SNOW-CATION

The big snow of 2011 (so far) was on every news station for a week before, every grocery store sold out of the smallest morsel of fresh produce, and we were told to prepare for lock down.

Beau and I headed to bed that evening with no snow on the ground, but within 45 minutes 5-6 inches had covered everything. It was honestly surreal! At 10:30 pm we were outsude with our neighbors frolicing in the snow. With no traffic on the roads, it was so silent and peaceful.

Then the next morning we tried to enjoy some time outside before it all turned to ice.
Bree was bundled up in Wade's baby snowsuit. She seemed to like it...for a limited time.

Wade tolerated short visits outside, but is still just a little too young to brave the cold fingers and toes. He kept trying to get his favorite neighbor friends to ditch their sleds and come to his house to play.

Cali loves digging in the snow for buried treasure. Orwell was clueless what all the white stuff was. He did like the fact that he could stand in one place and lick the ice for a constant supply of water.

We were able to get out and about fairly quickly because our street is flat and they plowed the major roads in our area. You would think that's a good thing, but considering that 99% of the area's population was stuck at home, there was no where to go! Most stores and restaurants stayed closed. And if they were open they weren't able to get deliveries anyway!

So we tried to stay sane, Beau did make it in to see some emergency patients, Wade played more trains than ever, Bree didn't miss one nap the whole week :), and we watched Toy Story (all 3 of them) a record number of times.

One day, Beau was feeling reckless and took Wade over to Atlanta Country Club with the Crawfords for some sledding.

Wade lasted his typical 10 minutes and then was ready to call it a day. Here he is sledding with Daddy, eyes covered with hat, while getting sprayed in the face with snow. Good times. Yes, he is crying not laughing.

So finally after a week of snow, then crusted ice, then black ice...it began to melt and life continued. I think we're all ready for a regular (aka MILD) Georgia winter to return!

Snow is for skiing and crazy people up in Minnesota and Ohio :)

The Greenbrier

Going to the Greenbrier in West Virginia has been a Benich Christmas tradition for the past 35 years. They haven't made it every single year, but close to it. Beau loves it so much he doesn't want to visit the resort at any other time of the year, in case it ruins Christmas for him :) It also happens to be where we got engaged, so it's extra special for us!

We missed Nicci and family this year, but we went ahead just the 6 of us. Bree had to see it for her first Christmas. The plan was to be there over New Year's Eve this year, which made it much better for me. We were able to get through Christmas at home, then enjoy a vacation away.

The flight there was anything but easy, but we survived, arrived, and were ready to finally relax!

Our first full day, New Year's Eve day, started with a big breakfast. We said the blessing and instead of doing "prayer hands" like Wade learned in school, he made everyone hold hands. We hand done this at our Christmas dinner and I guess he remembered - and liked - making a circle of hands!

Then we were off for an ice skating adventure. Wade had never been ice skating, so we weren't sure what to expect. They have double bladed skates for little ones, which made it a little less dangerous. They do offer helmets which came in handy...

Notice Tim opted for a helmet...wise choice.

Looking good, right?

Bree (and Dede) were the perfect spectators on the sidelines...

Ice rink and back view of hotel from the hill...

After skating and sitting by the fire we went to play in the snow...

Wade was really enjoying making snowmen and snow angels. It helped that it wasn't really that cold outside...

Then it was time for some classy cardboard sledding. Wade didn't want any part of it, he preferred scooting down on his tush.

Finally cold and soaked with snow, we moved inside to the pool. Wade went swimming everyday and proved he hadn't lost his swimming skills since last summer. He is a little FISH!

Bree went swimming too!! She had briefly dipped her feet in last summer, but this was her first real swim. She was splashing, playing, and having a great time. We're so proud of her. Will she be as fearless around water as her big bro?

Wade wanted to grab onto Bree and push her under. We'll have to work on water safety between the two of them...

Here is the Santa and reindeer ice sculpture they have every year. We played on it while we waited for our sleigh ride...

Beau and I took Wade on a sleigh ride, just the 3 of us. Our horses names' were Buddy and Woody, which wade quickly changed to Buzz and Woody for obvious reasons ;)

They took us throughout the grounds and out to the golf course. It was a beautiful day to be outside in the winter wonderland!

After an action-packed, fun-filled day, we left the kids in the rooms for naps (not along, with a sitter) for some adult fun. While Diane and I wandered around the hotel, casino, and shops, Beau and Tim headed out to go fly fishing.

Here's where the story of our trip gets a hard to tell....

Without going into too many horrible details, Tim slipped and hit his head on a rock by the river, Beau and some other good samaritans helped stabilize him until an ambulance could get there, Diane and I rush down there, ambulance takes Tim, Diane and Beau to local (small) hospital, I stay back with the kids, Tim gets transferred to a larger hospital for observation, Beau goes with him, Diane comes back to help me, we wait and and wait praying everything will be okay, and finally on New Year's Day Time is released and we're able to all make it home to Atlanta together. Phew. It was a horrible ordeal, but we're were just so thankful that in the end Tim was okay. Many jokes have since been made that the previous ice skating helmet would've come in handy later that day!

So while I was back in the hotel waiting for news, I decided to bust out Dede's New Year's decorations anyway and have a little fun with the kids....

Wade playing hide and seek under the chair...

We tried to keep busy with the kids awaiting news. Here we are at Pam the Kindersinger's Music Show...

Watching the model train go round and round and round...

Playing in the rocket at the toy store...Making friends with a cute brunette...On our final night, Tim and Beau were back from the hospital so we tried to make the most of it. We usual get all dressed up for photos one night, but considering all the drama the kids only made it into their pjs. But we did finish the trip with a lovely dinner celebrating Tim's return and miracle!

Travelling home was easier than our trip up there. Wade and Bree were a little more manageable. Wade did get really excited when we started our descent into Atlanta and started screaming, "WE'RE GOING DOWN! WE'RE GOING DOWN!" Everyone within earshot busted out laughing, and the flight attendant asked that he use the phrase, "WE'RE LANDING", instead.