The Brown's

I can’t believe it!  We sold our house!  Well, it’s only under contract also known as "sale pending".  We haven’t actually received any money for it yet, but we are on our way at last.  We are expected to close on 8/25 – yes, in just a few weeks...!

We put our house on the market in March.  Being a really really tough market right now, we knew it would take a while to sell our home, but we had no idea it would take THIS long.  Just last week I had resigned myself to signing the kids up for school in Ohio again this year because the real estate market continues to get bleaker and bleaker and I couldn’t see a “sell” in the near future.  Over the past few months, we had come close to selling 4 times (we were in the top two houses), but we lost out each time (always a brides maid in this process).  But, FINALLY, we won!

It all began on Friday, July 25^th when we were driving home from Cedar Point (yes, the famous roller coaster theme park…more on that later).  My real estate agent called me to inform me we had an offer. I thought she was kidding me.  I didn’t realize we had any interested parties on the hook at the time.  She told me of the offer (it of course was lower than I wanted…much lower) and we discussed and made a counter offer.

On Saturday Steve and Chandler went wake boarding and the girls and I were planning on a lazy day at the pool when I received a call from my agent for a showing.  So I spent the next 3 hours preparing the house for yet another showing.  Well, it turned out to be time well spent because the guy LOVED the house and was pretty sure he would make an offer (even before his wife saw the house).

Long story short…and much drama and strategizing involved over two long days.  We ended up having two offers and pitting them against each other.  We ended up getting an “acceptable” and best offer from the late entrant.  We still didn’t receive a price nearly what we had expected or hoped for and we are still not getting the $ we put into the house, but, at least we sold the house.

We still have all the inspections to get through, etc. etc., but we are thrilled to finally be stepping forward into our next phase of life in Colorado.

Now…off to buy a house in Colorado.  School starts in CO 8/11 (wow, is that early!).  We will send Chandler out to CO early so he can start school on the first day.  McKinnon, Gabby and Bella will stay behind in Ohio until we close on our house and move out (8/29).  I will drive Ariel to college from Colorado to Idaho to get her set up and settled in her dorm on 9/2.  

We have certainly got a few busy and confusing months ahead of us, but, we move forward with smiles on our faces so grateful that our family will be living under one roof very soon.

 We ventured home on 7/14/08 stopping for an overnight stay in St. Louis, MO.  We stayed overnight at the airport Marriott arriving in time for a quick swim and then on to bed.  It was nice to have Ariel with us on the drive home to assist in the driving duties when me, the primary drive, needed a little rest (on our drive out to CO, Ariel was in California).  As a result the drive home while a little long in miles, was painless due to Ariel’s help.

We arrived home on the 15^th around 7:00 pm and quickly fell back into “at home” mode.  I went through the piled up mail, caught up on laundry, completed shopping for necessary food items, etc. After being gone for about 5 weeks and sleeping away from my bed and living day-to-day from a suit case I completely understand the meaning of “home-sweet-home”.  It is sweet to eat your own food, sleep in your own bed, keep your own schedule and generally just be home in your own sweet home.

I hove my “home-sweet-home”.

Chandler and his buddies, Alex and Kyle Kinnear.

This summer for three weeks Chandler was in California…without ME!  He had the opportunity to go to a week long Boy Scout camp in Catalina Island, CA with his best friend Kyle.  Then a week at Kyle’s house and then a week in Newport Beach, CA… I know…what a life! 

He was certainly fortunate and ready to embark on his adventure, but was I?…his mother ready to let him leave me for three whole weeks?  When he hugged me goodbye, he told me that he would miss me, but I would miss him much more than he would miss me. (was that to make me feel good?).

We rounded up the items on the pages and pages of packing lists for scout camp and loaded him up with two large check-in pieces and he was off.  Shawn Kinnear met us in Colorado to take Chandler back to California with him.

Chandler and Kyle in their Class A uniforms at scout camp.

Since we were on vacation, we kept ourselves very busy with daily activities of swimming, movies, park, zoo, etc. so I really didn’t have a chance to dwell on Chandler being gone all the time.  I missed him and missed having him around, but I knew he was fine and having a great time…but, I still found myself looking for him.  I knew he wasn’t there, but, I still longed for him and expected him to be there.  I think it’s a little like missing my right arm.  If my arm were gone, I’m sure I could function without it, but I would expect it to be there and assume it would be there and when I realized it wasn’t I would miss it terribly.

Chandler brings such a smile to my face and has such a helpful glow and attitude (most of the time) and he give great hugs!  He has so many attributes I missed; it’s too hard to name them all.

Thanks to modern technology, I was able to keep in daily contact with Chandler via text messaging.  I’m thankful for this technology because I can be involved in his world and actually know more than I would through a simple telephone call.  Many teens and pre teens can actually text better than they can talk!

Chandler returned home to us on 7/13/08. We were all excited to greet him.  The kids made a poster for him welcoming him home and waited to greet him.  As the car pulled up with my son in it, I felt my pulse race!  When I saw him jump out of the car, tears filled my eyes as I saw this tall, tan, bleach-blonde young man walk toward me for a hug!  A long hug!  He looked two years older and 4 inches taller to me.  The kids rushed him for hugs as well…Gabby wouldn’t let go of him. We love our Chandler!

We all missed Chandler and we are so glad he is back with us.  He is a vital member of our family and we don’t know what we’d do without him.  We are so glad he was able to have his first extended time away from us be so positive…we just hope he doesn’t make a habit off it.

We always love our annual week in Utah.  We love being reacquainted with our brothers, sisters, moms, dads, grandma’s, grandpa’s, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, etc.  When we see our family, it’s as if we just saw them yesterday as we are able to pick up where we left off.  We hope that living in Denver will enable us to see everyone more often (just a short 8 hour drive away).

We stayed at my mom’s house in Springville for a week.  The kids love to stay at Grandma’s house because she has a way of making a chocolate shake that no one can compare –she also makes an amazing home made macaroni and cheese dish.  Best of all when you stay at her house, you know you are loved.

A few of the things we did during our stay in Utah: 

Spanish Fork Pool.  It’s tradition for us to swim at least once at the Spanish Fork pool during our stay.  We swim, jump off the diving boards, swish down the water slide, grab a snack (usually a pink cookie and soda), lie in the sun and then head out after we’ve had enough.

Stadium of Fire.  For the 4^th of July this year we were excited to get tickets to the Stadium of Fire show held at the Brigham Young University Stadium.  It’s basically an entertainment type show followed with a very huge fireworks display held on the 4^th of July.  This year Hannah Montana was the featured act along with the Blue Man Group.  Since our family has many Hannah Montana fans, getting tickets to this show was a highlight of the trip (just gotta love ebay!  Where you can get anything…for a price).  The girls wore their Hot pink Hannah Montana shirts and were ready for  rockin' time…it was a great night.

Hair! One of the highlights of visiting Utah is we always get our hair done.  Having two “hair professional” sisters in the family that are amazing at what they do means we can usually convince one of them to do ALL of our hair.  The little girls all get a hair cut and Ariel and I get a highlight and a cut…ahhhh…we just love a fresh hair highlight and cut!

Shopping.  We have our favorite unique places we feel we need to hit each time we visit.  If we don’t make it to cozi, down east outfitters, Provo-Gap, etc. our trip just doesn’t feel complete.  We found some school clothes and more…

Food.  We always look forward to eating certain foods during our trips to Utah as well.  We love to eat at Café Rio –our favorite Mexican quick food and Bahio for their Chicken Chile salad and quesadilla.  I love to get my fill of my favorite Grandma B’s pink sugar cookies (It’s basically a thick sugar cookie with thick pink frosting!  I have only found these cookies in Utah…such a shame).

Bowling.  Game or sport?  I think game.  I’m not good at it and don’t ever plan to be. It hurts my thumb anyway (yes, I guess I’m a wimp).  I’m only good for one game and I can usually score around 100 points – without the bumpers - .  It’s true, I am not good at bowling, but I enjoy taking the family there once in a while.  We told the kids if they got a score higher than either of their parents, they would each get $5 and for each strike they would earn $1.  Well, they all beat me and they each received several strikes - they used the bumpers –   Needless to say they came out of the bowling alley much richer than they went in. 

Sunday Dinner.  Six of my siblings (2 brothers and 4 sisters) live in the Utah county area and try to eat Sunday dinner together a few times a month.  They take turns hosting and during the summer months take advantage of the outdoor spaces and try to meet at a park for variety and space (lots of grandkids to entertain).  On Sunday we headed to a park in Mapleton to BBQ chicken.  Each family brings their assigned item and then the feast begins!  Yummy food…a funny thing that happened  -  once we all started eating, the sprinklers came on soaking half the pavilion we were sitting under. We all scattered quickly and were able to reposition the sprinklers.  Steve arranged some games for the kids and adults after dinner.  We did the three legged race, some relay races, a full out sprint race and then had a game of baseball before it started getting dark.  How great it is to be around the people you love.

Our summer trip to Colorado and Utah lasted about 5 weeks.  We stayed in Colorado for all in all about 3 ½ weeks and Utah 1 week.  Oh the fun it was to be carefree for so long.  Now we are back to reality and while it is so great to be back, we miss not having to clean house, cook meals, be accountable to anything or anyone, and just being on an extended vacation.  I will attempt to briefly recap our summer:

Colorado.  During our stay in Colorado we stayed with our dear friends the Christensens.  You know they are dear friends if they allow you and your children to stay at their house for such an extended period of time!

Heidi has always been the “supreme hostess” in my mind and this trip she certainly out did herself.  We ate like royalty – usually with several deserts per day!  This kind of eating can be habit forming!

Swimming and more swimming.  We had enrolled the kids in a two week swim-team type program so we spent our fair share of time at the pool.  We forgot how intense the Denver sunshine was, so we quickly got a lesson after our first slight burn on the first day out in the sun…lots of sunscreen applied often and sun glasses and hats are a MUST.

Heritage Park in Golden, CO to zip line and do the alpine slide.  The kids could have zip lined and rode the ski lift up the mountain and down the mountain on the alpine slide all day long if we would have let them.  We certainly have some adventurous kids with us.

Rockies baseball game.  McKinnon and Mallory were able to have some “special time” with the grown ups and attend a Rockies baseball game. I personally don’t remember who they were playing (does it matter?), but I do remember we had some yummy food, great people watching, and the company was the best you could ask for.

Zoo.  We ventured to the Denver Zoo on a 100 degree day and bought an annual zoo pass fully expecting to return often.  Favorite animals were the bears, hippos, and monkeys.  Favorite place?  Anywhere in the shade or air conditioning.

Guitar Hero.  Some evenings at the Christensens you would find us being entertained by the Wii Guitar Hero.  This habit forming game sucks in most and the only draw back is there are never enough guitars to go around.  Ariel shames us all as she effortlessly plays songs at the EXPERT level whereas the rest of us battle to remain at the medium level.  I wonder if she can put this on her resume?

Backyard.  The girls loved to play in the Christensens back yard.  They would find little activities that would keep them busy for hours and hours.  Heidi purchased a packet of little water balloons and this alone kept them busy for days and days (we did have to buy reinforcements)…I think Heidi will be picking up tiny balloon pieces from her yard forever.   Two soccer nets, and a soccer ball = hours of fun.  Who would have thought such fun could come from a small back yard.

Six flags.  We ventured out to Elitch Gardens/Six Flags on a 95 degree day.  We knew it would be a little warm, so we wore our swim suits under our clothes ready to get wet at any opportunity.  We sought out many opportunities to get wet throughout the day as we ventured from ride to ride.  The adventurous girls we had with us (our group was all girls) rode every ride they could get on and had a great time.  McKinnon was thrilled she was able to ride the free fall ride with me (they suite you up, then hoist you up in the air 150 feet and then you pull the rip cord and go for a swing ride…very fun).  Then McKinnon was able to ride the sphere bungee ride with Mallory (they strap you in a sphere and magnets hold it down while the bungee cords are stretched…then the magnet is released and you go flying high up in the air and then back down, then up, then down again, etc.). Fun Fun Fun…just remember to take your motion sickness medicine.

Chandler, McKinnon, Bella, Gabby and I began our journey at 3:30 am on Friday.  I couldn’t sleep, so I figured we may as well get loaded in the car and start our journey to Colorado.  Previously, I made hotel arrangements at about the half way point in Kansas City, MO for the night (little did I know we would get such an early start and could have ventured even farther). 

After many DVD’s for the kids and one book on tape for mom, we made it to Kansas City (about 10.5 hours of driving time).  We arrived at about 3pm checked into the Hyatt downtown, did a little swimming, then walked around downtown, ate some dinner, went to the “Money Museum”, and then headed back to the hotel for an early bed time (is 10:00 early?  The kids seemed to think so…)

We headed out bright and early for our 10 hour drive to Denver.  We made it to the Christensen’s house around 4pm.  Not only was it great to step out of the car, but, it was SO great to step out of the car and be greeted by some of our best friends in the world.  We just love this dear sweet family.

We plan to stay with the Christensen family for about two weeks and then drive to Utah for a week and then drive back to the Christensen’s for another week and then drive back home!  I hope they can take us for that long!

Am I really old enough to have a daughter graduate from High school?  It doesn’t even seem that long ago that I actually graduated from High school.  Wow!  We attended Ariel’s Graduation Ceremony on June 7, 2008 at 4pm at the Schottenstein Center at Ohio State University.  She wore her gold cap and gown proudly as she received her diploma – it was a proud moment for our family to see her achieve a major benchmark in life.  After her graduation, we headed to the House of Japan (a Japanese steakhouse – always a family favorite) for dinner, then to Graeter Ice Cream for desert, then back home for opening a few gifts from mom and dad and the kids. 

Ariel begins College in early September at Brigham Young University – Idaho.  We are so proud of her for all she has accomplished and the person she has become!  We are SO excited for her to experience her next adventure…college!

On June 3^rd McKinnon celebrated her 10^th birthday by taking “bomb pop” popsicles to share with her class.  After school we headed for Chuck-E-Cheese (to meet our friends the Humphries) for dinner and games…mostly games – tokens for games, games give you tickets, collect a massive amount of tickets, then purchase cheap, throw away toys with them!!!  The kids seem to enjoy it!  After we had all the fun possible at Chuck-E-Cheese we ate our birthday cup cakes and headed to Target to purchase a few additional gifts for McKinnon.

McKinnon opted to not have a party this year because she wanted to do something a little different..  At our house, you can select to have a birthday bash of some sort and invite around 10 friends with a minimal gift, or you can opt out of the party and instead receive a “big gift” of your choosing.  McKinnon proposed to do a little of both – she wants to have a small birthday “outing” with her best friend Mallory once we arrive in Colorado and pick a medium gift.  I just love her negotiation skills!

McKinnon is one of the most kind, smart, loving and conscientious girls you will ever meet.  She is such a pleaser and always wants to do the right thing.  My heart melts when I think about how much love I have for this girl!  I LOVE my McKinnon.

May 23-26, 2008

Just a short 7.5 hour drive from Dublin, Ohio and what do you know?  Your in Washington, DC.  We knew we wanted to hit our nation’s capitol before moving, so we decided to visit Memorial Day weekend.  Our friends, the Humphries, joined us for the adventure and we loaded up the car and left Friday morning, May 23^rd. 

We made it to Mt. Vernon on Friday afternoon by about 3 pm.  We loved learning more about George Washington and seeing the beautiful property – even though as nice as it was…we are so glad we didn’t have to live back then.  After leaving Mt Vernon we found a place for dinner, drove around DC to try to get ourselves oriented, and then went to our Hotel.  We checked into the Hyatt Hotel in DC two blocks from the capital and two blocks from union square - great location, great price (2 rooms $80/night each on priceline - (one of our rooms wasn't completely cleaned...I complained and "wala" we were upgrade to premium suite!!! It rocked!!!).  The kids couldn’t believe we had a large flat screen TV in the bathroom you could watch while in the tub!

Saturday...International Spy Museum, Lunch while listening to local band, Air and Space Museum, back to the hotel for a mid afternoon swim, dinner at union station (so many yummy food choices, it was hard to decide), back to the hotel for a movie on the large flat screen in the living room in the $80 per night suite!!! We walked around A LOT today and the kids all did great. 

Sunday...Natural History Museum, lunch along the mall, watched the rolling thunder parade (it felt like millions of motorcycles in the city…both in view and noise! Veterans and their supporters visit Washington DC for the Memorial Day weekend and participate in the never ending parade), visit Postal Museum, saw New Indiana Jones Movie at Union Station, Monuments by moonlight night trolley tour (to see the monuments...White House, Capitol, Museums, Arlington National Cemetery, Washington Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Veterans Memorial, Korean War memorial, WWII memorial, etc. etc. etc...Wow!!!).  Back to the hotel at 11pm…A long and very FULL day of activities, but, so much fun.

Monday...drive home.
What a fun filled, interesting and educational weekend.  It was such a thrill to be in a place with such a rich history.  We have seen these sites in movies and in print, but, to see them in person was almost surreal.  Many of the monuments were very emotional…especially the Veterans Memorial – it brought tears to my eyes.  I’m so grateful that we had the opportunity to take our family to see these sites and gain a better understanding of our nation’s history.

Is May over REALLY???  Did I miss April?  It seems just yesterday I was cleaning out the kids backpacks from school ending as we prepared to go on our big summer trip…(one year ago) and here I am again.  Next week the back packs come home again for me to clean out yet again!  Where does all the time go?  I’ve heard it said that the older you get, the faster time fly’s and I certainly believe it!

Here are a few things that happened in May:

We had the treat of Grandma coming to visit the first week of May.  We love it when Grandma comes to town because we get her undivided attention.  Since she is always so busy when we visit her with the other grandchildren, her job and general running around, its nice to have some quiet times with her. 

Bella was Baptized on May 3, 2008.  It was an amazing day for her.  She was angelic in her white dress and obviously proud of the decision she made to get baptized.  She was able to share he experience and have her two best friends (maddie and grace), her bus driver Mrs. Brooks, and our neighbor attend her baptism along with family and others from our church.  After her 9 AM baptism, we were off to a busy day of soccer.

Ariel and her CREW team (her lightweight eight person boat) placed SILVER in the Midwest Championships Regatta on May 17^th and 18^th.  The top three teams go to the National Championships on June 12, 13, 14 and 15^th – so her team is going!  This is a BIG deal!  They are thrilled and working hard to prepare for this opportunity.

Ariel attended Sr. Prom with a good friend of hers (no boyfriend…thank goodness).  She had a great time and looked beautiful!

Soccer ended!  We had a great, BUSY soccer season for all four soccer kids – and I’m pretty glad it is over!  We currently have no sports on the calendar at this point due to the “hold” we have placed on our lives until we know when we are moving.  Ahhh, Saturdays are free and no practices and games to run to every night.

Awards programs at school that go on and on forever:  Bella got the “Happy Helping Hands” award.  Gabby got the “creative problem solver” award.  McKinnon got the “Reflective Thinker and Author” award.  Chandler got the “Student Ambassador” award.  Ariel got the “Nicest Car” and “Most likely to get in an accident” awards (voted on by the student body….).

We traveled by car to our nations capitol (Washington DC) over the memorial day holiday.  More details on that in another entry...too much to say here).  We had a great time and we are SO glad we went.  Lots to see and do and the weather couldn't have been more perfect during our stay. 

Our family…we mostly Steve…but the rest of us tried to help spread so far 40 yards of black hardwood mulch around the yard (it’s an OHIO thing)…we still need about 20 more.  Oh, boy…it’s a lot of back breaking work, but looks so GOOD!

Attending “authors tea”, “end of the year parties”, field trips, preparing teachers gifts and cards and all the other end of the school year activities kept us busy for the end of may.  Just a few more days of school and then I get to hang the “Welcome to Summer” and let the swimming and fun of summer begin!

Niagara Falls has been on our list of places to go since moving to Ohio – it is one of the Natural wonders of the world so of course we needed to take advantage of our close proximity to the falls.  Since it is only about a 6 hour drive from our home, we knew we needed to take our family there before moving from the area.  My mom arrived on Friday, May 2, for Bella’s baptism on May 3, 2008; she was staying for one week, so we decided it would be fun to take her with us.  We booked a hotel room for Sunday and Monday nights and headed for Niagara Falls on Sunday the 4^th.

Sunday.  Upon arriving on the Canadian side of the falls we decided to orient ourselves and just start walking around.  We could see the falls from our hotel room, but decided to head straight for the falls for a closer look.  We made it down the hill to the falls and saw the famous misty falls.  It was quite the sight.  We determined we certainly wanted to do the “maid of the mist” boat tour tomorrow to get up close to the falls. We had dinner at the Rain Forest Café – Niagara is quite the little tourist town with all the “touristy” restaurants, shops, and “museums”.  Then swimming in the pool at the hotel and off to bed.

On Monday – our only full day at the falls – we decided to do a double Decker bus tour that would take us around Niagara, to do “journey behind the falls”, the cable car across the whirlpool area down from the falls, and the “maid of the mist” boat tour.  Our favorite was the boat ride – wow, did we get soaked.  Chandler was particularly interested in the folks that have gone over the falls for “sport” – some surviving and many not surviving.  We went to the IMAX Theater where they had exhibits showing many of the vessels people used in the past to go over the falls (pretty scary!).  We ate a very late lunch at the Hard Rock Café, ordered pizza for the kids in the hotel, and Steve, Grandma and I headed to the hotel steakhouse for a nice meal together.

Tuesday.  Ariel had an 11:30 AP Statistics exam (to get college credit), so we got moving homebound by 5:00 am!  Steve flew to New York for meetings and we were off to our busy lives again.

We loved Niagara Falls and we are so glad we were able to squeeze it in.  We were also thrilled to have Grandma Virchow join us in this quick adventure.   The Falls were indeed a wonder and best to see up close and personal!

Eight years ago at 3:15 pm Bella made it into this world at a whopping 6 lbs 12 oz and 19 inches long.  She had lots of white-silverish hair that the nurses loved to fuss with and put bows in.  She was an easy baby from the start, thankfully, and she has continued to be an amazing addition to our family ever since. 

Bella’s birthday may be one of those that drags on for weeks…some of them seem to do that.  My mom comes into town on Friday, May 2, and we will no doubt to a little birthday celebrating, she will be baptized into our church on Saturday, May 3^rd (which is a great day and celebration) and she will have her “official” party on May 9^th (she is having an ‘Enchanted late night PJ party with 7 of her girlfriends…should be BIG fun).

Today was her official birthday so here are a few of the fun events she decided to do.  She wanted to take a treat to her class at school, specifically fresh doughnuts from Krispy Crème.  So, at 7 am, I made the drive to Krispy Crème to get 4 dozen doughnuts (one dozen for us of course).  She only has 20 kids in her class, but, she LOVES to take extra treats around to the various other teachers and administrators throughout the school like the principle, custodian, librarian, secretaries, etc. – Bella is very SOCIAL and loves this kind of thing.  She took chocolate milk boxes and juice boxes along with the doughnuts, so, the class was set for a nice sugar rush early in the morning. 

After school we headed off to the mall for a little shopping so she could spend some of her birthday money and get her ears pierced.  Turning eight is a big event in our house because at the golden age of 8 you are now old enough and responsible enough to make the decision to get your ears pierced (mostly because you are old enough to take care of them yourself).  Upon arriving at the mall, we headed into Claires (a jewelry/accessories store that does ear piercing).  Bella selected the earrings she would like to use and have in her ears for the next 8 weeks (a 5mm set of cubic zirconium).  I think Bella was excited, yet, nervous for this event.  Bella is a bit squeamish and has a track record of getting light headed and even passing out in such venues as the Dr. Office or other high stress situations.  I wanted to be prepared for this if it happened, so I had Chandler run to the pretzel store a few stores down to grab a large lemonade so we had a cool, sugary refresher if needed.

Bella sat in the chair, the technician marked her ears with a purple marker and we evaluated if we liked the placement of the purple dots (as they represented where she would pierce the ears).  We both gave the go ahead and she began with Bella’s right ear.  I held Bella’s hand tight and after the first ear was pierced with the “gun”…nothing…Bella just stared straight ahead, no flinching, no ouch, nothing.  Hmmmm…I asked Bella if she was o.k. and she stared straight ahead and said “yes”.  The technician proceeded to the left ear.  Again Bella stared straight ahead and had no reaction as with the first ear.  After it was all over, we began seeing signs of trouble.  I grabbed the lemonade and had her take a few gulps as she looked as I’ve seen her look before when she gets “tired” as she calls it.  After looking in the mirror at her new earrings she started to go a pale shade of yellow.  Her lips started to fade to a bluish color and her eyes rolled up slightly.  Bella was slumped back in the piercing chair cold as stone.  I continued to rub her arms, pat her cheeks and talk to her (I’ve seen this happen a few times in Bella’s history, so I can stay pretty calm in these situations, but, I was still nervous seeing my child passed out).  Thankfully the technician wasn’t freaked out because she said she has seen it happen before.  She said we could stay as long as we wanted.  I wasn’t sure how long that would be.  Soon Bella’s eyes came back and we got her to take a few more drinks.  Now she was sweating like crazy – her hair was moist and her back was sweaty.  After about 15 minutes in the chair, she thought she could walk, so we transferred her out to the mall play area where she could lay down and fully recover on a nice padded bench.  After ten minute or so of this, she was fully recovered and in a store purchasing a new stuffed little lamb to add to her collection (we always seem to need a new stuffed animal around our house!).  It was great to see her bouncing around care free again!

Whew!  With this ordeal behind us, we headed to a different store so Bella could purchase a new purse and wallet and lip gloss (yes, we are in the girly girl years). 

With proud purchases in hand, Bella decided to eat dinner at Olive Garden.  Ariel met us there after her crew practice and the six of us had a lovely birthday dinner complete with an Italian birthday serenade and chocolate cake for Bella.  We missed having Steve there with us – but, life and birthdays go on even if Dad is working in another part of the country.

Bella is one of the most kind-hearted, warm, loving, caring, and friendly girls you will ever meet.  We love her so much and we are SO grateful we have her in our family!  We look forward to seeing her enjoy herself as a big eight year old!

Ohhh what a beautiful day it was today – 80 degrees, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky.  The trees are filled with blossoms, the grass is thick and green, the bushes are greening up and the yard is coming alive.  I just love this time of year.  However, the “for sale” sign is still at the bottom of our drive.

Yes, our house is still for sale…anyone want to buy it?  When we first listed our house in late February, the first lady that went through our home made us an offer.  We of course, were very excited about the potential of having our house sold quickly and pretty painlessly…until we saw the offer.  The offer was $300,000 below our asking price (less than we paid for the house almost three years ago) and she wanted to take possession of the house on April 1^st (In about 30 days from when we received the offer...we could be homeless?).  Well, it didn’t take us long to quickly counter the offer with full price and a close date of June 1^st.  She made us one more offer, but, it was still way to low and then she disappeared.  I think she was only looking for a bargain – and there is no bargain to be found on our property.  No bites on the property since then.

We show the house about once every few weeks which isn’t too bad.  We get a lot of positive feedback from all who go through the house, but, no serious buyers so far.  It seems the only people looking at our house are local buyers looking to upgrade…and have been looking for several years (not the best buyers).  I keep asking my real estate agent, where are the “relocation” folks?  The relocation families are the people I want coming through my house…those people with a week to find a house and who have a date in which they are hoping to be in a home!  Maybe the good weather and the school year ending will bring them around.

For now, I’m remaining positive and patient because I know our home will sell.  It just takes that one buyer to fall in love with our home and realize they can’t live with out it!  We will eventually be able to move forward with life and move to CO – it just seems like our life is a little on hold at the moment as we are awaiting our next step. 

Silly as it may seem, we keep our house in our prayers each night.  We pray that the right family will find our home and enjoy it as we have and we in turn will find the right home for our family in Colorado. 

We take comfort in knowing that there is a family out there that is the answer to our prayers…literally!

We flew to Boise, ID on 4/17/08 and then drove to Weiser, ID to attend the funeral services for Steve’s mom.  It was a great experience and we are certainly glad we were able to pull everything together and attend.  The kids have never been to a funeral before and were very curious as to what it would be like.  When I polled each of the kids to see what their interest level was to attend, I received a unanimous “Yes, we want to go”.  Later, after I booked the tickets (the price of which we could have gone on a serious vacation…but, we won’t think of that!) Chandler told me he wasn’t sure he wanted to go.  I asked him, “why?” and he said that he was afraid it might be too sad… Well, he was certainly right about that.  Just as we knew it would be it was very sad, however, it was a lovely and spiritual event as well. 

We didn’t get much time to spend with Teresa as we only knew her for about four years, but, we are so grateful for the time we DID have.  While we all will certainly miss her, we are so glad she will no longer suffer in pain. 

As I was thinking about our quick trip I came up with a few words to sum it up that all happen to start with the letter F.

Family – Steve was connected with this sweet family about four years ago.  Teresa was his birth mom, but, since she was a senior in HS, she put him up for adoption.  We feel so blessed that Steve found her when he did and that he had the time to get to know Teresa before she got sick with Cancer.  Upon meeting her for the first time, Steve felt he had known her his whole life.  The reunion between Steve and his mom was the most ideal reunion you could ever ask for.  We are certainly glad to have the Manser family in our lives and we feel blessed to know each one of them (Tim – Dad, Kim, Ashlee, Raquel, and Scott – Siblings).

Friends – I think we all wonder from time to time what impact we will have on others and the lives we may touch on our journey through life.  Teresa no doubt touched each life she came in contact with.  Her funeral was a packed house with standing room only in the church chapel and overflow area.  Her friends, neighbors and acquaintances brought enormous amounts of food for several days straight, sent cards, and some even gave money to help with funeral expenses.  Observing all these acts of kindness made me re-evaluate the kind of friend and neighbor I am.  I want to strive to be a better and more generous person especially when others are facing hardships.

Faith – I’m so grateful for the knowledge my faith gives to me to make saying goodbye to a loved one at a funeral much easier.  Knowing that we will be reunited with our loved ones in heaven makes saying goodbye on earth a temporary sadness; knowing they are in heaven and that we will see them again brings a quiet comfort and less heart break when a friend or loved one passes. 

Funeral – The services couldn’t have been more special.  The heartfelt stories about Teresa and her life made a sad occasion less so.  We all laughed at the stories of her stubbornness, admired the stories of her strength and courage, and marveled at her skills driving an onion truck (semi) to help out the farmers during onion season.  Most of all I was impressed with her ability to raise a solid, loving family and be the best example of a mother and grandmother she could possibly be.  Teresa was a beautiful woman both inside and out and certainly left her mark in this life.

Fun – Even in such sad circumstances, as the family gathers, there is still fun involved and a joy just being together.  The kids are scattered playing a variety of games, or simply enjoying being with each other. The adults are sitting around chatting, playing games, watching a recent photo DVD, or eating some yummy food.  Being together brings an element of love, laughs, and general fun times.

We are grateful to have been blessed to know Teresa and we will continue to think of her often.

Steve's Mom, Teresa Manser, (lovingly referred to as Mother Teresa) passed away yesterday morning (4/15/08).  As many of you know, she had struggled with the effects of Uterine Cancer for several years.
 
She was hospitalized a few times in the last week and suffered through a lot of pain due to a variety of recent complications.  She certainly was a fighter, but, it was her time to go and leave her physical pain behind her. 

Yesterday was Teresa's birthday...she turned 60.  It's a very sad time for the family as she was such a young mother and grandmother who truly loved life and all those around her.  We find comfort in the fact knowing that she is with her Father in Heaven now and reconnecting with those who have passed before her.
 
Our family will be flying to Boise, ID on Thursday to attend the services on Friday and Saturday in Weizer, ID. 

We are so grateful for those who are keeping this special family in their prayers at this time.  The family will certainly gather strength and comfort from them during this difficult time.

4/15/08

We are two weekend Regatta’s into our spring season.  A Regatta is a “meet” of sorts usually at a large body of water (lake, reservoir, or wide-slow moving river) where CREW boats that hold one, two, four, or eight people (and sometime one coxswain) race down a 5K or 10K course. Ariel is in her second year of this sport and has really enjoyed herself.  We love that she found a sport that she is excited about and is doing very well in.

Spring season is our favorite Regatta Season.  Spring season usually brings great weather, shorter races (5K instead of the 10K fall races) and great venues.  Two weekends ago we were in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for the John Hunter Varsity only Regatta and last weekend we were in Cincinnati, Ohio for the Cincinnati Invitational at Harsha Lake.  Upcoming races are:

Ø       Hoover Invitational at the Hoover Dam, Westerville, Ohio

Ø       Governor's Cup at Girggs Reservoir, Columbus, Ohio

Ø       Midwest Championships at Harsha Lake, Cincinnati, Ohio

Ø      Junior Nationals at Harsha Lake, Cincinnati, Ohio

This year Ariel is racing in a “light weight” boat category, usually the 8 boat.  Light weight is considered anyone under 130 pounds; they have weigh-inns before each Regatta and affix wrist bands to each girl to ensure the light weight boats are indeed filled with light weight girls.  Ariel’s light weight boat has done well so far earning a metal for each race they’ve been in.  In TN, they raced two races and received a gold and bronze medal.  Last weekend they raced one race and received a bronze medal (out of 15 entered boats).

During a typical race the girls have “rigged” their boats the night before (rigged means assemble the boats oar mounts to the boats) and the carry these large, heavy boats to the water with their coxswain calling out orders for a safe passage and unload to the water.  The girls smoothly place the boat in the water and load in the boat and begin to paddle to the starting line.  They usually travel up the entire course to get to the starting position and then usually wait for 40 minutes until it their designated race time.  The boats in each category line up six at a time and then race their heat.  The top six boats of all the heats in a category will race the finals at the end of the day. 

Once the race begins you only realize it as the boats begin to appear in the far off distance. As a spectator, to see the beautiful, sleek boats begin to appear is a sight of calm beauty.  As they move closer and closer rowing in perfect unison with a determination as a team to pull together and do their best, chills race down your back.  As the team is working together, listening to their coxswain coach them, and pulling so hard together to give it their all and approach the finish line, I have had goosebumps and sometimes tears in my eyes to see such a sight.

So far our weather at the Regattas has not been pleasant, but, we have high hopes for the next several as spring approaches quickly.  The sport of rowing is not the best spectators sport as you only see the last few minutes of the race and the finish (if your in the right spot) and one race requires two days of support and commitment from parents and the team.  There is lots of sitting around, chatting, and waiting with the other parents during these all day events.  You might say half the fun is just being there – Ariel and I certainly get some “quality time” together that we wouldn’t get otherwise

I’m so glad we’ve gotten to know this little known sport of CREW! There is nothing like seeing your child being growing in new ways, involved, excited, and proud to be a part of a team.

We have more Webkinz throughout our home that we should have, but, the girls just love them.  Even Chandler has his share of these small stuffed animals that come with a “magical” internet code that brings them to life in the online Webkinz world.  Recently the girls have been really bugging me to take them to purchase another Webkinz (with their own money).  I try to keep putting them off by telling them we already have too many Webkinz, and lets wait a while until we move, etc. etc. etc.  Still, they are relentless.

I was out of town in Cincinnati, OH this past weekend at a regatta with Ariel and I was on the phone with Gabby on Friday night discussing the soccer schedule for the next day.  I asked her how many goals she felt she would get at her game (I think it is important for them to visualize themselves making a certain amount of goals before they actually play the game).  She told me she didn’t know and I said I thought she could get five if she really tried hard (she is a very aggressive little soccer player when she wants to be).  She said, if I get five goals, will you buy me a Webkinz?  I thought to myself, “hmmmmmm…why not?” and I told her sure.  She was THRILLED!  Then she asked me what about Bella (always looking out for her sister).  We discussed the fact that Bella’s games are much more competitive and more difficult to score a goal, so maybe her target would be three goals.  Then what about McKinnon?  I explained that her games are VERY hard to get a goal (most games end with a score of one or two goals scored, if the teams are properly matched), so we decided two goals would be her “stretch” target (in hindsight, this goal was much too high one goal would have been a really good “stretch” goal).  The girls were thrilled and excited about the prospect of a new Webkinz if they could simply score some goals at their games the next day.

On Saturday at about 3 pm I received a call from a VERY excited Gabby explaining that her game had just ended and she had made exactly five goals at her game.  She told me it wasn’t easy because there was this really big girl who was always in the way and trying to stop her, but, she did it!  Steve later informed me how she elbowed and shoved her way efficiently through and around this big girl and she was very focused and determined to score her five goals.   I asked Gabby how Bella did and was informed she made her three goals as well (wow, I was certainly impressed).  I asked how McKinnon did and Gabby told me her game was still going on, but, so far she had scored one goal; but, now she was a defender for the rest of the game so she had no chance of scoring again.  At the end of McKinnon’s game, Steve reported McKinnon had a tear in her eye as she knew she had not met her goal of two scores (which is impossible to do if you aren’t in the right position, i.e. defender).  Steve reported that as a defender she actually had many amazing “saves” from the other team scoring, so he would chalk all those up to equate to a score thus making her goal.

Steve reported to me that all three girls (and Chandler...he had a different deal that covered a % paid for a new airsoft gun) had amazing games and all truly deserved their reward.  So of course I thought to myself, was it just another typical day on the soccer field, or was it the Webkinz that motivated the girls to achieve their goals?  I think they always try hard and give every game their best, but, on this particular day they had purpose and determination in their favor.  So, would they have scored five, three, and one had there been no promise of Webkinz involved?  Was the power and attraction of a new Webkinz that strong?  We will never know, but, I do know for sure a little motivation can go a long way. 

Going forward I don’t think there will be promise of Webkinz each week, after all, shouldn’t the thrill of scoring a goal for your team be reward enough?  We will see. 

As I was preparing for our spring break (to a location we’ve never been to), I did what I usually do…I went to the library and checked out a few books on the subject.   I had been to Bryce Canyon and Zion’s National park when I was in college, but more of a drive by rather than actually “seeing” it so I needed a little more information.  In one of my books on National Parks, the author stated if he was only able to visit one national park in his life time, he would choose Bryce Canyon.  I figured it must be pretty great if this guy who writes about all the national parks is recommending this one as his most favored. 

We only spent one day at Bryce Canyon, but, I’d have to agree it is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen.  Our trip around the world last summer provided us with sights that are so amazing they are hard to describe with mere words… Well, now, Bryce canyon is high on my list of those amazing places.  After arriving at our first vista at Sunset point Ariel made a comment, “Gosh, Mom, why did we even go to Zion’s, this place is way better”.  I wouldn’t say it’s way better, just way different – because of the Hoodoos!

Hoodoos…(yes, this is a real word) – a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion basically make Bryce Canyon the wonder that it is.  The Hoodoos are bright orange, yellow and cream colors and some tower 2,000 feet tall.  Geologists say that about 10 million years ago the canyon started developing and it is still actively changing every year.

After lunch, we hiked a 4 mile loop starting at Sunset Point down through the canyon and back up via Sunrise Point then back to our start via the rim trail.  It was a unique hike because the hike begins by hiking down switchbacks through the hoodoos down a canyon wall, then through the canyon, and then back up more switchbacks up the canyon wall.  There was still snow, ice, mud, and some steep portions of switchbacks, so we had to be very careful with our footings here and there.  Throughout our hike, everywhere I looked I felt like I needed to take a photo because the scenes were so beautiful, I finally just had to stop because I would soon run out of space and be quickly left behind by my fast hiking family.  My other photo loving sisters and I were able to stop the group occasionally for a few photo shots, but, not as often as we would have liked.  I was so proud of our group and all the kids with us.  The kids were all such good sports and hikers.  They listened to the warnings we gave them (stay on the path, etc…I think they realized the dangers of not obeying…like falling down steep cliffs hundreds of feet!) and kept great attitudes throughout our hikes.

I grew up in Utah, went to college in Utah, but never really realized what a treasure I had in my own backyard.  Just five hours away is one of the most unique and beautiful places I’ve seen.  We can travel the world to exciting and exotic destinations, but, sometimes those places are simply within our reach (by car…no airplane necessary).  I look forward to returning to Bryce Canyon and Zion’s National Park someday for more hikes and soaking in the beauty of nature in all it’s glory. 

We barely made it back home on Saturday as Steve's alarm didn't go off at 5:20 AM on Saturday morning as we thought it would.  His PDA has a weekend setting in which it silences all alarms on the weekend (smart huh???).  So he naturally woke up at 6:40AM and realized very quickly we were in trouble.   Our flight was at 8:10 AM.  We didn't even get out of the house until 7 AM so we knew it was going to be tight with a solid 45 minute drive (at least) to the airport.  Somehow all the stars aligned for us and we made it to the airport without a hitch, checked in to Northwest...there were no lines, made it through security...again, no lines, and made it to our gate and boarded the plane.  Wow, it just doesn't get any 'closer' than that.  Our luggage even made the flight.

Our spring break of course went by much too quickly, but we had a great time.  Below I will try to capture each day’s highlight…

Thursday, March 20, 2008 – Kids finished their last full day of school before spring break which includes mostly parties and “movie days”…Remind me to start my vacation on the last day of school before spring break because it is almost always a useless day to attend, but none-the-less, fun for the kids.  After school we drove to the airport to catch our flight to Salt Lake City via Minneapolis; we arrived at 11 PM and Steve met us at the airport in SLC with the car ready to go (he flew directly from Denver).  We drove to McFadden’s home to spend the next two nights (our dear friends from California who now live in Utah).

Friday, March 21, 2008 – Steve and Chandler head up to Snowbird to ski Steve’s old stomping grounds.  He was excited to show Chandler his favorite place to ski and the place he would ski any chance he got while growing up in Salt Lake City.  Heidi Christensen (friends from CA, now live in CO) and her kids meet us at the McFadden’s and we all head to the Childrens Museum for the day.  We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, a little shopping at Claires, more museums and then headed back to the McFaddens.  Dinner at Café Rio (our favorite quick Mexican food in Utah).

Saturday, March 22, 2008 – We headed down to Utah County to make our family wide hair appointments by 10AM Yes, seven hair cuts and two highlights PLEASE! (THANKS Aly!...after almost three years living in Ohio, Ariel and I still haven’t found a “good” person to do our hair…we have to travel to Utah to get it done by either sister Alyson or Teressa…we love them both!)  Saturday afternoon the Balls (our cousins) arrive from Boise, Idaho.  Yea!  Great to see them, it’s been a few years since we’ve seen this cute family of six).  Later that night almost the entire family (15 adults and about 21 kids) gathers at Moms house for Pizza Factory Pizza (Yum BBQ chicken pizza) and Salad for food and getting caught up with one another.  Head to Teressa’s house to stay for the duration of our trip while in Springville.

Sunday, March 23, 2008 – EASTER.  The kids awoke to find their Easter baskets (yes, the Easter bunny apparently can find children in other homes, it just appears he isn’t as large scale, generous and thorough as he might be at home).  We head over to grandma’s house for a large scale Easter egg hunt for 20 plus kids and Easter dinner.  We were proud of ourselves to round everyone up and get a quick photo to mark time with mom, all brothers, sisters, and cousins. It takes a lot of work to do this and get everything set up, but, we all seem to be in the same place only every few years so we have to take advantage of it.  We would usually try to get a professional photographer to come and take our photos, but, this year we didn’t plan ahead, so Emily and her camera timer did the trick in mom’s back yard after dinner.

Monday, March 24, 2008 – At 7:30 AM Kris, Emily and myself met at SAMS club with lists in hand to purchase food, snacks and beverages for the 21 hungry mouths for our three day stay in Zion’s National Park.  Around 10:30 we make it out of the house and begin our drive to Zion’s National Park.  After much searching, around 4 PM, we finally found the House/Cabin we rented for our stay.  We were fortunate to find a beautiful, new, and comfortable house to rent about 5 miles from the east entrance of the park.  The house fit our 21 bodies pretty comfortably and we were excited to begin our stay in this amazing part of the country.  We all head out to take a late afternoon hike near the east entrance of the park called the “canyon overlook trail”.  Wow, what a great way to start our vacation in Zion’s.  The hike itself was amazingly beautiful and fun for all – steep in places, walk under rock overhangs and narrow ledges, eat some cactus (thanks Ryan), enjoy the incredible vistas, and just enjoy being together.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 – A day at Zion’s… Lots to do and see today, so we decided to leave early and get as much in as possible.  We headed to the visitors center to catch the shuttle and we were off for our day of adventure in Zion’s.  We hiked weeping rock, Hidden canyon (Wow, my favorite…views, steep inclines, chain clutches, sandy narrow areas, and more), and the river walk trail (along the virgin river).  Around 3 PM, we were ready for a break so we headed to the visitors center to watch the movie about Zion’s (its history and formations), then into the little town of Springdale for some ice cream, and back to the house for dinner.  Whew…long day!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 – Day at the Ponderosa Park…Today we decided to have a day off of hiking and have a different kind of fun.  We went to the resort next to our house that offered a variety of activities and supported (and overwhelmed) this resort for the day.  Sixteen of us started the day with a Paint Ball game, then onto zip line, climbing the rock wall, lunch and general playing around.  It was a nice relaxing day enjoying the sun shine and the company.  Dinner and dominos that night.

Thursday, March 27, 2008 – Bryce Canyon.  After a fun early morning ATV ride (Steve, Jana Rae, Ariel and Emily), we checked out of the House in Zion’s and made the drive to Bryce Canyon for the day (about 90 minutes away).  We arrived at the visitor’s center, watched the movie, and ate lunch before beginning our hike down the canyon.  We decided to hike the 4 mile loop down through the canyon starting at Sunset Point and finishing up at Sunrise Point and back along the Rim trail.  Wow, this was amazing… The beauty of this place just never ends.  Photo’s don’t due the beauty justice.   I was so proud of all the kids for being such troopers and impressive hikers.  The terrain was pretty muddy and steep in parts and all the kids handled themselves so well…no accidents beyond the little scrapes, blisters, etc.  After our hike, we were a little tired, muddy, and ready to head back to Utah County with the goal of making Café Rio in Provo for dinner by the time they closed…we made it there by 8:45!  A great day.

A few awards I'd like to give from our time in Zion’s…

Ø       Bill - Determination award.  Next time we paint ball, Bill is on my team.  He is ruthless and don't even get me started on the climbing wall.

Ø       Teressa - Serious Moves Award.  I will never compete with Teressa in a dance competition (she has got some serious moves) and I'm pretty sure she models in her spare time.

Ø       Kris - Chief Chef Award.  Next time, she gets to be in charge of food...she can do some amazing things with left over chicken.

Ø       Emily - Park Ranger Extraordinaire Award.  She has some amazing "park ranger" skills and could hike anything in the park and give you details about what you are hiking (is it the hat?)

Ø       Mom - Go with the flow Award.  She was up for most anything even with those darn feet.

Ø       Steve - Move 'em out Award.  We needed Steve to get us moving and out of the house on some slower days.

Ø       Ryan - Hike Guru Award.  Next time we want that advanced hike, we know who to call.  Ryan has the book and the experience.  Thank you for your patience with us Ryan, I'm sure it killed you to be in Zion’s and NOT be doing some of your advanced “book" hikes.

Friday, March 28, 2008 – Recovery day.  I took Ariel to hit some of her favorite spots to bargain shop and look for a few new things while Steve stayed and played the Wii with the kids.  The Balls were leaving for Boise today, so we joined them for lunch at a place in American Fork known for its yummy burgers and shakes called BW’s and said our good byes to them.  The kids spent some energy during the afternoon at “Jump on it” (a large industrial building filled with trampolines lined up end to end for bouncing fun).  Back to Mom’s house for a quiet last evening before our journey back to Ohio.

Saturday, March 29, 2008 – 8 AM flight home.  Steve Stayed in Salt Lake to ski one more day and see his family in Salt Lake and then head back to Denver Sunday night.

We are still a little tired from the trip, but so glad it all happened.  We will always have etched into our minds the beautiful scenes we were able to take in from the day and hikes at Zion’s, our fun paintballing war and other activities at the understaffed Ponderosa resort, the time spent at the beautiful cabin/house, and of course Bryce Canyon.  For all of us 'Virchow’s', this was our first big 'get-away' as a family and I think it was a success (even though only half of us were able to make it this time (4 kids of the 8 and mom).   I think we built some great memories and 'cousin time'. 

When we lived in California, at the end of February, a large case of Spring Fever would hit me.  Spring usually hits Northern CA in the middle of March and you can begin to plant flowers, prepare your garden, etc. at this time.  Now that I live in Ohio, I still continue to get spring fever at the end of February for some reason, but, spring doesn’t actually appear until late April or early May!  It is extra strange to have spring fever and look out your window and see two feet of snow!!!

The news reporters called it the Blizzard of 2008.  The snow started coming down last Friday, March 7, 2008.  The reporters were predicting 12 inches of snow (but I tend not to believe them because they are usually wrong – they like to over estimate).  We were expecting Steve to arrive home around 6pm from Denver for the weekend (that is until they closed the airport).  The Airport was closed Friday in the early afternoon and didn’t open back up until Sunday.  Needless to say, Steve didn’t make it home that weekend.

The snow continued to come down on Friday and through the night.  We awoke to a little over a foot of snow, but, it was still coming down.  On Saturday morning I headed out through the snow to the gym, and the city appeared to be a ghost town (no one drives in the snow around here).    I was notified that they would be closing the gym due to a level 3 snow emergency (level 3 is the highest level of snow emergency), so I should be quick about my workout and head home soon.

We continued to get snow and blowing snow all day on Saturday and after it was all finished, we were left with about 24 inches of snow!  It was literally a winter wonderland.  I figured out how to turn on the gigantic snow blower.  After working for over an hour going up and down the driveway, I realized I was wasting my time because of the blowing and drifting snow (my hard work was easily erased by the wind). 

During the storm, the kids were in a little bit of white heaven.  Blizzard gear on (goggles a must), they headed outdoors to play in the fresh, fluffy snow (best part was building a snow fort in a large snow drift).  The kids were in and out most of the day on Saturday coming in for dry warm clothes and hot chocolate and then back out a gain refreshed and ready for more snow.

After the snow had slowed, I realized I needed to do something about our long drive way if we ever wanted to get Ariel’s car out of the garage.  Chandler helped me hook up the snow plow to the 4-wheeler (after putting our heads together, we figured it out and we were successful).  I never knew how much fun it could be to clear the drive way (much better than the snow blower)!

We survived the blizzard of 2008 and today it is exactly one week later (Friday, March 14, 2008) and the snow is completely gone but for a few piles here and there where the snow was piled extra deep.  Maybe spring is right around the corner.  I’m ready to break out my flip flops, short sleeve shirts, and plant some flowers!