Going Through Life One Blog Post at a Time
While taking pictures off of Laura’s camera this evening, I came across this picture. What a use of reflection! When I told her that I loved it, she said, “I tried to do that Mom!” I realize that she’s just messing around, but she really takes some interesting shots. Maybe some day, she will take the photos for this blog…
…OK, so that is pure sarcasm right there. We welcomed Spring with a snowstorm that produced between 8-10 inches of snow in Columbia. It started overnight and we woke up to probably 4 inches of snow already on the ground.
Since Andy was in Evanston, IL, for a meeting, it was up to me to shovel the driveway. Taking a page from his book, I shoveled the driveway early and then again a couple of hours later. My first pass was at about 8 am and I removed between 4-5 inches of snow. By the time I was done, the driveway was already covered over again. I expected that, but I was very thankful for getting it done early. The snow was extremely wet and heavy and my back would not have been able to handle 9-10 inches at one time. I went out again about 10 am for a second pass and removed 3-4 inches of snow. I’m glad I did because the driveway never covered over again. Any snow that hit the driveway after my second pass melted pretty quickly. Yay for no more shoveling!
Andy had the unfortunate task of driving from Evanston back to Columbia. It’s normally a six-hour drive, but it took him almost eight hours. He had to drive right through the heart of the storm in Illinois. For a man from Chicago, Andy commented that it was probably the worst snowstorm that he had ever driven through. We kept in touch throughout the day and I tracked his progress through Google Latitude. Once he got to Missouri, the roads were relatively clear and he could drive normal speeds. Throughout part of Illinois, he was driving 20-30 miles per hour on the Interstate. Andy did mention that people were stopping along the road to clear off the front of their cars. I wasn’t particularly surprised by this as snow does build up, but I wasn’t prepared for this…
Suffice it to say, we were all glad to see him make it home safely! I think we all *might* be ready for a real Spring now though…
Hannah, one of Laura’s classmates, turned 7 and her birthday party was today at FlipzUSA Gymnastics. Andy was out of town, which meant that John got to go too. (Thanks Amy!) All of the kids had a great time running around and playing. I was reminded yet again of just how athletic John is. He actually managed to do a complete flip on the trampoline and land on his feet. My big surprise for the day was discovering that Laura has some serious balancing skills. She was actually jumping on the balance beam without coming even close to losing her footing. Maybe it’s time to get that girl into gymnastics!
After an hour on the gymnastics floor, it was upstairs for cake, ice cream, and presents! John was disappointed that we had to leave the floor, but he was all good when I told him ice cream was on the agenda. Laura and Sophie combined to get Hannah an outfit and a camping accessories set for her Our Generation dolls. Hannah was so excited that she jumped a little when she saw them. It was a great party and the kids had a blast! Although now, both Laura and John are talking about their upcoming birthday parties…
One of Laura’s classmates, Annabelle, is over this evening enjoying a sleepover with Laura (and John). The kids have been having a great evening of food, playing, coloring, music, dancing, and movies with popcorn! Because it’s lights out at 10:30 tonight (well, ok, maybe I’ll bend to 11), the girls are jamming everything they can into the time they have! Thanks to the Daffrons for letting Annabelle spend the night! The girls are having a great time!
John’s preschool class painted butterflies to hang on their classroom wall. John’s is a Black-veined White Butterfly. He was very proud of his butterfly and couldn’t wait to show me. As the name implies, the butterfly has a lot of white on it, and that doesn’t translate so well onto white paper. Up close, you can see it all and it is really a great painting for a four-year old.
He also made me take a photo of all the butterflies so that Daddy could see them all together. John said, “Mommy, I love my butterfly and so Daddy needs to see it and the rest of them!”
We spent the evening with an old friend, Jason Rooks. Jason was our roommate at one point in time when he needed a place to stay while finishing up his college degree at Mizzou. We hadn’t seen him in years, but we keep up via Facebook. He is in town for training and so everything worked out to have him over for dinner. We had a great evening just hanging out, enjoying a few drinks, and catching up on life. He really hasn’t changed much aside from being older and wiser. Andy and I were surprised to see how much John liked him too. Usually, John is shy around new people, but that was not the case from the beginning with Jason. We definitely have to make sure that we don’t go so long in between visits next time!
This morning, Laura was crying about everything. This is a sure signal of one of two possible options: illness or extreme tired. Since she wasn’t running a fever, Andy assumed it was extreme tired. He left a note for Brian, her after-school babysitter, to encourage her to take a nap. Brian did exactly that, and I found her sound asleep when I got home from work – not 10 minutes *after* Laura got off the bus. We have one tired girl.
