ICE ICE Baby...

Well here we are...February!!! What a "Wintry Welcome" we've received~ Today is our 4th day off of work. I know you are all thinking "Snow Days." But you are wrong...school has been cancelled due to ICE!!!Our entire backyard, side yard, front yard and streets are coated in ice/sleet!!!See the rooftops??? Covered in ICE!!!

It was raining ice pellets!!! This is our driveway and Ryan's attempt to chip away at 3-4" of ice...Is this Antarctica??? Nope, these are ice chunks Ryan threw on our front yard after clearing our driveway...

In this picture, you can see the layers of ice...The first layer was from Monday night/Tuesday morning and the second layer is from Tuesday night/Wednesday morning...

A chunk of ice from our driveway!!!

Can you imagine having this coat the streets and sidewalks? We literally had neighbors ice skating in the cul-de-sac!!! SERIOUSLY!!!For the first time, Sammy did not enjoy the cold weather. He started to run on the ice and slid all over the place!

Check out the bushes in our front yard...

Icy kitchen window...

Ice on the gutters...

Remember the retaining wall bricks Ryan laid over the summer around the trees??? Yep...frozen solid!

Our mailbox...

More icicles...

Our neighbor's car...

The tree branch in our front yard. Check out the layer of ice encasing it!!!

Stop sign...

The siding on our house coated in ICE!!!

Ice encrusted meter...

Ryan is standing on the ice and not making a dent in it....Hard as a rock!!! This ice storm has been CRAZY!!! We are thankful power lines did not snap in our area. Thousands over the state had no power. We are very thankful that schools have been closed and that we have not had to drive on the ice... Apparently the school parking lots and bus stops are like ice rinks. 4 days in a row, no school...although the storm ended, the temps are below freezing and the ice remains. It is insane!!! We are happy to be home together, but are not looking forward to the make-up days we will have in June!

Until next time...xo

Welcome 2011~Catching Everyone Up...

Hey everyone!!! Again, I have been slacking and I apologize. I have been soooooo busy with my new classroom. Working literally until 7 or 8 each evening and going into work on the weekends. I am so happy to have my own room, but it is taking me quite a bit of time to get organized, taking over mid-year. Anyways, this weekend, Ryan and I did some home improvements and FINALLY built a bar in our upstairs loft...Here are the counters we selected. We originally considered wood, but figured laminate was more sensible, since the purpose of the shelf is to rest beverages of the alcoholic persuasion.

I was in charge of staining the corbels. I attempted to make them the same color as the wood on our pool table.

Here is our finished product. It turned out great!!! Now we can save for a flat screen to go on that empty wall...For New Years, we were lucky to have my siblings, brother-in-law and nephew fly out from California to visit us...

It was my nephew Dylan's first time in the snow. He loved it!!!Here he is on the playground...My brother Garrett, Ryan, Dilly and my brother-in-law, Danny...

Making snow angels...We took Dylan to the Indianapolis Children's Museum. It is the largest kid's museum in the world...Working the turn tables like Uncle G...Ryan, me, Garrett, Alyssa and Danny...We hosted our annual New Year's Eve party, but this year we decided to go with a "Prom Theme." Here I am spiking the punch and YES I am wearing Kel's bridesmaid dress...Me and my brother and sister. It looked like a real prom in our house! We put up Christmas lights, tulle and even hung up a Starry Night backdrop... Me and my beautiful lil' sis, Alyssa...Notice our corsages. We made corsages and boutonnieres for everyone! I know, we are DORKY!!!Dylan and Uncle G...Sister Sister... Let the fun begin! Jayme (Lisa's best friend who drove out from Wisconsin), Lisa, Melissa and Sabrina...Robyn, Chris, Kristin, Ryan and Alyssa making a train as Sabrina looks on...Eric is the "pole" for Alyssa, Sabrina and Kristin to dance around...Garrett, Danny, Zach's twin sister Jessica, J-Dog and our friend Josh hanging out on the front porch...Everybody throw your hands up!!!Get your groove on...Me, Tiff and Julie...Liz, Tiff and I painted signs for everyone with their high school name, mascot, school colors and graduation year. Here are me, my brother and Ryan posing in front of our sign. Go Valley View Eagles!!! We sang Happy Birthday to Eric (December 24th), Garrett (January 2nd) and Carrie (January 4th)The guys spent most of the evening in the garage...Jayme and Garrett were crowned King and Queen of the Prom!!!Happy New Year!!! 2011 BABY!!!New Year's smooches xoxoxoxoxo CHEEEEEEEEEEESE!!! All the money mom and dad spent on orthodontia sure paid off :)

Our house was DESTROYED the next day, but surprisingly, the carpet was spared...

On Sunday, we celebrated Garrett's "REAL" birthday. Here he is living on the edge, double-fisting it at Steak and Shake....

Happy 29th Birthday, GG~ We love you!!! xo

We love you too Dilly!!!

I am so glad I got to spend time with my family...especially this lil' man!!!My New Year's Resolution is to STOP STRESSING about anything and everything and start embracing each day. Ryan's is to quit chewing tobacco, which I am proud to say he has been doing for almost 20 days!!! I am so proud of him. Being a former smoker, I know how hard it is to be nicotine dependent. He is doing great and is going to be much healthier!!! I love you, Ryan!

Until next time...xo