From Snow to Sunshine!

Wow, what a week! It seems like the last 7-10 days were two entirely separate weeks or even months, not at all connected. It all started last Sunday, when the ice began to fall! While many parts of the Atlanta area received inches upon inches of beautiful white snow, all we got was ICE, and lots of it! By the next morning, even TJ, MR. I CAN DRIVE IN ANYTHING, decided it was best to stay home and call into work before heading out on the icy roads. The kids' school had already decided to close the night before and TJ's office decided to close too, so we got an extra day home together! It was a fun day. We all stayed in our PJs. We made snowmen out of rice krispies, watched movies and played! The next day, school was closed again, but TJ decided to get up early and venture into work anyway. BAD idea! The roads were awful and TJ was stuck on the interstate for 3 hours, only to find out that his office was still closed. The kids and I played dress up and had a game day! Trip stayed in his dinosaur costume all day. Mady went through multiple costume changes...first she was a ballerina princess, then she put on her new Ariel swimsuit, next she covered herself up in warm clothes, and then she added her supergirl cape, some bright pink bloomers and princess high heels! She looked fabulous in them all! TJ finally made it back home while the kids were down for naptime and got to play with us the rest of the afternoon. Finally on Wednesday, even though school was still closed, TJ was able to get to work and the kids and I were able to get out of the house! I was so excited to finally get out! I took the kids to run a few little errands and then we went to a local pizza place for lunch. When we first got there, it was pretty quiet, but within 20 minutes the place was crazy packed with moms and kids just needing a reason to get out of the house. The kids played games in the game room, and I sat by myself for a bit. Wonderful! Then, we shared some pizza and came home for naps. I was so shocked that school was still closed on Thursday, but we rolled with it once again. I had a few last minute things to pick up for our trip to Florida, so I found a fun way to include the kids. We got up in the morning, got dressed and went to Wal-mart! Otherwise known as the donut store! Trip and Mady picked a donut and we took it to the in-store McDonalds, so I could get a coffee and a biscuit to eat with them. They loved it! Then, we shopped for my few things and played in the toy aisles for a good 30 minutes. I remember as a kid loving the toy aisle. I could just look at the toys forever and Trip and Mady are no different! Such an easy way to have fun with them! Mady and I also had fun painting our toenails and putting her hair in pig-tails for the first time. See the precious picture above! We'd all had enough of the ice and cold and could not wait for our trip to Florida and the warm, sunny weather!

We left on Friday morning. With all the bad weather, the airport was still recovering from all the delays, but we got on our flight and made it to Fort Myers with no problems. The kids were great on the flight down. I was lucky enough to get to sit by Trip, so I even got to read my book. Our time in Florida was so fun! Trip and Mady had a great time with their cousins/second cousins (whatever the technical term is)! All the big kids, Trip being the oldest and Mady the youngest of 4, got to sleep upstairs in the bunk beds. Mady was in her pack and play still; she tried the big girl bed, but she just wasn't ready yet. Each night, they got to read a book in bed for a few minutes, then have flashlight time and then it was lights out! No one ever went to bed right away, but they all did really well together. We went to the neighborhood playground a few times, swam in the pool and went to the beach. And, the adults even got to have a night out without the kids while the grandparents watched the kids! What a treat! Saturday night, the adults cheered the Packers to another win, trying hard to cheer quietly while the kids were in bed! And, Sunday night, the girls got control of the TV and we watched the Golden Globes. We were all sad to leave on Monday, but after a fun day at the beach, it was time to get back to reality. We got home late Monday night and the kids passed right out! What a fun weekend with family and a wonderful relief from the cold!