S*no*w Joke

A little background info:  Here in the South, we don't get much snow.  People here don't know how to drive in it, they don't know how to prepare for it, we just don't do it much!  Actually, our weathermen don't know how to predict it either.   They were "watching" this system for a week.  They never told us we would end up with an accumulation, let alone a 5.25" of snow in a matter of a couple of hours.  My mother-in-law, as a Christmas gift, offered a kid-free weekend.  We were headed to Joe's brother's house to hang out for a couple of  hours, cook dinner, and watch a movie.  My sister-in-law brought her kids down and we headed out while the roads "were not too bad."  Joe was going to stop by our house, leave his truck and pick up mine.  

This is what the road looked like when we left my house.

Moments Later

Morbid, but to prove we can't drive in the South in the snow!

If you look closely, you can see me running up the road.  A lady held up traffic for more than a half hour because she was afraid to drive down a hill.  *groan*  I tried to talk her into it, but it was a no go.  I finally flagged traffic around her.

This is taken only 30 minutes later at my Brother and Sister in Law's house!

Needless to say, considering we don't *do snow* in the South, Joe ended up coming straight to his brother's house and we stayed the night!

Snowy Sunday

I am excited to say that Friday evening we had the biggest snow in my children's lives. Five and a quarter inches!:)  We went out yesterday, bought plastic snow discs and they sledded today!  They have went sledding before.  We were in Illinois with friends.  It was in sub-zero weather, so not exactly enjoyable.  We had a great time, sledding, wrecking, hanging out and drinking hot chocolate!

Reaching New Heights!

Since birth, each of my children have had the opportunity to climb, crawl, walk, prance, dance, peruse, and whatever else they choose on my Mother-in-Law's cabinets. She is disabled and has always used each of her grandkids as her "getters!" As a result, the grandkids are no respecter of counter tops!:)

Jump Rope for Heart

Caden is so excited to participating in Jump Rope for Heart at school this year. Last May, his grandpa, Joe's dad, passed away unexpectedly due to a fatal heart attack. We had no idea his heart was sick. You can go here to support Caden's plight in raising money for The American Heart/ Stroke Foundation.

Holy Moly!

It has been almost five months since I have blogged! Yikes! I won't try to recap too much, but one of my resolutions is to be a better blogger! I'm magnificent at stalking, just stink at keeping my own blog current!

The boys are both doing great in school. So very proud of them. Caden is blossoming in to a reader before our eyes. He is spelling out every word he sees and I mean *every* word! Coy has done so much better than expected in public school. He is in band playing the trumpet and is doing very well considering most of the kids in the seventh grade band had a year advantage on him! Chase is still thinking about joining the military. They are all growing up on me and it makes me sad! I don't think when Chase and Coy were growing and changing and even still, it has affected me so much! I was looking at Caden the other day. He was standing in the living room, in his underwear, playing the Wii! So cute, so little, but so big. *sad* I told him to never grow up. He informed he must, but he will still live me!*grin*

Joe and I talked a couple of months ago, well, we talk a little more frequently than that, but about the possibility of me going back to work. All of the kids are in school and don't need me during the day and we could really use the extra money. However, the fact still remains that during the summer and . . .I won't bore with all the dirty details, but if I can save say $400 a month, I couldn't clear that at a part time job. So, I have entered the world of couponing. I mean *really* couponing, like crazy coupon lady couponing. In the month of January, I have saved already a ton of money! We have more food, health and beauty aids, over-the-counter medicine and paper towels than we know what to do with. I am at the point in my "stock-piling" than I now can just buy, milk, eggs and bread and only things that are free - super cheap! If you are interested, you can check out Time 2 $ave, Southern Savers or Deal Seeking Mom are the blogs I follow the most. I am telling you, who know you could get paid to buy Band Aid brand bandages? I have! About $12! I have lots of band aids to show for it too!

I also have been following several baking blogs. A couple of my favorites are I Am Baker, Sweetopia and Pioneer Woman. Pioneer Woman actually covers two of my passions, baking and photography. I have been dabbling around in . You can check out my photo blog at Photography by Andie My last was a wedding, so not happy with it, but the bride and groom were pleased so I guess thats all that counts.

I'll end here with a promise to keep up from now on! Hopefully. . .

Summer's Gone

The boys have officially started school for the '09-'10 school year. We decided to send them to conventional school this year. Coy is in 7th grade and Caden is in Kindergarten.

This summer was a crazy one! We were so busy traveling, hanging out with family and our friends school really snuck up on us! Coy is having a tough time adjusting to Middle School life. Everyone has assured him that it will get better, but he isn't so sure! Caden is currently at his first day!:) He was stung by a bee last night just below his right eye. You can see in the picture, both eyes are swollen!*groan* What a great way to start the year! It can only go up from here for both of the boys!

Joe's Boot Camp

My Sister in Law, Kelli and I were talking one day. We were both feeling fat, old and ugly. She mentioned that a "Boot Camp" was starting at the YMCA where she is a member. It is a four week, twice a week, an hour at a time kick start or restart to great cardiovascular health. We discussed it, tried to find a reason we shouldn't take the class, put on our runnin' shoes and away we went! Boot Camp Joe kicked our butts! *grin* We ran, sat up, pushed up, scissor kicked, flutter kicked, bear, crab and every other critter crawl you can think of. We have crawled under make believe barbed wire fences and performed pushups with our legs over our partners back who is stratigically placed on all fours! We wanted a work out, we are getting one! All classes are outside, rain or shine. Boot Camp Joe says he doesn't even care if it is raining out! We have lived through 3 hours of Boot Camp by Joe, only 5 classes to go!