Laura & her pail(s) of snow

No water, frozen pipes...yikes, must....have....coffee....to....think!

Hmmm, do I need coffee?

Yes, so now I will play Little House on the Prairie-

15 trips outside for snow = enough water for a pot of coffee-

boiling toxic snow for coffee...

Sigh, finally......

but wait, 9+ inches of snow, -8 degrees, wind chill advisory, 3 kids, 3 snow days, too cold to play outside and now…now…now...FROZEN WATER PIPES=Ahhhhhhhh!!!

10-13 inches of snow? Seriously?!

National Weather Service:

"Storm total snow accumulation of 10 to 13 inches. Bitterly cold. Lows around 9. North winds 20 to 30 mph. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent. Lowest wind chill readings around 13 below after midnight."

Super!

So....tonight the kiddos were peering out the upstairs window down at the Christmas lights from our house & the park lights. No snow yet. Sam was very curious exactly how tall off the floor 13 inches would be. I feel a fierce snow-ball fight coming on! HA-try you’re best Sam…I’ve made a few snowballs of my own before!

Madeline's Kindergarten Christmas tree...more glitter to the star on top & then it was off to school!

 

Christmas cards came in the mail today...time to address & then send out.  But I really need to wrap some presents; AND get a little house work done because if the weather man is right I will be doing nothing but building snowmen, making hot cocoa, and drying off cold cold cold hands! 

8-12 inches...not snow...SAND!

19   Days

The weather report states that we are in a winter weather something-or-other.  Basically we are forecasted to get between 8 -12 inches of snow. Wow. How exciting! There will be snowmen to build, a Santa to see @ Franklin Park, snow angels to perfect…and packing to start.

Only 19 days until we venture forth...head west…Arizona here we come! Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Susan, Mike, Nick, Mom, Rich, little brother Matthew & Steph….and JACKSON DEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t WAIT to see that big 14-month-old guy. Sam, Madeline & Noah Baker are pretty excited as well. Santa sent a letter confirming their where-abouts Christmas Eve & thanked them for letting him know; he knows just where Grandma Millie lives…she has a purple front door.

Sam said to me the other day with wide-eyed shock, “Mommy?” Amy: Yes. Sam: There is a problem. Amy: Why/what? Sam: Okay, IF Santa does bring me a BB gun...we will be at Grandma Millie’s house. Amy: Hmmm hmmm, and? Sam: AND?!?! She doesn’t allow any weapons in her house! Amy: Well, I imagine if Santa brings it she can probably make an exception. Sam: Do you think I would have to wait until I get back to Missouri before I could shoot it? Amy: We could probably find a cactus to shoot at somewhere in the desert. Sam: Ooooo!!! Can I shoot a scorpion?!?!?!

Sam-4 & Madeline-2 Snowy midwest...

Matthew/Steph & JD in KC

Ho Ho HO...Jackson Dean we will be there in 19 days!

Kiddos Christmas List...

SAM:

"I want an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass on the stock and a thing that tells time" (Santa will come through with this one)

*Comic Books/’Chapter Books’
*‘Lego Power Miners’ about $20. Lots of tiny pieces that he can put together
*Any of the ‘Justice League’ characters (Target) they have the ‘squared’ shoulders (superman, batman, etc…he doesn’t have any so no doubles to worry about)
*Knee pads/elbow pads (for his new skateboard/helmet he got for his birthday)
*A 10-12 year-old size bike
*Any & ALL sports balls, soccer ball, baseball gloves, bat, baseballs, big bouncy balls, outside-outside-outside sports stuff


MADELINE:


*Polly Pocket dolls
*Baby doll (“So I can hold her and bring her with me to places”)
Doll House (Santa is bringing)
*Pink/red chapstick
*TINY teeny tiny hair clips with the claws (her hair is so fine, these work well)
*She wants a BIG black and or a BIG pink bow for her hair, like a hair clip with a big huge bow on it.(She saw it at Walmart in the toddler/little girls section by the headbands/belts/tights-not in the normal hair accessory aisle)
*A 5-year-old size bike (we have Katie’s old one that is AWESOME, but it’s still too big for her for another probably couple of years)
*Any & ALL sports balls, soccer ball, baseball gloves, bat, baseballs, big bouncy balls, outside-outside-outside sports stuff (think pink)




NOAH BAKER:


*Silver ‘pistols’ that make clicking sounds when he ‘pows’ the bad-guys
*He REALLY wants the tall (12 inches maybe?) cowboy doll from the movie Toy Story -
(Santa is bringing the BUZZ-Lightyear toy doll that matches the Cowboy doll)
*Matchbox cars
*Thomas the Train ‘trains’ –wooden
*Any super cool & loud dinosaur toy :)
*A 4-5 year-old-size bike/new helmet (Noah is about as tall as Madeline)
*Any & ALL sports balls, soccer ball, baseball gloves, bat, baseballs, big bouncy balls, outside-outside-outside sports stuff

With that being said, this morning on our way to Reba's there were snow flurries, I said, "Noah! Noah! It's SNOWING!!! Look!" When we got there we stood out in the middle of her front yard, looking around for awhile & he said, "No Mommy, this is just 'frosting'".  :) Makes sense when we've talked about how the frost on the ground isn't really snow... I lOVE this age!

hot cocoa...

During our Christmas decorating (which has significantly decreased this year as we are spending Christmas in AZ in= 27 glorious days!!!) Sam wanted to put up some mistletoe.  Amy: You know Sam; I don’t think I have any mistletoe-looking around at the four huge bins of Christmas “crap!”as Rob calls it.  Sam: We HAVE to have mistletoe!  Amy: Hmmmm, well I don’t know-maybe we can make some?! (Giddy with thoughts of Christmas goodies & hot glue guns)  Sam: Make some?!  You can’t make mistletoe.  Amy: Sure we can.  Sam: Uhm nooooo (ever so sarcastically), mistletoe is made out of (spelling) L.O.V.E.   Amy: Big smile, leaning over & kissing his forehead… Sam: Ewwww! We aren’t under any mistletoe, that’s it-we don’t need any! Ewwwww, gross get away from me.

Wash up & roll up your sleeves...here we go!

The Christmas season wouldn’t be complete without making hot chocolate to give away…YUM!

Six hands & four ingredients later = perfection!

Cheers!

Jack/Jill...Jacob/Edward

Cleo and Madeline before EFE kindergarten class program ‘Getting Down with Momma Goose’.

Madeline’s little part was Jack & Jill…she did great!
Hi Mom!!!

After more than a year refusing to read the Twilight series…I finally picked up the first of four. At the time I had been struck down by the Plague; nothing else to do but feel dreadful…so I turned to page one. Fast forward a week & a few trips to the library, I was hooked.

Now this leads us to New Moon.  So here we are, a few of us in our mid-thirties contemplating how old (the actors) Jacob & Edward REALLY are. The answer is young, REAL young. 'Jacob' was born in 1992. Gasp!!! Well there goes that. Regardless of feeling like ‘Soccer mom cult-following thirty something cougars’…we enjoyed the movie. Wine & chocolate martinis before the movie helped dull the shrieking of 12-16 year-olds that had filled the theatre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A foggy start last Sunday...

Leaf wars

Cousin Harrison & Sam wish Great Grandpa Vilas a happy birthday...while sporting their new #12 Jimmy Costello Mizzou jersey. Or Sam's version: Ehhhhmn, clearing his throat- "Jimmy Costello baby yeAHHHHH!"

Little does cousin Jimmy know that he has changed Sam's future NWMSU Bearcat goals all around. He no-longer wishes to "live on the Ferguson Estate" during his college years here @ NW. Oh no, now he is going to live in Columbia, go to Mizzou for 8 years and then come back to Maryville & finish at Northwest for another 12 years; at THAT time he will return to the Ferguson Estate. So, with that being said...wonder what the heck he is going to be with 20 years of college?!
Meanwhile...on to the leaf pile. There was some serious fun to be had on those mountains of leaves heaped up in front of Great Grandma's yard...it took all they had to walk past those mounds of pure delight and into the house for a polite hug & cake eating (or rather Sam: cake/pie/ice-cream, Madeline: cake/ice-cream, & NoahBaker: ice-cream/ice-cream). Soon after the sugar kicked in, energy was to be disbursed...and quickly, outside.

The stage was set- jackets/hats/gloves, camera's...

cute kids...

The boy thought he could get away with a huge pile dumped on his father; he didn't anticipate his father being so quick with revenge!

Cousins in a leaf war...

Cousin Becky sooooo gets Madeline; with Great Grandma & Grandpa peeking and smiling out the window...

Cousins!!! Claire, Madeline & NoahBaker
the leaf'ing continues!
And the day ends with Uncle Dan giving Madeline his Girl Scout cookie order, due tomorrow, 47 boxes of peanut butter, 5000 thin mints, and 28 boxes of short bread cookies...by tomorrow; please.

Rolf Farms

Now we all know the difference between a combine & a tractor.  AND what their exact functions are.

Time for Sam & Noah to go out into the field!Noah Baker finds a seat...

What happens to all that corn?  Now we know!

Those kids were gone an hour!

With the field lesson over, time for some 4-wheeling-FUN!!!

A swell day was had by all, thank you-thank you-thank you to Melissa & her family...we had a fantastic time at the Rolf Estate on Saturday!