Where's the snow?

Joe, Tania, Aimee, Jason and Sasha made the trip down from Ashburn over this past weekend to take advantage of the Monday holiday. Since we had over 4 inches of snow on Thursday and predictions for more snow on Saturday I told Tania to be sure and bring the kids' sledding stuff. The snow was mostly melted by the time they arrived and Saturday's storm fizzled out so there was no sledding. We took a trip to Floyd in order to check out a lodge that we have been considering for a family reunion. Alas, the place is spectacular, but too expensive for the current state of our collective pocketbooks. We stopped in Floyd at the Cantina for lunch and enjoyed live music and wonderful food. The kids had a great time playing with Lincoln Logs and toy cars and Aimee showed off all of her Brownie Badges.

Now it's time for me to hit the mall and walk off all of the weekend!

Football and family

Greg, Alli, and Rex spent the weekend of January 13th visiting with us. We watched the football playoff games and there was much hootin' and hollerin' going on. We played some cribbage and had lots of good eats including Gene's American Chop Suey and some delicious carrot cake. Of course Arlene made some cookies. I made stuffed shells and stuffed mushrooms and we had leftovers enough for the rest of the weekend. The weather was so nice on Saturday that we were able to enjoy a walk by the river through Wasena and Smith parks. We saw lots of progress on the river bench cutting project and lots of old trees that were being removed. I hope it's worth it in the end.

The Spirit of Christmas Past

Well here we are in a new year, just when I was getting used to writing dates ending in '07'. Christmas was very quiet this year without any kids around to help celebrate. However, it was great to have Mom and Dad with us and Dad gets as excited as any kid when it comes to opening presents. Friends, who joined us for midnight mass, invited us all for dinner and we had a wonderful meal and enjoyed their company. As I have been walking almost every day (refer to ItsaMallMallWorld.blogspot.com for details) Gene gave me a pedometer so I can measure my steps. Ah, so many cookies, so many steps to work them off!

According to Sarah, Ethan had a great Christmas and especially liked the Shrek doll that Santa left him. Sarah cooked her first turkey dinner and Joe helped out with the gravy. They were joined by Joe's brother and sister-in-law and they shared a delicious meal. I'm looking forward to the day when I can sit down to a turkey dinner prepared by my darling daughter; hopefully someday soon.