What a Week!

Warning: Photo Heavy & Wordy Blog Coming!

Ahhh, life in the Midwest, where the deer and the antelope roam. Where the weather can change in a blink of an eye. Where hospitality is abundant. Where Christmas is definitely in the air...

Last Friday, the boys and I woke up ambitious to decorate for Christmas. School was closed for a teacher work day, so we stayed home and set up our holiday displays. Aidan was extremely helpful with the decorations this year. Sean was not so interested, but we did talk him into hanging a few candy canes. By noon, our home was transformed into a house eagerly awaiting the holidays!







Grandma came over on Saturday afternoon to watch the boys while Doug and I did some Christmas shopping. It was so nice to tackle that task without the kiddos! Thanks, Grandma!

On Sunday, Aidan and I put together a Gingerbread House. He had been asking to make one for weeks, so he was super excited to finally make one. It was my first attempt and it was fun to do with Aidan. Sean was more interested in playing with Woody than helping us. Maybe next year he will want to help more. I actually talked Doug into taking a few pics of us, so once again you are graced with me in my Sunday bumming clothes.



Now for the interesting part of the week! On Monday, dire warnings of an ice storm hit the news. People anticipating the worst started calling in closings and cancellations for the next day. Usually I tend to think that people over-react and do not pay much attention to warnings. I have lived in KS so long I know that anything goes when it comes to weather predictions and the only thing you can be sure of is that you can't predict much. However, I minimally prepared for bad weather by catching up on laundry, dishes and made a big warm dinner for us (Corned beef and cabbage, yum!)

For once, they were right. We got hit bad. Our house lost power around 3 am Tuesday and it did not get restored until 6 pm Thursday. We woke up Tuesday morning thinking that it wouldn't be out for long. We called Doug's office & they had power so we all got dressed and went there to spend the day. Doug's parents live in a loft above the office, so they invited us to spend the night with them. We ended up staying there 2 nights and 3 days. The newspaper on Wednesday said that 11,000 people in our city were without power and it would take up to 10 days to get power restored to everyone. By Friday they got the number down to 5,600.



Schools were closed until Friday, so the boys and I spent our days hanging out in the office or loft with little give-everyone-a-break outings to do more shopping, check out the glittering diamond trees in the park, and a visit to the Historical Museum to see the Gingerbread House display and play in the children's room.





The boys really enjoyed spending so much time with their grandparents. Even though we only live a 12 blocks from each other, the boys do not get to spend much time with them due to their busy schedules. It was like an impromptu family vacation! Thank you so much for the wonderful hospitality, great meals and company.

We got settled back home on Friday, only to hear now a snow storm was due to hit that night and Saturday, expecting 7-10 inches of snow. *Sigh* We had planned on a visit from my parents this weekend. They were coming to spend the night with the boys while Doug and I attended an overnight office Christmas party.

Saturday morning we woke up to 6" of snow and light flurries. My parents and I decided it was best if they didn't travel to see us. We asked Doug's cousin to babysit during the dinner party that night. Luckily she was available and the boys had a good time with her, her husband and their son. We had a nice time at the dinner party, then picked up two sleeping angels to take back to the hotel with us for the night.

After we got home today, Aidan and Doug had fun making snowballs, snow angels, and sledding in the backyard. Sean is not so crazy about the snow. He is not in the least bit interested in touching it, so I couldn't convince to go outside with me to take some snow pics.

*Yawn* It's late Sunday night and we have a new week ahead of us. It's the last week of school before Christmas break and I hope they get to attend every day. I have a little more shopping to do, presents to wrap and maybe do some baking this week. The school party is on Friday, so I need to put together goody gifts for the teachers.

Here's to a mellow-er week ahead!