25 years

25 years ago on November 26, my big sister Beth got married to Rod. To celebrate this momentous anniversary, my niece Taylor and my other sister Kristen planned a party for Beth and Rod. I didn't do much planning, but got to help carry out the plans to make the party happen. I had thought it would be so much work, but it turned out to be so much fun getting ready. The worst part of everything was totally not being able to say anything to Beth!

Before pictures from the party, you need a little background first...

Yes, I was 5...the age of Meredith. I found a card that I had made for Beth before the wedding, and it looks just like the cards that Meredith makes. Too cute, right?!?
Here is Beth, my brother Mike, my sister Kristen, and yours truly.

Now back to the party. Here we were in the process of transforming the church...
Lauren taking a break from the hard work of decorating...


Meredith found her special place to play under a table.

And the transformation is complete!



The big surprise! Beth and Rod knew that Taylor and Lauren were planning something for Saturday night, but just didn't know what it was. They were definitely surprised when a limo picked them up and brought them to church where their friends and family were waiting for them.
Beth and Rod and their two girls.

Lauren and her cronies.
Taylor's friend Allison played and sang a few songs throughout the night - what a voice she has!

Surprisingly Kristen and Randy are playing with their camera here instead of playing a game on a phone! ;)

Kent and I - we didn't plan to both wear blue - I promise!
Taylor's small group from school helped serve and clean up...and what a wonderful help they truly were! By the time the party was over and we all started to clean things up, they had already washed all 60-70 teacups, the same number of glass snack trays, and all the silverware that we used. What a difference that made!

All in all, it was a great party - hopefully Beth and Rod enjoyed it too in spite of the surprise!

ANTM

So I'm a big fan of America's Next Top Model. It's not something I'm particularly proud of, but there you go. And unfortunately, Meredith is also a fan. She is no longer allowed to watch the show - and hasn't been able to for quite a few cycles (that's season in top model talk!) However, she still remembers what Top Model is like. This morning after Meredith missed the bus, she was dressed and ready to go outside but had nowhere to go for the moment. So in her 5-year-old mind, it was a natural jump from waiting for the school bus to top model poses in snowpants, coat, hat and mittens!
And of course Jesse had to be right there copying her every move...in his pajama's and Meredith's boots!

Let it snow II

Welcome to our snowy world...




Yes, there is an evergreen bush under that drift...

Winter is here.

Let it snow! Let it snow. Let it snow?

Am I crazy that I'm enjoying looking out the window and seeing snow? (Note to Kent: that is a rhetorical question...I already know that you think I'm crazy!)

Have I forgotten the seemingly endless snow storms of last year?

The gigantic snow plow that had to open up our road because a regular snow plow wouldn't make a dent in the drifts?
The endless times that I had to drive Meredith the 1/4 of a mile to the nearest hard surface road because the bus wouldn't come on a gravel road? (How sad is it that my then 4-year-old would ask me every morning if it was hard surface roads only for the buses?)


The endless snow days...OK, so that part was fun!


The endless snow advisories and winter weather warnings.

And who could forget when Meredith's bus got stuck in the ditch across from our drive (ok, so now I remember why the bus drivers didn't want to drive on gravel roads!)


And what about the snowman that Meredith made that stayed in our yard FOREVER!!

But I also remember feeling so cozy in my warm house as the wind and snow was blowing outside.

And it was so fun to drive around the country "block" to see how deep the snow was.

And the snow dampens all the sounds so it seems much more peaceful outside.

And who wants to look at brown grass and brown mud for the next 3 or 4 months anyway?

We'll see what I think in a month or two. (Although unlike other people in my house, I didn't get tired of winter last year until March!)

the little things...

Catching up on what happened today and drinking hot chocolate...

I love my family.