Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Snowzilla!

On Thursday at preschool, Joergen's name was drawn to host "George" for the weekend and journal about his adventures with our family. Little did we know, George was about to get snowed in and extend his stay for an entire week of winter fun!

The blizzard was forecasted to begin on Friday night. Liam was supposed to go to a birthday party for two of his classmates at an indoor swimming pool that evening, but the venue closed in anticipation of the blizzard. On to Plan B-- Chuck E Cheese! What better place to wait out the last couple of hours before a major snow storm? So the four of us put on our boots, grabbed George, and off we went.


As the party was wrapping up, the white stuff began to fall. By the time we got to our car, there was already a half an inch coating our car and the roads. 

The next morning, I knew it had been a busy night for Mother Nature!


Liam and Joergen (and George) couldn't wait to go outside and play.




I had to laugh when I opened the garage door!


Dad starting in on round 1 of snow removal. The snow continued to fall, and he had to repeat this process a few more times!


My view of Liam from the kitchen window, where I enjoyed a second cup of coffee from the warm indoors :)

Joergen and Liam making their way through the front yard (!)


When we weren't outside playing, plowing, or shoveling, we (well, Dad) tackled a redo of our kitchen pantry. It had originally been a coat closet with a couple of shelves, which we had always used for pantry items anyway. I couldn't wait to get this space organized!  Good thing George was there to help, too ;)


Ta-daa!


The next morning: back to snow removal!


Our snowfall totaled about 30", but the strong winds made the drifts even more impressive. We couldn't believe the view from the sun porch!






My view from the living room as the boys attempted to shovel out the deck:



Dad continuing the dig-out effort:



Buried!

One of the best parts of living next to a dead end is the awesome wall of snow created by the snowplows after a big storm. This one was amazing! The picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see the No Parking sign just peeking out of the top left below:


Kings of the mountain!



It didn't take long for every kid (and most adults) in the neighborhood to hit the hills at the township building behind our house. Liam, Joergen, and Will had a blast sledding!  I took the boys back to the hill the next day, too-- I think it was the first time I'd gone sledding in 20 years and I had as much fun - if not more so - than the kids! Everything hurt afterwards, including my sides from laughing so hard.


Walking back from the library one night, I was struck by this eerily pretty sight: the light at the end of our driveway, still glowing while buried under 2 feet of snow!


Friday, January 1, 2016

Christmas Visitors!

Our Christmas festivities continued with a visit from three travelers bearing gifts from afar... a wise man and two wise women! Papa, Grandma, and Toni are here!!

Three generations... and a dog

Merry Christmas Papa!

SO awesome-- thank you Uncle Jake and Aunt Surabhi!

The 2015 Hess Truck is here! That is one happy boy!

A perfect shirt for Liam!
My favorite present :)


Their arrival day happened to also be our 12th wedding anniversary, and we were so grateful to have the chance to duck out for the evening to celebrate. Sullivans, here we come!


Someone is in heaven... oysters!

During their visit, we took a day trip over to Lancaster to see The Miracle of Christmas at the Sight and Sound Theater. It was amazing! We made better time than we'd expected on the way there, which gave us just enough time for a little side-visit to the Strasburg Railroad.



All aboard! (We wished!)


At the theater, we were joined by Nana, Grandpa, and GG, and we all enjoyed a fantastic show.


And we finished off the evening with dinner all together at Red Robin. We felt so blessed to be surrounded by our family!




As for the rest of our visit, we made many happy memories together and we cherish every one. I especially loved stealing Toni away to go shopping, and staying up way past my bedtime with her watching old episodes of the OC. Whether playing games...


Playing music...


Or reading a good book with Grandma...


... this was the perfect way to close out our holiday celebration, and we are so thankful they made the trip!

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Christmas in York

After an exciting Christmas morning at home, we piled into the car and headed to York to continue the celebration with family in York. Perfect time for a mid-morning nap!


We arrived in York just in time to catch our family in France (which included the NJ crew, too!) on FaceTime and wish them a Joyeux Noel!


Lilly and Grandpa catching up :)
On Christmas afternoon, we exchanged gifts with Nana, Grandpa, and GG:



A guitar!


And one for Joergen, too!

Liam was so touched to receive a hand-made photo album from Nana of his visit to York last summer


Thank you Nana!!

Our little Santa!

Nana and Grandpa's gift from us: an album of our photos from the Papal visit to Philadelphia
Dad's new beer tasting set- I think he'll put that to good use!

A special gift from all of GG's family, near and far: a memory jar, filled with our favorite memories we've shared with GG over the years. It was so sweet and special!



The gifts have been exchanged, so let the playing commence!

Rock. On.

Flying his new glider from GG



Liam and Joergen converted a box from one of their gifts to a special dog bed for Lilly :)

Running their new R/C vehicles in the driveway

She's such a good sport :)
The next day, Grandpa's cousins Joanne, Jerry, and Kathy came over for dinner along with Aunt Jayne and GG. We had so much fun!



That night, we gathered around Nana's piano for a little Christmas carol sing-along.



On the 27th, it was time to head back to KoP. Joergen dutifully escorted his furry cousin to the car :)


Thank you Nana, Grandpa, and GG, for such a special Christmas celebration!