead, even if it drives poor little Amber and I mad.

My CSI brain keeps saying, be careful that will kill you (hehehe) yeah clearly I watch too much TV. Very pretty though.



Jade wishing she had ice skates, golly Dave and I laughed at her slipping her way down the driveway, what a mess today, golly !!!



Its a long walk to Erins house on this ice, her house is the yellow one on the other end of the trees, Jade fell a couple of times but made it there, only to work their way back here for hot chocolate. Erins boots are in my dryer driving Dave mad but oh well life goes on here at home even if he is working from home ... put your bloody headphones on (hehehe). Anyway the kids are upstairs watching a movie, Amber is napping and oh, she has been fighting a fever which is why there were no snow pics of her, but she seems better today.



Hoping it's back to normal tomorrow, although I think the ice is going to hang round for a bit ... That's it for now.

Happy New Year Everyone - 2011 Wow !!!

Hi There

Happy New Year to one and all :-) Dave and I actually spent New Years Eve at home although there were two parties going on that we were invited to, we knew we were going to a party on New Years Day so with the kids, I figured just one would be good ... golly this neighborhood is so very sociable, I love it but golly one knows you are getting old when you can hardly keep up (hehehe).

Said I wasn't going to update for a long time but quickly just wanted to add these 5 pics I took of Amber this morning. Enjoy !!!

I said to Amber let's sit down and take some pics of you in your pretty dress and right there she sat down and here you go ... golly a Jade in the making right ?



We are almost out of all the dresses that Tiana handed down to Jade but here is one of the last ones, I think maybe there are two or three still packed away for later but anyway here you go.



Ok I know it's time to take down the Christmas stuff, this weekend I promise.



Sometimes she just looks so grown up.



Now I know people say she looks like me but I always just think it is hair and eye color or something but I have so few pics of me that who knows but this one I made black and white because it does remind me of an old black and white pic of myself my parent gave me way back when :-) Only Amber is WAY prettier oh and WAY cuter !!!



That's all for now folks.

Almost A White Christmas !!!

OK THIS IS MY LAST UPDATE FOR A VERY LONG WHILE I THINK ... AFTER 8 HOURS OF UPDATING YESTERDAY I AM EXHAUSTED, HOW DID I GET SO BEHIND OR DID I JUST TAKE WAY TOO MANY PICS IN DECEMBER ... THAT MIGHT BE IT. ANYWAY SCROLL DOWN TILL THE LAST UPDATE YOU SAW COZ THERE ARE A BUNCH OF UPDATES THAT I DID YESTERDAY AND IT WILL ONLY ALL MAKE SENSE IF YOU SCROLL FROM THE BOTTOM UP OK :-) ENJOY !!!

So yesterday was the 26th of December and there has been a hint of a possible white Christmas but it didn't happen :-( but on the night of Christmas it did start to snow slightly and when we woke up the next morning there was a Winter Wonderland outside :-)

This is the view of our deck from our back door.



And this one from our front door.



Our first White Christmas, or sort of right ?



Ambers first steps out onto the snow, she wanted nothing to do with it, I remember Jade being the same at this age. She didn't mind being out there as long as she wasn't in it or didn't have to touch it.



This was about as much of a smile you were going to get out there, shame the poor thing just wasn't sure about all this and wouldn't move and looked like she just wanted to burst into tears all the time. I was getting ready inside while the three of them were outside already but everytime she caught a glimpse of me, she put her hands out to me to save her :-(



Look at that sad face on my almost always happy girl :-(



Our backyard taken from outside on our deck.



That's an oh my gosh they know I am scared and now I am here all by myself, how could they ? She really didn't like this white stuff.



Isn't that just beautiful :-)



This doesn't look anything as pretty as I thought it would, you know we should have gone outside last night and taken a picture with the Christmas lights on but I didn't think of it :-( and now the snow is just melting away already. Crazy that we didn't think of it but at least it gives you and idea of how it looked and this was still quite early in the morning too so it was still kinda dark outside too.



This was taken right by that island of trees outside out house, you can see it in earlier pictures to give you and idea of where we were.





Dave and the girls.





What a nice picture of Jade and her friend Erin.



This is my neighbor Colleen, her hubby Joe and their kids Vincent and Gabriel. Should have asked them to take a family pic of us too ... clearly the snow had frozen my brain yesterday !!!



This was down the pathway or walkway behind our houses, mom that is where you would go down to hit the trails in the mornings when you went for a walk here.



Thats Jade sliding down the hill, glad Dave was there to see that and not me !!!



Mom another one of the pathway, think although beautiful, it would be a spooky walk right now.



Enough for Amber, Dave and I, Jade stayed out for a good while longer, although her snow jacket and boots and gloves kept her warm, her jeans and leggings were sopping wet, I don't know how she handled it. They were so cold when I took them off her, I could hardly handle them but she said she was having fun and was fine, all I can say is brrrrrrrrrrrrr !!!



This was an early snow for us so who knows what the rest of Winter will bring, right now the sun is shining, the skies are blue and all the snow is melting into one muddy mess, yuck but that's how it goes here when it snows.

I am soooooooooooooooooooooo excited, I am completely done with this update !!! Thought it would never end. Hope you enjoy catching up with all we did in December and Happy New Year, travel safe, go slow and have a wonderful rest of this crazy festive season. Love to all !!!

OK THIS IS MY LAST UPDATE FOR A VERY LONG WHILE I THINK ... AFTER 8 HOURS OF UPDATING YESTERDAY I AM EXHAUSTED, HOW DID I GET SO BEHIND OR DID I JUST TAKE WAY TOO MANY PICS IN DECEMBER ... THAT MIGHT BE IT. ANYWAY SCROLL DOWN TILL THE LAST UPDATE YOU SAW COZ THERE ARE A BUNCH OF UPDATES THAT I DID YESTERDAY AND IT WILL ONLY ALL MAKE SENSE IF YOU SCROLL FROM THE BOTTOM UP OK :-) ENJOY !!!

Christmas Day 2010 ...

SO BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE ... PLEASE REMEMBER IF YOU ARE ONLY COMING IN HERE NOW, I HAVE JUST SPENT HOURS AND HOURS UPDATING SO YOU NEED TO SCROLL DOWN TO THE LAST UPDATE YOU SAW AND THEN SCROLL BACK UP SLOWLY THEN EVERYTHING WILL MAKE SENSE !!!

Ok so I am so sad about the bad lighting on these Christmas pics, I am still learning how to use this new fancy camera and I kept looking on the camera to see if they pics looked good and they did but sadly when I loaded them to my pc they were all dark :-( Anyway here are a few.

Jade jumping right in ... Parents nowhere to be seen but she is already seeing what is for her (hehehe). Maybe next year we should put all her stuff behind the tree where she cannot get to them or do you think that would be cruel ?



Ok so notice anything ... yeah I think Dave told her you better put it all back before mommy comes (hehehe) coz this picture was taken after the last one (hehehe).



A totally wow moment for Amber, it's one of her new words, you will see it a lot under the tree while unwrapping :-)



Jade helping Amber unwrap her very first present and really that's all it took and she knew what to do, climbing into everyones gifts and trying to unwrap them all :-)



Both kids very happy with their first gift, Amber cellphone from Nana and Oupa and Jade with her Squinkies I think they are called from her sister.



Jade with one of her gifts from the Stantons, Sion, Tiana, Jessica and Olivia, a Tinkerbell suitcase that she can use for sleepovers, inside there was a Tinkerbell Throw and Pillow, very cute.



Very happy with her two sets of silver earings from the Stantons, I put it in the little pink bag coz I was worried it would get lost in all the presents.



Jade actually unwrapped this and seemed disapointed because she got one of these recently for her birthday, but when she realized it was the one that she really wanted for her birthday and didn't get she was over the moon, can you tell ?



Now I am not so sure in the long run I will be thrilled with this one but Jade has wanted it forever and I can always count on my brother buying her something arty or crafty, she is going to love this :-)



Amber also excited with her Elmo sketcha doodle :-) from Gavin and Gigi.



Jade has wanted one of these forever, has begged me for the longest time for one yet when she unwrapped it she had no clue what it was or how to put it on, that is so funny to me, it's a Snuggie, a blanket with arms really ... she loves it and as you will see will be wearing it the rest of the morning.



One of the newest crazes here are Zoombles I think it is called, Jade has a few of them, she got some too for her birthday but this is her first little home kind of thing for them, so she was excited, this she got from Granny and Grampa.



I have no idea how to explain this one but it is a really cool Crayola crafty thing that glows in the dark, I love all this stuff to keep her busy and out of trouble during Winter Break, this is from Oupa and Nana.



Amber has been very into baby dolls at preschool lately so I thought this would be a great gift, another wow moment for her :-) This is from Granny and Grampa.



Amber loving her baby.



Jade with her fairy puzzle from Gavin and Gigi, I think I would like to frame this one when done so I just have to figure out how to do it in the easiest possible way.



Jade seriously checking out Ambers gift and Amber wondering what she can open next, feel like my kids have swapped roles here.



Cool bath toy from the Stantons, I have not seen her play with this yet, will see tomorrow but Dave said she had a ball in the bath with it and that it will keep her busy for ages :-) she loves her baths so these gifts are always a winner.



Jade getting her Santa gift, her Nintendo DSI :-)



Daddy getting his gift from mommy :-) A watch, will load a close up later.



Jade showing Amber her gift from Santa.



Ambers Santa gift which runs on a battery, she wants nothing to do with it right now so we will have to see, once the snow melts we will try it outside :-)



Amber pushing her new baby in the stroller from Granny and Grampa.



Again there is something wrong with this picture, Jade is playing with Ambers toy and Amber is playing with Jades presents.



Now I know it looks like we gave our kids nothing with all these pics of gifts from others but I just really wanted to show the kids reactions to their gifts to those that gave them, adding any more pics on here would totally bore everyone to death but yeah they were spoilt, given so much more than you see here, but thank you so very much to everyone that sent gifts to help make my kids Christmas as special as it was.

Now these were mommy and daddy gift :-) Mommy got lucky this year, she got the Vitamix Blender that I have been hinting for for about a year now, it is an amazing amazing kitchen appliance which I cannot wait to use, I got a crockpot for dips, bath salts, a new snowbabie to add to my collection and a snowman Pandora charm which is very appropriate you will see later :-) oh and cute socks :-) You will get Davids list later but you can see some of the gifts here.



This is Daves gift from Mrs Santa :-)



These are the rest of Daves gifts (hehehe), new shoes for work which he so needed, a new warm jacket just ready for the snow, a Santa outfit :-) and he got a new electric shaving set and a compresser which I know nothing about just know he wanted it ... and I think that covers it all, enough right, I think Santa was good to us all this year. Thanks Dave, love you babe.



Now with all those fantastic toys this is where Jade stayed all day. We actually went to a neighbor with a heart of gold to do this on Christmas morning, Heather and Jonas asked us and most of the neighbors down here in our circle of the woods to breakfast, a big breakfast with bacon, eggs, sausage, muffins, bagels, fruit, omelettes to order and cakes and pasteries, all put on by themselves alone, can you believe that, who would want to do that on Christmas morning between 9 - 11 am ???

Anyway the invite was come in your pj's so after presents we all got bathed and showered and into fresh clean pj's and then walked over there for breakfast, it was too cool, everyone was in their pj's and it was festive, and the food was yummy, thanks so much you guys, we thought we would never get there and in all honesty I had to drag Dave kicking and screaming but what a nice change and again I have to say what a fantastic neighborhood we live in and what awesome neighbors we have, love all of you :-) and thank you so much for everything.

Anyway why I was telling you this is the nicest thing of all is we spent the rest of the day in our pj's !!! And Jade sat on the couch all day playing her DSI, every now and again looking up to see what was going on in the Christmas day parade on TV.



Me on the other hand spent the afternoon in the kitchen preparing for Christmas dinner which was yummy only my lamb was tough, looks good here but it was tough and that made me very sad but what can you do right ?



This was Daves plate of food, looks good right :-)



Anyway so that was our Christmas, another one bites the dust, again thanks to all that called, emailed, sent cards and gifts and invited us over to make our Christmas 2010 so special.

Ok so I have one more day to updat but as of right now I have spent over 8 hours sitting here today doing all these updates and I am exhausted and am ready to go relax and give my eyes a break. Tomorrow I will do the update for today but I am sure in the meantime you have tons to see ok, hope you enjoy it all. Love to all.