Winter White Out

 On Thursday the snow started. It was just a dusting at first but by 2:00 p.m. it looked like...

 this! I thought that was a lot for where we live, because we rarely have much snow. But no, it has been snowing steady for three days now, with a few hours break from the constant snow on Friday morning.

 Ella braved the cold and wind to go grocery shopping with her daddy on Thursday evening. 

View from Ella's bedroom window Thursday afternoon. 

The snow was gorgeous Friday morning, pristine and untouched. Plus the sun peeked out for a couple of hours too and the wind died down. It was serene. 

 Front yard

Backyard. The wind blew the snow all over our patio covering our patio furniture, plants, and grill. 

Luckily, Nicholas had two sets of hand-me-down snow bibs in size 4t which fit the kiddos perfectly. Well, Nicholas' were a bit tight since he's actually wearing a 5t, but they worked to keep him warm. Ella was quite pleased.

Jeff came home early from work on Friday afternoon to beat the second storm that rolled in and the children were super excited to get bundled up and go outside to play with him. 

They had a blast making snow angels, building a snow mountain, and making snowballs. 

This morning Ella spotted little birdy footprints all over the patio. I hope the birds can find enough food. It might be time to get some birdseed and make feeder crafts for homeschool this week. 

Today the storm started again around 10:00 a.m. and it's been snowing and blowing all afternoon. I would guess we have 2-3 inches of new snow on top of the 3-4 that had accumulated since Thursday.

 I made my family a hearty breakfast to give them fuel for playing in the snow. I attempted my first-ever batch of pancakes made from scratch and they turned out perfect! 

All of my weekend classes have been canceled so we are spending time cuddling by the fire, watching family movies, and bundling up to play in the snow! We ventured out later in the afternoon and Jeff and Ella found the perfect sledding hill near our house and used Jeff's childhood sled to go up and down the hill a few times.

I love our Winter Wonderland!

Seahawks Rock the Superbowl

 We spent Super Bowl Sunday with our friends, the Darlings and loved cheering our favorite NFL team on to victory. The hubs rocked his Lynch jersey courtesy of his favorite brother-in-law and since the shirt I bought was way too big I donned the Seahawks green & blue colors to show my support.

 My friend Erin & I are football watching wives, the best kind in my opinion. 

 After the Seahawks kicked some Bronco booty, Erin and Nate did an awesome victory dance to celebrate, which I cleverly caught on camera. *Please don't be mad, Erin Jo. Love you. 

Ella loves playing with her best buddy and they got cuddly in pajamas as the night wore on.

Jeff made this metal Seattle Seahawk emblem at work the Friday before the big game and awarded it to Nathan who had waited for his team to win the big game for many, many years. Isn't my husband talented?! I can't imagine cutting steel can be easy. 

 Yay Hawks! Your 12th men (and women) love you!!

Jeff turns Thirty-Two

 Jeff celebrated 32 years of life on January 29th. He started the morning with a few essentials from yours truly: Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, a six-pack of Dead Man Ale (to be consumed that evening), warm socks, and a birthday card from the three of us. He wanted a simple birthday celebration the day of and requested cheeseburgers for dinner and a blizzard for his birthday dessert. We stuck a candle in the blizzard and sang "Happy birthday" to him. 

I am very, very blessed to be married to such an amazing man who dedicates so much of his time and love to us. He's so warm, generous, and loving...I honestly could not imagine my life without him. Cheers to 32 years, honey!

 Then on Friday night (a couple of days later), we celebrated in style at McMinimans Edgefield with Jeff's co-workers. The Columbia Shop (where Jeff's works) got a special safety award and dinner. So I got dressed up, we got a babysitter for the kids, and Jeff & I headed out for the evening. 

We had a fun night out with Jeff's work buddies and their wives. We've attended so many Kiewit events lately that I feel like I have formed some great friendships with so many people. Jeff's friend took this photo of us in the Power Station Game Room & Bar and although it's a bit dark and blurry, I like it. 

 Then the next evening, we went to my folks' place for a dinner celebration with them. We were happily surprised to see my adorable niece, Vivien, was there too. My mom & dad watched her while her parents were at work. Ella was over the moon to see her cousin who she love, love, loves so much!

Gramme posed for a few photos with her two granddaughters. I love this last photo where Vivi cannot take her eyes off her big cousin. It's so cute!

Then Vivi & Gramme spent some time chatting and playing with Nicholas. Nicholas absolutely loves babies, especially his sweet little cousin. 

Happy birthday Jeffrey Justin Gustafson!! We all love you so much!