Sunday, February 3, 2008

Ski Trip


Shawn and I went with my parents last weekend to Showshoe Mountain, WV for a short ski vacation. The trip had been planned for several months and we were all really looking forward to it...that is until the Friday before we left when I came down with the flu!! I ended up at the doctor's office on Saturday morning with a 103.4 temperature. Fortunately, the doctor sent me home with some good medication and we decided to continue with our weekend plans. We all drove up on Saturday afternoon. Mom cooked us some yummy chili on Saturday night for dinner since I still didn't feel like going out. Sunday morning Shawn, mom and dad decided to venture out to the slopes. I was still quite content being left in the condo since I felt like I'd been run over by a truck and it was really windy with lots of snow coming down! I did give skiing a try on Sunday afternoon, but quickly ended up back at the condo enjoying the hot tub instead. We went into the village on Sunday night to do a little shopping and have some dinner. We stopped by an outdoor fireplace to get a few minutes of warmth, but ultimately decided to just go back to our condo and build our own fire we could enjoy all evening. I woke up feeling a ton better on Monday and the weather was beautiful...sunny and warmer...so we all went out and did some great skiing. When it was time to check out, we still weren't ready to leave, so we loaded up the car with our stuff and went back to the slopes. The last picture is of my mom and dad on the ski lift in front of us. We skiied most of the day and then enjoyed a very scenic ride home...I'm pretty sure my dad took every "short-cut" from West Virginia to Richmond! Even though I was sick the whole weekend, it was a great time for the four of us to get out and enjoy each other and nature.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

SNOW!! (and an adoption update)

So...I know it wasn't much snow, but it was more snow than I have seen around here in a long time! And if you know Shawn and me, you know that we love snow!! There was a small snowstorm forecasted for Saturday afternoon, but then on Friday night they changed the forecast, saying the weather was going to go further south and east. Needless to say, we were very disappointed. But while doing some spring cleaning, I looked out the window to see quite a bit of snow falling. It snowed most of the afternoon and evening and we were very excited to go out walking in the crisp weather. Too bad it all melted on Sunday:(

Also, we had our first meeting with our social worker on Tuesday. This is formally called our home study, but only one of the meetings is actually at our home. We were both a little nervous, but there was no reason for that! It started off with us asking questions based on a packet of information that we read and then for the final hour or so, we talked about the adoption process, the risks, fees, things to do and things to look forward to. Overall, it was a very informative meeting. We really like our social worker...she is young, laid-back, and very easy to talk to. We will meet with her again (at our house this time) on February 12th. This is the meeting where it will be more like an interview...but I won't get nervous about that until it is a lot closer!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Couch Potatoes


Things have been really quiet around here since we returned from Missouri. We aren't complaining, though! For most of the fall, we were so busy we didn't know if we were coming or going...so this is a welcome change. Time has been spent watching football (boo, Patriots!!) and going for evening walks around our neighborhood. It has been unseasonably warm here which has been helpful in getting us out of the house to walk off some of those extra Christmas pounds. We just seem to be lacking any enthusiasm to do some things around the house that need to get done. We would love to hear what everyone has been doing to keep busy this month...maybe it will give us some ideas to spice things up!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Shawn and I went to Missouri for Christmas to spend time with my grandparents, parents, and aunt and uncle. We had a wonderful time relaxing, eating, and playing the video game Guitar Hero...even my grandparents got in on the video game action!! My grandma had these aprons made for us a few years back and it is now tradition to wear them while we prepare Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day lunch. My family took on very gender specific roles the day before Christmas...while the women spent most of the day in the kitchen making dinner and a gingerbread house, the men went out to a local farm to shoot clay pigeons. Don't they look like a rugged bunch?!? Apparently, both Shawn and my dad are good shooters! My grandpa was impressed with their ability. Other then doing a lot of eating...I'm pretty sure I gained 5 pounds in a week...it was great just spending quality time with my family. It is such a blessing to have a family that is able to spend long amounts of time with each other and still love each other at the end of the week! I'll leave you with two pictures...our fabulous gingerbread house and my 70-something year old grandma rockin' out to Guitar Hero!