Our Holiday Weekend

We had a great, long, Thanksgiving weekend! I hope you did too!  Channing had Wednesday off, so it was nice to spend the day together, just the three of us. Daddy and C.J. got here early that evening, and the fun began.  This was the first time they got to be here longer than one day.  Channing cooked dinner that night, because I was tired of cooking after prepping all the stuff for Thursday. Emma was so excited to have visitors that she never got quiet or still until we sent her to bed. 

We got up Thursday to get ready for dinner that afternoon. Earlier in the week we had decided to have dinner with one of the families of a guy Channing works with. They had no company, and had decided not to travel for this holiday either. Daddy and I did most of the cooking, and took everything over there. Their kitchen could easily swallow mine. We had a really good time, and the food was great. Daddy was highly impressed with my greatly improved cooking skills. I didn't mess up one single thing!  I was kinda proud of me too! Daddy did the turkeys. He fried two of them, and they were amazing. It's my favorite way to have a turkey, and the other family also seemed to enjoy it. 

Friday was spent mostly laying around the house. We did get out and all go to the Columbus Zoo Friday to see their Wildlights exhibit. I think every other family in Ohio was there too. I really enjoyed it. I think it was a little overwhelming for Emma, and difficult because of the crowds, but it was totally worth it to see her on the carousel again. We have a ton of pictures, but I haven't gone through them yet. It was pretty cold. but Emma and I were very bundled up. The boys didn't think they were gonna need the extra layers. I'm glad I had mine on.

Yesterday was a lazy day. The guys cooked again last night from the care package the Ray's sent us. It was a very large cooler full of all kinds of good stuff. Things we could never get here. I literally jumped up and down when we opened it.  Daddy and C.J. left early this morning.  We already miss them. But, now I've started my countdown... 19 days until we get to come home!  We can't wait!

Snow Day!

Look at what we woke up to this morning!

Sadly, it didn't last long. It was all melted by 9 am. But, the noon weather report said we would get some more.  The snow started back about 1 pm. I stood in the window for a long time, just watching. I took these next pictures over the span of about an hour. 

Here's what it looks like now, after it has quit. 

 Watching it was pretty amazing. I don't know that I've ever seen snow fall like that. I opened our sliding door to take the pictures. It was so quiet. No loud noise like rain or sleet. Complete silence.  For those of you wondering, no, we will not be playing in the snow today, or for a few days. Emma came back from Louisville with a really bad cold, and I'm not letting her out of the house for a while. I'll try to post pictures from the weekend later tonight, or in the morning. We had a blast. I just wanted to share our first snow with you!

Six Things Continued...

4.  I would like to tell you more about my Emily. When I stated that we were nerds, I want to be sure you understand how true this statement is. Before either of us became social creatures with the outside worlds, our weekends consisted of one thing: private pajama parties. Private, only because I don't think there was anyone else we could have invited. They began every Friday immediately after school, and usually at my house because we were closer to town. Keep in mind, I was driving, so it's not like we were 10, I was at least 15. The first thing we did was  put on pjs. The next major event involved riding to town to find dinner. And no, one fast food place would not do. We went to Wendy's for burgers, Burger King for fries, and Sonic for drinks.  It's no wonder my mother was so worried about my social well being. We would end things at Blockbuster where we would pick two movies, and then head back to my house for an evening of food and tv. Here's a small fact that I believe redeems us slightly: We both showed 4-H animals. For us, that month of shows was the highlight of our year. When we were away from our schools, and around these people all gathered with similar purposes, we were quite the social butterflies. I lived for those three weeks every year. We were cool people there, but no one else in our everyday lives knew that. Again, I say my best times always involved sheep; and Emily.

5. I have colored my hair once in my life: last night. And this morning there was an emergency trip to a salon to get it fixed. I'll never do it again, ever. I must say though, the end result is not half bad...

6. I most likely would not have even given the post a second thought if it hadn't come from Nikki. But because I know her, she would have bothered me until I did it, or at least acknowledged it. So, Nikki, this is for you. We miss you, and don't tag me again for another year! See you at Christmas!

Six Things

So Nikki gave me a stupid blog award. I think she did it just to aggravate me.  Anyway, the people that get "tagged" have to write six random things about themselves. That's a fabulous idea for interesting people, but not so much for me. The problem is, there isn't much people don't know about me. I'm pretty much an open book. If you get to know me just a little bit, I'll tell you my life story. So sorry for those of you that have had to sit through it...

I can't help it; I like to talk. I'll pretty much talk to anyone who will listen. I think that's why I have a hard time doing a regular blog update. Blank screens are not all that engaging...

Anyway, I'm gonna give this "six things" a try; sorry if you've already heard some of them before...

1.  I have a scar at the top of my nose, next to my left eye. It's a war wound from one of the many battles with my "little" brother. Now you're gonna get the story... I was in the 8th grade. I think I was 13, he was 11.  Growing up, we always had 4-H livestock animals, sheep in particular. One chilly Saturday morning, we were out feeding and fighting, as usual, over who had to do what. I was still the bigger of us at that point, and I frequently used that advantage.  Somewhere in the process of pouring feed into troughs I kicked him. I have no idea why. He left the pen and proceeded to throw the feed can at me. Now, the feed can was an old, rusty Folgers coffee can. One of the smaller ones I think. My brother played baseball, so he had a decent aim. Not that day. Because of the height of the fence, he had to throw the can up and over. I naturally ducked to miss it, but I heard the can hit the top of the fence. Feeling sure that I was safe, I looked up. And it hit me right between the eyes. If there had been witnesses, I'm sure they would have been laughing. It had to look like some kind of cartoon. When I finally got back on my feet and moved my hands from my face, he went to screaming like a little girl. Apparently I had blood everywhere. He ran back to the house so fast he left a trail of dust. I was in no such hurry. I knew what fate awaited us when Mama saw what happened. 8 am on a Saturday morning was not the best time to inform that a trip to the emergency room was necessary. The rest is history. Only four stitches and an embarrassing story because I started it all.

2.  I am ridiculously naive when it comes to the fate of my animals.  There are an immense amount of stories that were told to me instead of the truth. For example; I believed the first horse we had ran away to the circus. She was a very old gray mare that my Daddy had for some time. I don't really remember much about her except that one day she wasn't there. Of course the only logical thing to tell a small child is that she ran away. I believed it for years. My favorite, however, occurred when I was eight. I had just completed my first year in the 4-H livestock program. (my best stories always revolve around sheep)  For those of you that don't know, a majority of these project animals are raised for market purposes and are sold at the end of the last show. I didn't know that then. My sweet, sweet Pawpaw got me out of the barn before the animals were loaded on trucks. I was completely distraught over having to leave my first lambs, but he reassured me that they would be fine. My sweet little lambs were going to be with a man in Arkansas who needed sheep to eat the weeds out of cotton fields. I've since learned that I am not the only granddaugther to fall for this...

3.  I ran over my best friend's brand new car.  This is Emily's favorite story to tell about me. Contrary to popular belief, Emily and I were major nerds back in the day. I had just finally started attending weekend social events about the time she started driving. She just had to come out and show off the car, and I just had to take her to one of the "get-togethers" and show her what we were missing. In all the excitement that is a girl's first night to "go out", I forgot where she was parked. As I was backing out the driveway and asking her which perfume was better, I backed into her car. I thought her dad would never forgive me. But, not to be outdone, Emily decided she had to put her own mark on it the next night. She managed to go up an embankment, take out a barbed wire fence, and let out some cows. That car never stood a chance. By the time we got done with it, the rear view mirror was literally strung up with neon green yarn. I wish I had a picture. 

Ok, there's three... I'll think about another three for tomorrow. Please don't laugh at me too much...

November?!?!?!?!

Is it really November? How did we get here so quick? I feel like we just had Christmas.... 

I swear I don't know where the days go anymore...  

We had a decently active weekend. Friday night was Halloween; but you already knew that. Since we went trick or treating last weekend, we didn't go Friday night. She did get dressed up to help me with candy though. I think she would have slept in that dress if we had let her.  Saturday, Channing took me shopping for maternity clothes. Yeah, only 13 weeks, and I already need clothes. Channing finds this very amusing; me, not so much. While I am very glad that losing weight has not been an issue this time, I did not expect this kind of gain either. 

Next week will be busy as well. Channing leaves Sunday afternoon for a week in Michigan. Monday through Wednesday are three consecutive days of doctor visits for me and Emma. Fun stuff. Thursday Emma and I will head to Louisville for the NAILE.  I cannot even tell you how excited I am.  I've been trying to get them to take this trip for two years. It's finally happening! Channing will fly in Friday night from Michigan, so he'll get to see this for the first time.  

So that's all for now... Just enjoying our last week of decent weather before the bottom falls out next week. I'll let you know if I survive...