Snowpocalypse

Everyone knows that Atlanta doesn't see too much snow and ice.  In fact, the last snow day we had was 4 years ago.  The excitement over the possibility of snow made everyone giddy!  We had no idea what was in store!

It started coming down on Tuesday around 10:00am.  They immediately announced that school would be dismissed 2 hours early.  It started getting bad very quickly, and our principal began dismissing students at 12:30.  By 1:00 our parking lot and road leaving the school was a sheet of ice.  It took me one hour just to get out of parking lot.  I saw 1 car flip over and many more sliding sideways into the ditches within minutes of turning out of the parking lot.  My one goal was to get to my girls and get them home safely.

It's only  3 miles from my school to the girls, but it took me 2.5 hours to get there.  I was a little anxious to say the least. Thankfully, it was a little easier to get home from their school.  Little did I know at the time that our ride would be considered a breeze compared to others.  It took Bert 9 hours to take his 20 mile commute from Buckhead.  The fact that he made it was a miracle.  Many people spent the night on the interstate.  One of our coaches at school ended up having to deliver his own baby girl on the interstate because his wife went into labor and there was no possible way to get to the hospital in time!  I can't even imagine!  And some children did not get home from school until 3:30 on Wednesday...more than 24 hours after they were dismissed!  It was quite a nightmare for anyone stuck in it.

I felt bad that those of us safe at home were actually enjoying the same weather that was causing nightmares for others.  The kids had snow ball fights, made snow angels, and went sledding.  All the neighbors that were home, were out playing.  It was just as much fun for the adults as it was for the kids.  We ended up coming in to get warm in our house.  The kids all watched a movie in the basement and the parents sat around the fire waiting for Bert to get home.  They were here when he got home at midnight!  It ended up being quite the celebration!

Bentley and Elizabeth made snow angels until it got dark.

Reese spent the night with Elizabeth and as soon as they woke up they were ready to play!  Caroline isn't in most of these pictures because at first she had very little interest in the cold snow.  She was content to stay inside and be warm.  When I finally got her to go outside (mainly because there was no one to stay inside with her), she loved it!  I knew she would and wish I would've pushed her sooner.  But after about 15 minutes, she just wanted me to hold her.

I could not convince Caroline to sled down the hill.

We are out of school again tomorrow, but I think most of the snow will have melted by then.  Now I'm ready for spring!!

California

So it's been almost a week since I got home from our girls trip to LA, and I'm just now posting about it.  Between Bert's car officially dying and the stomach bug running rapid through our home, this week was crazy.  Finally, I get to go back and relive through pictures one of my favorite girls trips ever! 

Everyone, except Madison who came in early Friday morning, arrived in LAX within minutes of each other.  Our first stop was In and Out Burger.

The next morning we went for a walk/run around Liz's neighborhood.  This is how close she is to the Hollywood sign.  The last time we were in LA we visited the sign, but this time we did completely different things. 

After Madison got in, we headed to Warner Brothers for a tour.  It was so cool to be able to go on sets that are actually shooting and see how they turn old sets into new sets.  Quite fascinating.

The museum was really cool too.  They had so many costumes of different shows and movies.  It was neat being able to notice your favorite shows based simply on their wardrobe.  

We all got "sorted" by the hat from Harry Potter.... I got Gryffindor:)

Then we went to my absolutely favorite set... Central Perk!

You are not supposed to take pictures on sets that are currently shooting, but I couldn't resist sneaking a few from my favorites.

Sheldon and Leonard's apartment from Big Bang

The elevator that's always under construction between Penny and Leonard's places.

And of course, Ellen.  We got to dance down the isle (that's wider than the rest) that she dances down every day.  And we got to stand on the spot that she gives her monologue on everyday.

After leaving WB, we made a quick change and went to the Soho House for dinner.  This is a members only restaurant that people not only pay dues but have to be invited to join.  Liz's friend, Melissa who is a member, was sweet enough to take us there for dinner.  You can't use cell phones or take pictures in there because of all the famous people in there. Our first spotting was on the elevator up.  Beth Behrs from Two Broke Girls rode on the elevator with us.  We actually talked to her because nobody besides me and Christy knew who she was.  We also saw Adam Shankman (So You Think You Can Dance), Smith Jared (I don't know his real name from Sex in the City), and Miley Cyrus.  Yes, we saw and Melissa spoke to Miley Cyrus.  And we're pretty sure she tweeted about that conversation (insert winky face here)/

Outside of Soho House

On Saturday we drove to Ojai and had lunch at the resort and spa where Reese Witherspoon got married.  It was so relaxing and the weather was absolutely perfect.  

  

Then we went right down the road to the Ojai Winery.

After a long day it was so nice to go back to Liz's house, put on our jammies, and play games.  Liz's husband brought us dinner and poured us wine all night.  We were so spoiled!

On Sunday we went to the Malibu Cafe.  It was on this beautiful ranch that felt surreal. 

While we were there we threw a little surprise baby shower for Liz complete with a fun shower game:)

We did some shopping when we left the ranch, then stopped while we were still in Malibu to snap a picture of the beautiful sunset.  

Liz has started making us theme shirts for our girls weekend.  I love this because it reminds me of college and it is the perfect keepsake.

Madison and Kristy had to take the red eye home on Sunday night.  So the four of us that were left went to the famous Roscoe's for chicken and waffles.  I have to say I had my doubts, but I ate every last bite!!

Everything about our trip was perfect!  I love that we each make this a priority every year. And it's hard to believe that we've all been friends now for over 15 years. 

This is me and Mel about 5 miles from the airport waiting on AAA to tow Bert's car.  I was just glad that it was the one day not freezing or raining here, and that I had one of my favorite people to hang out with while we waited.

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Planning and Organizing

I finally jumped on the Erin Condren life planner band wagon!  I've always carried an acctual planner with me, but decided a year ago to try only using my phone calendar to stay organized.  It's not been the worst thing in the world, but I desperately miss my tangible planner.  And I love the fact that I was able to personalize it and put exactly what I wanted in it.  I can't wait to color code my family's daily events with my different colored pens I got too!  It's time to get back to my comfort zone of pen and paper and start fresh!

Random picture of me and my girls at Zaxbys.  Caroline's really excited about my planner too!!

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A Long Week

We started back to school on Monday which feels like forever ago instead of just 5 days ago.  We had below freezing weather on Monday and Tuesday, so kids didn't have to come to school.  Teachers still had to report at 10:00, but it was so nice to have a leisurely morning and still get some work done at school.  

Tuesday morning Elizabeth was crying about her ear hurting.  She had no fever, but I knew she wasn't exaggerating.  So we took her to the doctor and sure enough she had an ear infection.  Caroline loved watching the movie in the waiting room so much that she didn't want to go in the back with us when it was our turn.

After school, Reese came over to play and of course the girls played dress up.

I can think of one day that goes by that my girls don't play dress up.

Even though I only taught three days this week, I was exhausted by Friday.  It always takes me a week or so to get back in the grove.  But today was my hubby's birthday, so I mustard up enough energy to go out and celebrate with my honey!

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