Here comes the SNOW.......

So it doesn't snow very often here in Virginia...but once in a while we will get a little.
But today we are suppose to be having a blizzard...they are calling for 22 inches....22 INCHES!
We may be snowed in for a while.....I went to the store and got all my stuff for holiday baking, we rented some movies, we have a gingerbread house we are going to make....if we are still snowed in after that you might need to get me a straight jacket.
I will keep updating the pictures as it builds up....

This was the beginning last night......

This is what we woke up to this morning.....


This is how I like to be in the snow....from my window....with some hot chocolate.....a fire going......the smell of cookies. I'm obviously not a cold weather person. Wish me luck snowed in with 4 kiddos and a husband for the next few days! :)

Updated picture 12:30pm

Sienna went out and it was so blizzardy she wanted goggles...these were all we could find....

Sienna was having a rather difficult time walking in the snow.....More like Conwey pulling her along....

Getting on her first snowboard....


She lasted about 10 minutes....she is sure my daughter!
Will update more soon.....

Hunter (just for the record I wasn't on board with this!)

Cooper
I missed taking a picture of Jackson...


Updated 6:00pm and still snowing!

This is what i have been doing all day.......

Christmas Trees....

So it is a true miracle at our house when we have our Christmas trees and are all decorated before December 1st! We seem to always run late with getting our trees because of all the craziness with sports. So this year I decided I really really want to have the spirit of Christmas and not be the bah humbug girl I was last year.
I told Conwey the day after Thanksgiving I thought we should go get our trees and he looked at me like I was crazy. After explaining to him it was the only weekend we had without sports he agreed to go.

He LOVES to go and cut down the tree at a tree farm. It seems every year it always ends up disastrous and everyone is fighting and mad. So I gave him a lot of grief this year about doing it since he is the ONLY one who likes it. I said can't we just go to Costco or the corner lot. They have great trees and are so much cheaper. He said Jess this is one thing I really love please just give me this...so like a good wife that I am :) I gave in.

I will say that we had a lot of fun this year....no big fights....and it was a beautiful day outside. And bonus....because we were so early they had TONS of trees to choose from.

(sorry if you have already seen some of these pics on facebook)

Hunter starts it off....

Coop

Jackson


Even Sienna had a turn...

I finished them off.....with a big TIMBER.....ha.....

Hunter did a great job pulling that big old tree....

Coop and I pulled this one together....and if your wondering where the heck Conwey is...he claims he can't because of his knee surgery! Nice! ;)

On to the decorating...if you notice Sienna...that is pretty much all she did....dance to the Christmas music...not so interested in hanging ornaments or pretty much anything...except dancing.....



The finished products...The Living Room Tree......we had to cut so much away to make them fit they aren't nearly as big as they were on the tree lot.....kind of sad.


Great Room Tree.....
Now I really do think I am going to enjoy this season so much more. Except I haven't even thought about my Christmas Cards yet....ahhh one step at a time!

Thankful.....

So I don't know about you but Thanksgiving came faster than I could even imagine. I swear it was just Halloween. It's starting to scare me how fast the months go by.

We had Thanksgiving at our house this year. Conwey's sister Kasi usually lets us use her house for these things but got a well deserved break this year.
I have to say I really love all of our family. This year it was just Conwey's family but I feel like they are mine too. There is such a sense of love between all of them and I am just very grateful to be a part of it.

We woke up on Thanksgiving morning to this....


A little eire but definitely felt like a Thanksgiving day out! So Conwey and the boys headed off to a Turkey Bowl at the High School and played for a good 3 hours, while Sienna and I headed off to the gym for a couple of classes to try and burn some calories in preparation!
Then it was home to get things ready....I think I fell into my bed at midnight without ever really sitting down. Now I understand better Kasi! :)

I didn't let my kiddos get off scott free though...

This is Jackson tackling me because I took a picture of him vacuuming....I don't know why they are so nervous when I take pictures....it's not like they would ever be out there for the world to see! :) And he really did tackle me to the ground! I had to fight to keep that picture....

Conwey is always the mashed potato maker in the family....so this is what he did for a few hundred hours....


Then the guys in the family came up early and all went to play a mean game of basketball......

Yes those are folding tables...Conwey keeps telling me to get a dining room table but honestly this would be the ONLY day we would ever use it....and yes we decided to go with paper products this year because lets face it who wants to do 3 hours worth of dishes after all that cooking! And I did not do all the cooking. Then I would have been very stressed out...they don't even make me cook a Turkey (vegetarian) Thank Heavens!!! All the food was so delicious! My highlights were as always my mother in law Jill's yams, Paige's sweet potatoes, Sierra's yummy pretzel salad...hmmm I think I may have a sweet tooth. That was all before dessert! Hence the workouts!


Everyone starts arriving...Madie and Baby V

Noah and Sienna love each other...they kept doing "cheers"

Ceily who just turned 13! Happy Bday Ceily! Not sure what she's eating there......


Our favorite family card game....Chowzer....

The exhaustion starts to creep in.....Hunter

Nico and Ed

Lana Lu

Ed...asleep sitting straight up in the chair.....Love him!

So this year I have so much to be Thankful for! My awesome family far and near, my wonderful dear friends, my husbands job, my health and my family's health which I feel is such a great blessing...my faith, my home, my blackberry....Just kidding! (kind of...)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!