what happens at our house when the word "snow" is mentioned ..

when there is even the smallest chance of snow in the forecast the rhythmm of my house changes .. the kids suddenly are almost giddy .. there is a little extra energy in their bodies .. we better get our "stuff" ready for tomorrow .. it is going to snow .. we are going to be out of school .. i just know it .. they find the ski bag that i have yet to finish packing back up and put away .. they dig thru it .. looking for mittens .. ski pants .. big coats .. goggles .. ski socks ..

once all the "stuff" they might need is located .. it is laid out carefully in their bedrooms .. why can they not do this with their school clothes .. that is another post .. they walk around the house with a nervous energy .. it's going to snow tomorrow mom .. they say .. we are going to be out of school they tell me numerous times .. trying to get them to go to bed is a nightmare .. they are wound so tight with excitement they can't close their eyes .. all this drama over a little a few little water droplets  ..

really ..

i will admit though .. that after they go to sleep .. i get out sticks and sticks of butter .. because by golly .. if it is going to snow that means that we are going to stay home and play in the snow and bake all day ..

i told you .. the chance of snow does weird things to my household ..

celebrating ..

jeff says .. let's go to the roof and watch the sunset .. ok .. i say .. i love sunsets ..

what a view ..

we had a view minutes to soak in all of downtown before the sun started to set ...

it always seems that it takes the sun forever to get to the horizon .. but then once it hits the horizon it seems to set in about 30 seconds .. why is that ..

jeff says to me .. thank you for being married to me for 17 years ..

no problem i say ..

it has been a fun 17 years .. i say

yes it has jeff says

jeff turns and looks right at me .. straight into my eyes .. all the way to my heart ..

i love you he says .. i mean .. really really love you ..

oh my .. what a weekend ..

we checked into the mayo hotel in downtown tulsa for the entire weekend ..

i love the neon signs in downtown tulsa .. there is something about their soft glow that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy ..

spending the weekend at the mayo will make you feel like a movie star ..

staying in the celebrity suite helps add to that feeling ..

more to come .. i promise ..

i am being whisked away ..

i am being whisked away this weekend .. for a "romantic getaway" .. since jeff did not tell cash i don't know where i am going .. and ellie keeps a secret like a time locked safe .. this means that i have no clue

it seems that jeff has packed my bag .. i know ..i am starting to panic .. since he is not a details kind of guy i am crossing my fingers that the essentials are at least in there .. we are not flying where we are going .. i know that much .. he has the whole weekend planned .. we don't come home until sunday ..

we are celebrating our 18th anniversary ..

i will let you know all about on monday ..

have a great weekend ..

go dormant .. like emily !

snow day ..

remember monday .. the day that i laid in my warm cozy bed .. in my pj's .. watching law and order and eating the left over whoopie pies .. well .. it was also snowing outside ..

not huge big flakes .. but still .. it was snowing ..

due to the fact that it was about 9 degrees on tuesday morning (flash back to the ski trip weather) and all the little roads around our parts were a little on the slick side .. ellie didn't have school on tuesday ..

so i stayed home on tuesday morning .. really .. when it is that cold outside how can anyone think about leaving their house .. right emily ? if emily had her way she would go dormant in the winter .. never leave her house until the temperature outside was in the 60's .. i don't blame her ..

so .. we made sparkle pancakes ..

watched tv ..

and worked on our skateboarding skills ..

what a way to spend a morning ..

happy birthday Granny ..

we celebrated granny's birthday on sunday night ..

we set the table with my fun china and made everyone drink out of a real glass .. ellie even made cash change out of his pj's and put on real clothes .. no fireman suit .. real clothes ..

ellie of course was wearing a dry-clean only ensemble .. completely accessorizied she did look smashing ..

oh granny can i help you blow out the candles .. i have been practicing .. i promise i won't blow spit onto the whoopie pies ..

cash got a bit of a head start on the blowing out ..

we had a fun night .. happy birthday granny !

making whoopie .. whoopie pies that is ..

aunt mary got me a new baking book for christmas .. and since i love all things make with sugar and butter .. i was all over this ..

simple and easy recipe .. and you don't even need a whoopie pie pan to make these .. i know because i bought whoopie pie pans .. i made them both ways .. on a cookie sheet and in a whoopie pie pan and they turned out the same .. a little baking science experiment for you .. oh .. and they taste the same to !!

a plate full of whoopie .. lol !!!

a traditional whoopie pie is filled with a marshmallow filling .. so since this was my first go round with whoopie i thought why not ..

so you add lots of marshmallow cream .. powdered sugar .. white crisco .. butter and vanilla .. mix and taste several times .. it is sticky .. very sticky ..

enlist a 4 year old who is still wearing his pj's in the late afternoon .. (it was sunday uncle day) to help you crush the left over candy canes ..

he really wanted to use his hammer to perform this little task .. i told him the bottom of the measuring cup was just fine ..

our plan was to roll the whoopie pies in the crushed up candy canes ..

see .. pretty ..

they turned out perfect .. which was good because we made them for granny .. it was her birthday on sunday .. so instead of a cake .. we made her some whoopie pies ..

a little side note here .. according to the whoopie pie book .. they don't store well .. this translates into you must eat them all the next day while your children and husband are gone .. while laying in bed watching 10 hours of law and order .. while you are wearing your pj's

just wanted you to know ..