Lemonade & Luck...or the lack of

Earlier in the month I posted about what happened to our home during the ice storm. Good times. Well, full of more good news (sense the sarcasm), as the installers (sub-contractors) were preparing the facia to hang the new guttering they informed me - on the way out the door to pick up McKinley from school - that the facia in the front needed to be replaced completely. They don't do that. Okay, call us when it's done. See ya!

Ummmmkay..........

So I began the process of getting estimates for new facia in the front because our contractor was covered up with jobs (due to the ice) and could not help. The estimates I received were for WAY more money that either of us wanted to shell out and having been long-time DIY'ers we thought we could tackle the task ourselves and save well over 75% of what was quoted. So, we set out to paint and hang the facia on our own. That Sunday, while McKinley was napping, I painted the new facia boards as Cary pulled off the old and prepped for the new boards. Once the new boards were dry Cary began hanging them while I served as scrub nurse, co-pilot, gofer, etc. We made quick work of the project and I'm so very proud of what we accomplished. It may not be perfect but it's sturdy, secure and looks good.

Life has been handing out an awful lot of lemons lately but we make a MEAN lemonade. I am so glad we can show our son how rewarding it can be to stand on your feet when there is no help to be found. Knowing this, and some basic home repair tasks will take him far in his adult life.

I hope we are nearing the end of this job...looking forward to testing out the new gutters, taking down the ladder, and resuming the redecoration of the mudroom and dining room.

Lynn

Whoa Mama!

Mother Nature packs a punch. And we have certainly felt the depth of that punch this week. In the middle of the ice storm, as I sat on our sofa in front of the huge picture window, I was jolted from my seat and thought the world was crashing down on us. Turns out it wasn't the whole world, as it sounded, but it was the whole gutter and facia from the entire length of our home. With it, the gutter/facia combo also brought down our phone line - ripped it from the side of the house!
Not an hour prior we saw a very large limb come crashing down into our backyard - thankfully, it didn't hit anything, but it certainly left a new problem...and a LOT of annoying sticks strewn about and a lot of cutting to do - while standing on ice.

So, we began the ordeal of having the gutters replaced - something sure to take a few weeks. And once that was on the way we had to find a way to 'skate' through the ice to get this huge limb chopped up and out of our way. Problem being, we no longer have a chainsaw...and a handsaw won't cut it - no pun intended.

We asked around to some friends if they had a chainsaw. All we wanted was to borrow one and do the work ourselves, but much to our surprise a good friend stepped up and offered to help. Not only did he log on facebook to put a post expressing his need to borrow at least one chainsaw, he contacted several of his own friends, finally tracking down two new chainsaws with a lot of promise.

To us, he even went a BIG step further and offered to cut the limb with Cary, in the bitter cold. We were truly humbled by the offer and cannot express our gratitude properly. Cary and Ben made very quick work of the ordeal as I prepared coffee and entertained McKinley and Lincoln. Then, a friendly invitation for coffee came from Lincoln's Mom, Kylie. The small break was more than welcome and we had a blast (as always) telling our stories and talking a HUNDRED miles a minute (because when you have a rare moment to talk without preschoolers, toddlers and newborns around you talk really, really fast because there is a LOT to be said!).

As Cary and I looked out the window, after the big clean up and coffee break the view was a little less of a blow. Now we wait for the ice to melt so that the repair can begin and the workers can be safe. In the meantime, our home has been secured from the weather and whatever else and we wait.

Having always been a huge fan of beautiful snow, it is so very unlike me to say this: I AM TRULY SICK OF WINTER. Spring has never been so welcome in our home.

I also need to point out how very blessed we are, and how thankful that there was no further damage. With such horrendous weather the outcome could easily have been much worse. We have much to be thankful for: our health, our home, true friendships, God's grace, and so much more.

Lynn

Ice, Ice Baby!

Boy, Mother Nature sure has a way with completely freaking a person out, and at the same time leaving them breathless.

Guess that's a woman for ya...

Well, Mama N. was in rare form this eve. She laid it all out there. Rain...in TWENTY NINE DEGREE WEATHER? Weird. Just weird.

As the evening went on you could look outside and see a glaze on EVERYTHING. I took photos of a shrub outside our front door through the entire storm.

About 2 hours in: when I touched the shrub is was starting to get 'crispy', if you will.

The next morning: Encased!

Day 3: This thing will not move! But it is gorgeous!















I was taken by the beauty of the ice and got brave enough to try standing ON the ice, I took so many photos! Isn't it amazing how something so beautiful can be so very dangerous!

Lynn

The last photo is of our brave little transformer. I would swear it was the only one left in the city after hearing them blow over and over again. This little guy only gave us a little flicker a few times and one very brief outage...miraculously! Had to photograph it just for posterity.

Pizza Night!

Call it Cabin Fever, but I've been feeling pretty uninspired in the kitchen recently...ugh! Normally, I love cooking and I always love having McKinley help, he is learning so much. Tonight I had an idea for something we have not made since McKinley has been a kitchen helper: M.Y.O. Pizza night! I love make-your-own pizza night---especially when I don't have to make the dough OR the pizza sauce! See? Uninspired. Anyway, Boboli to the rescue, courtesy of Cary. I know it's not the same as homemade, but better than the alternative. Besides, it allowed us to have a lot more fun with McKinley in the kitchen!

We pulled out the pizza peel and toppings and went to town! McKinley aptly named our Pizza Kitchen, Mama's Pizza (where we serve store-bought pizza dough, apparently...homemade next time!). He put the dough on the peel, spread the sauce and added the toppings by himself! Of course, I handled oven duty. But my little sous chef insisted on serving Daddy his pizza by himself. It was pretty sweet.

I love nights like this! As uninspired as I had been feeling, this impromptu little pizza night turned into a fun experience for all of us (and clean up was a CINCH! AWESOME!). More planned in the future!

YUM!

Lynn

Snow Hill

In keeping with a long-standing Haute tradition we all went sledding on Snow Hill. It was REALLY, REALLY cold but McKinley and Cary were very well bundled...me on the other hand? Not so much. Thats okay though, I had a great time with my boys! McKinley was zipping down the big hill by himself and screaming with delight all the way. It was pretty darn funny!

Here are a few of the funny photos!

Hoping for more snow, less cold so we can go again! We love sledding!

Lynn

Start out going forward....end up going backward!

McKinley's First Snow Day

Today was McKinley's very first snow day! At first, he was really disgruntled to find out we were not going to school as planned. Then he was confused...WHY exactly aren't we going to school, Mom? But he figured it out quick...once breakfast was over he pulled out the Polar Express, requested hot chocolate and prepared for day in our comfies. It was great. No sledding for us today, Daddy is off work tomorrow and we are all going together. Today is reserved for being warm and cozy!

Just look at that hot chocolate 'stache!

Lynn

A weekend of Christmas Events

With inclement weather undoubtedly on its way, we decided to make our second annual trip to the Christmas at the Zoo on Friday evening. Along for the ride was Savannah, much to the delight of all! I was pretty impressed with how quickly Cary and I and Robin threw this trip together!

We began our journey by listening to the Polar Express, the we listened to some Christmas Carols, and Savannah even grabbed a quick nap. When we arrived at the zoo, Cary and I strapped the two strollers together with Robin & Rick's handy-dandy-stroller-strappy-things and in we went to the beautiful zoo.

I made hot cocoa for the trip, which proved to be a real bonus for the kiddos, keeping them toasty on the inside. Before we even got inside I was doling out some yummies, resulting in chocolaty mustaches all around. Too cute!

Our visit started at the Oceans, where the seals and sea lions were all too happy to be the first entertainers. What a welcoming crew they were! Savannah and McKinley laughed and laughed as they swam by so fast.

On we went, walking through the darkness and enjoying the beautiful lights - it was gorgeous. We found Santa's village, inside we purchased two cookies for the kids to decorate. Both of them were BIG fans of the sprinkles. Mounds of sprinkles atop a strangely shaped cookie...love it! We sat down with a few other treats and drinks before heading onto the next stop, McKinley's favorite: THE TRAIN!

The line for the train was crazy long, but worth it! McKinley and Savannah insisted on sitting together, which meant a little cozy seat for me and Cary - and a great and rare photo op of the two of us! McKinley and Savannah were snuggled side-by-side under the blankets, grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

When the train was over (and beautiful it was...as always) we ventured to the carousel. Savannah said she wanted to ride an elephant, we found one right away! It was in between a monkey - for McKinley, and a horse - for me, as requested by Savannah. Fun, but cold...that horse was really, really cold. Funny how you don't notice those things when you're little.

Our night was far from over, time for the dolphin show! The kids LOVED the special Christmas show and were itching for the dolphins (or whales, as Savannah called them) to get the 'meatballs' (the small balls suspended from the ceiling of the arena). When they finally got them I don't think two kids in the entire place were louder than our crew.

After the dolphin show we finished our walk around all the pretty lights - I really liked the way the splash park was lit with a sound and light show. Very creative! Savannah noticed a light display of a raccoon, which honestly resembled a cat more than a raccoon. She was eager to point out that it was Valentine! So nice of her to remember our girl! McKinley really liked the 'turkey' - aka peacock. And the falling lights tree was breathtaking and enjoyed by all!

We left the zoo and walked to the White River Gardens. It is always so beautiful, but huge Christmas tree and the butterfly observatory are amazing with the holiday displays. The poinsettias in the observatory are insane.

The kids enjoyed visiting with the reindeer. Savannah said, "Wow, Lynn, they have really big ant-a-lers" How cute is that??? McKinley begged for pennies to throw in the little coy pond. And both kids loved looking at all the beautiful trees on display upstairs.

As with most things the Vernon family does, we closed the place down! The kids were pretty pooped and we were all hungry, so we quickly loaded up the strollers, blankets and stuff. Equally as quickly, we agreed on Red Robin for dinner.

McKinley and Savannah happily drew pictures for one another while we waited for our food. When we were finished, Savannah could stand it no more and suddenly ducked under the table, reappearing on the other side, next to McKinley. She threw her arms around him - surprising him so much he turned to me and said, "Mommy! Savannah is hugging me a lot...really hard!" He loved it. The hugging ensued and a small crowd gathered. Savannah said, "Lynn! Take a picture!" Of COURSE I left the camera in the car...so cell phone to the rescue! Just after I took the photo both kids simultaneously fell onto the booth, still hugging and laughing hysterically. It was a moment...

We piled in the car and settled in with blankets. Soon both kids were sound asleep...a good sign that the night was in deed a success.

Below, some of our fun pics! Also mixed in are the Clabber Girl photos -- the blog is acting up and won't let me put my pics where I want them! Grrrr!

The next morning we had plans with the Semmler fam to go to the Build & Grow Clinic and on to Clabber Girl's annual Country Christmas. The four of us were pretty tired from the zoo trip, so we agreed to pick up the kits and make it a late date at Clabber Girl. My Mom came with McKinley and I (sadly, Cary had to work today...) and we met the Semmler's and immediately dug in for some Christmas Crafting fun. McKinley and Savannah had their faces painted (McKinley, a candy cane. Savannah, a snowman) got a special personalized gingerbread cookie, they helped make a 'mouse' cookie, created an elf out of a little rolling pin, a reindeer out of a clothes pin and made a sweet bottle of sand art and a cookie-cutter ornament. We all had lunch together before Savannah and her fam had to leave for a family gathering. My Mom and I took McKinley over to see Santa. He still remembers that last year he got to watch Santa come back from his break by way of an elevator. This year, Santa waited for McKinley in his sleigh, but was his usually jolly old self. Santa asked McKinley what he would like for Christmas, McKinley told him he wanted a big bicycle and a big drum set. Santa asked if McKinley had been a good boy, he said, "Uh huh." Santa said, "If you get that bicycle, promise me you'll wear a helmet with it, okay?" McKinley said, "Okay". He was a little taken by the red-suited one this year. Not afraid, just feeling it!

Sadly, we had to opt out of the horse and wagon ride with Bud (we've really gotten to know Bud well over the last 2 years...). It was too rainy, but under my umbrella we gave Bud some love...who promptly nudged my umbrella. Hey, Bud, that's Coach...watch yourself! hahahaa! Guess Bud has good taste...

McKinley had a wonderful time at Clabber Girl. I'm so impressed with what they have to offer each year...good wholesome family fun and a beautiful atmosphere!

Happy Holidays!

Lynn