Snowtown USA

 I think that Watertown is definitely living up to its name this year. We have SO much snow that there is no place to put it at our current house and I am starting to feel claustrophobic. It seems as if there is no end in sight and I'm itching to start building our new home. Positivity and massive doses of Vitamin D, that's what is pulling me through this.

 We went to the closing ceremony at Dry Hill on Sunday night and it was beautiful. Watching the skiers carry the torches down the hill followed by the fireworks was amazing. We truly enjoyed it.

Expressing Some Winter Energy

 On Thursday during vacation we headed to SYR with some friends to let the kids express some energy. The temperature has been so cold that skiing has been a challenge so we needed to get creative. We took the kids to Dave & Buster's for lunch followed by Billy Beez and finally some swimming.

 I'd say that the adults had equal if not more fun than the kids.

The kids definitely had more fun swimming. The dads (minus Ro who was working) played in the pool with the kids while the moms sat on the side and chatted.

 I had a make a very difficult call to the vet today and a decision will be made tonight about our first baby, our furry snuggler. Things have gotten progressively worse over the past few days and a tough decision needs to be made. So for tonight and the next couple of nights I plan to love this guy to the fullest.

Seth's Belated Birthday Gift

 For Seth's birthday this year we got him a ski trip to VT instead of a bunch of things he didn't need. He was thrilled and so were we. It was the gift that kept giving to the whole family.

 We decided to try Bolton Valley in Williston, VT. Despite the frigid -18 degree temps we made the most of the beautiful sun shiny day and skied from 10-4. It was a great family day.

Until next year VT...

Valentine's Day

 We were given a bonus "Cold" day off some school the day before Valentine's Day so Leah and I were able to bake and get a little crafty.

Valentine's Day isn't a huge holiday at our house, but I wanted to create a little something special for my loves so I created a list of reasons that we love each of them. They laughed at some of the silly reasons and enjoyed the candy most of all.

The BEST Weekend

 We started off my birthday weekend with an awards assembly at Leah's school. Leah was given the Character Ed award for "Responsibility". We are super proud of the student and little person she is becoming.

 Both kids had amazing report cards. Leah had all "outstanding" and Seth had all upper 90s. He has grown the most and become such a good student this year. We are beyond proud.

 Friday night some of my soccer mom friends took me out for a girls night for my birthday. It was so nice to chit chat without the kids hanging all over us.

 After Seth's game on Saturday he headed to Dry Hill and met up with his friend Weston and his friend Storm (pictured). They skied all afternoon.

 Leah was invited out with a friend for crafts at Michael's and then a treat at Panera. She had so much fun.

 Saturday night my friend Lisa had us over for a five course birthday meal and it was completely amazing. I had seconds and if my stomach had been larger I would have had thirds. It was that good.

 Then we headed outside, beer in hand for a snow fire. It was SO fun. The kids played and we lounged by the fire.

 In other news...Leah has her first wiggly tooth and she is over the moon excited about it.

Sunday on my actual birthday we went to Skewed for brunch and my dads for my favorite birthday meal. Needless to say, I ate a ton this weekend and may live on lettuce and water this week. HA. Such a great weekend. Thank you to everyone who called, texted, sent cards from overseas, sent packages, cooked for me, fb messaged me, etc. I feel so blessed to have amazing people in my life.

That's a WRAP January

 We have been working extremely hard to get out house in order to put on the market and this gem of a project was the last big money we hope to sink into the house. Our bathroom sink had been draining extra extra slow for a very long time, but we just lived with it. We knew that to sell the house this issue was not alright so we bit the bullet and had it fixed. It turned out to be a pretty big project, but now it's fixed and it feels so wonderful to have a sink that actually drains. It feels like a brand new house.

 Saturday night we drove to Lowville and celebrated Seth, Gram's and my birthday by heading to Steak and Brew in Turin. The meal was delicious and the kids behaved freakishly well.

 After our snowy trip to SYR on Monday we stopped at Wegman's and splurged on the BIG fruit tart. No lie, I gave Roland one slice and I've eaten the rest. It's all I wanted for my birthday and I've enjoyed every single bite.

 Yesterday we asked Aunt Dayna to chop Leah's hair. As much as I wanted it long for the weddings this summer, it was just too much day to day. Leah isn't a fan of getting her hair brushed or letting me put it up so it always looked scraggly. Now it's a cute little bob. I love it and so does she.

 Last night we opened our special care package from Johanna in FL. The kids were so super excited to open it and she bought them so many fun things, along with a dose of sunshine.

Happy 13th Birthday to our furry son Rocky. You have been an amazing and loving pet for 13 years and we love you tons.