Blizzard 2013

"Nemo" was forecast for several days in advance, so we had plenty of time to prepare for the "Blizzard of 2013." We always store water, extra food, batteries, flashlights, and a little extra gasoline for the snow blower and lawn mower. But I did add a back-up power pack for my phone (or anything with a mini-USB or regular USB charger) and got an extra gallon of milk on Thursday.

Nemo moved in on Friday afternoon as predicted and started to grace us with big, fluffy flakes. Every school in the state closed in anticipation of the event. So the kids and I were home to enjoy the lack of snow and watch endless weather reports. Ian went into work early and came home on the 2:10 train (the MBTA closed down at 3:30 to prepare for the weather).

By 4:30 we had a few inches of snow, so Ian and the kids headed out even though it was starting to get a little dark.





Snow baseball. If you look closely, you can see that Aiden has gotten a piece of this one!








Malcolm and I mostly stayed inside, but, in an effort to be "in the picture" and to bend to the demands of peeps on Facebook, I took Mr. M outside for just a few minutes. I don't think he was impressed.


On Saturday morning, we woke up to the power on (YAY!) and a just a little more snow.






Everyone was fascinated by the continuous weather updates!


Ian took the kids outside, but Devin was overwhelmed by the snow (of course, if you were shorter than the average snowdrift, you'd probably be a bit nervous, too). So he came inside to enjoy some fun in his "fort."






Ian and Aiden lived it up outside for close to TWO hours!




Love this picture! I might have to have it framed.


And, who needs a hill when you have stairs?


The following day, Ian got down to the business of clearing the driveway. Thank goodness we bought a snow blower when we moved in to this house!




You can see all the pictures of our fun here:
 

Pie-Crust Promises (aka, "New-Year Resolutions")

"That's a pie-crust promise. Easily made, easily broken." says Mary Poppins to Michael and Jane when they ask if she will stay if they promise to "be good." That's kind of how I feel about new-year resolutions. We start out strong on January 1st, and, by about the 15th, we've lost momentum. By February, those resolutions often seem like a silly idea to have toyed with in the beginning.

I stopped setting these types resolutions years ago. However, earlier in 2012, I read an article online about moms being "in the picture" with their kids--literally. Too many of us moms stay behind the lens of the camera, capturing every moment of history in our children's lives. And, yet, we're hardly ever in the pictures ourselves. So my only big resolution for 2013 is to "be in the picture" with the rest of the family. (Click HERE if you would like to read the aforementioned article yourself)

This morning, I put together a quiche for our new-year's day gathering at Ian's parents' house. Devin wanted to "help" with the pie crust dough, so I took a few shots before I realized, "Wait... I need to put myself in there, too." I have a timer on the camera, so we set up a shot. I still think the ones of Devin are cuter (which is why they are first), but be prepared to see more of me* on the blog in the coming year.

Happy New Year and best of luck with your own resolutions!







For Grandpa Wrz...




*Please note, I make no promises about whether such pictures will be PhotoShopped prior to posting. In fact, you can almost guarantee that all of them will be!

Blessings through service

For two years, I've been serving in the Relief Society Presidency in my ward (for my non-LDS friends, that's the leadership portion of the women's organization). I've had the opportunity to serve the women of our congregation by being part of an amazing team of women.

As is the way with our organization, however, people come and go and church "jobs" get reassigned. Because our fearless President, Holly, is headed for Paris (yes, the one in France) while her husband is on a long-term assignment there, our presidency (i.e., leadership group) has been "released." This is a very normal part of the culture in the LDS church and it's not any indication of a job poorly done. However, though serving in these types of callings where you work very closely with other people, it can be difficult to say goodbye and leave the regular contacts behind.

I hope that our friendships will persist past this release (and who knows, we may be called to serve with the new President). Regardless, I feel very blessed to have had this opportunity to serve, learn, and grow in my calling and to work with such amazing women who serve the Lord and their sisters without hesitation and through illnesses, stress, holidays, work, and other setbacks.

Columbus Day was a holiday in our area, so we met for breakfast to just relax and chat (something we try to avoid too much of during official meetings) before saying goodbye to Holly and "disbanding."  I will miss these ladies!

"In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines. I pledge... [my] full loyal devoted service to the tasks that may come to me to the full measure of my strength and my abilities and so far as they will enable me to perform them, however inadequate I may be."
--President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., in Conference Report, 9 April 1951, p. 151

A little getaway...

This weekend we left the kids with G&G Zafft for a 24-hour getaway to the beautiful White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. We stayed at a lovely hotel called the Castle Hill Resort which is in the Okemo Mountain area (we stayed in the less exotic hotel at the resort but it was still very nice).

We checked into the hotel and headed for a nearby attraction: Buttermilk Falls! The Buttermilk Falls is a series of small falls on the Branch Brook river. The falls are small but very pretty and we enjoyed a very low-key hike around the winding river.

The main falls and beautiful pool below.


The rocky traverse.


Dipping our toes in the "non-designated swimming area."


After our "hike," we headed to the charming town of Ludlow and found an Irish pub for dinner. We enjoyed some good food, got a suggestion from the server for a place to have breakfast, and headed back to the hotel to take some gorgeous evening photos of the "castle."

The front of the mansion.


Our view of the mountains at dusk.


And here are some shots of the castle and grounds in the daylight after we'd had breakfast and checked out of the hotel.


The grounds are gorgeous!


We managed to capture a shot of ourselves.


We then headed for Ruggles Mine outside of Manchester, New Hampshire.




The mine produces mica, beryl, quartz, and uranium (yes, the stuff that makes you glow in the dark)!


Some pretty amazing holes and crevices to explore.




You're allowed to take anything you find out of the mines though some of the quartz I likes was a bit big to take with us.


So I left my mark instead.


We had a great time and Vermont and New Hampshire are quickly winning me over. Feels like home...

You deserve a Time Out!

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Time Out For Women (TOFW) with a wonderful group of ladies. We headed to Hartford, CT, Friday afternoon and stayed overnight in the Marriott next to the convention center. We had a lovely time and I came back feeling recharged and inspired.

If you haven't had the opportunity to attend a TOFW near you, go check out the 2011 schedule and book your tickets now. You couldn't spend a weekend any better!

This year's theme was Infinite Hope. The 13th Article of Faith states:

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul- We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Here is the group of gals I went with enjoying lunch on Saturday.

The food was ok but the company was great!

More Summer Fun!

Last weekend we headed to Falmouth to celebrate Wayne's birthday. I'd never been to Falmouth before and it was absolutely gorgeous! Definitely my favorite place on "the Cape" so far! We stayed in the summer home of an extended family member and it was very relaxing.

We drove down Saturday afternoon and on Sunday morning, Ian and his parents took the kids down to the beach while I slept a little later (I didn't realize at the time that I was coming down with a little virus but the extra sleep was appreciated regardless).

Aiden giving Ian the only face-forward shot of the morning.


The kids enjoying the sand and surf (I'm told the water was warm and just perfect).


Devin exploring the sand...


One of the gorgeous houses on the private drive just down from us. (We were staying in something a little more modest)


We also made a trip to the Museum of Science recently. Since we purchased a friends and family pass from the American Museum of Science and Energy, we can now stop by the Boston MOS or Children's Museum whenever we feel like it!

Aiden offering me a pencil in the MC Escher display.


Devin seeing what very coarse sand feels like on bare feet (he didn't like it much).


And rarely caught by the camera's lens, ME (holding Devin, of course)!


Hope you're having just as much fun this summer!