2014... Ready or Not!!

Ready or not because here comes 2014. I wonder if it's like March... in like a lion and out like a lamb because 2014 didn't come easy.

Cecilia 11.5 months

We started off the New Year staying home with 2 sick twins. They both had horrible colds (or sinus infections) complete with green snot, low grade fevers, coughing and lots of crying (probably meaning sore throats). Throw on top of that, Hadley was getting 2 new teeth and Cecilia was getting 1. They weren't happy. Poor little things would walk around the house whining and crying-- falling and stumbling around. Little did we know that it would take almost two weeks to get them feeling better.

Hadley 11.5 months- sleeping off her cold

I remember when Elise started Christmas break I lamented how much she and I would miss her going to school. Elise loves school, and I love that she has time away from home to learn new things and to have fun. Christmas break seemed like it might be a long 2 weeks but we didn't know it actually would turn into 3 weeks!

School was closed her first week back -- we had gotten 13 inches of snow on top of the foot we already had. The daily highs were 4 degrees and the wind chill was -43. It was impossible to keep the roads clear with all the blizzard like winds nor did salt or chemicals melt what was left after the snow plows came through. We were all stuck indoors. It was beautiful outside but inside we all had cabin fever! Our county had us at a level 3 snow emergency for most of the week-- signaling that it was illegal to drive on the roads. All the stores and restaurants were closed.

The one day I ventured outside to clean the driveway between snow storms, I snapped a few pictures of the dogs. A mere 15 minutes later I was frozen and ready to come in. It was bitter.

The frost inside our sliders. Yikes!

Snow drift almost up the entire fence

Making our own fun inside... playing in the tunnel

Ironically, after all the bitter cold and snow, the temperatures warmed up to the mid 40s a few days later. We are now stuck with puddles of melting brown snow. It's almost like it never happened!