More Snow = More Fun

The most recent "winter storm" brought more snow to Western Pennsylvania (not as much as the other side of the state thankfully) and a smile to the faces of my little ones! They LOVE to play in the snow! Luckily, Russ had the afternoon off so after nap time, we suited them up and headed outside.

Lexie decided she wanted to try to make a snowman.

Olivia however, decided she was going to try to shovel the driveway

Lexie: "Help me make a big snowman sissy!" Olivia: "O-kay"
Lexie sneaks up on Russ for a surprise snowball attack!
"Gotcha!"
Of course, Russ had to retaliate!
"Look at this big snowball mommy!"
Once Cole saw how much fun the girls were having, he suited up and headed over to go sledding!
Wheeeeee~faster~faster~faster!
WIPEOUT!!!!!
Back up the hill with a little help from Russ!
They were having so much fun!

I think Olivia was getting a little tired as she was snuggling into Cole. This picture just melts my heart---

The forecast looks as though we will be getting more snow so stay tuned for more Winter Fun Photos!

HE SHOOT--HE SCORES!

Thanks to the folks at Nova Care, Russ and I sat 4 (FOUR) rows up from the ice at the Pens game this week vs the Islanders! While Russ and I are both big fans of sporting events--neither one of us are "big hockey fans", but we had an absolute BLAST!!! Hockey is so much more exciting to watch in person than on television!

Our neighbors, The Egans, have partial season tickets and were able to get out of the house to join us! I caught a ride down town and had some YUMMY sushi with them before meeting Russ at the arena. Even though we didn't sit in the same section, the Egans joined us in the Captain Morgan Lounge between the 1st and 2nd periods! What a fun night out! The best news--the Pens won in the last few minutes of the game!!! Thanks again for the tickets and hospitality Shannon!!!

New Addition?!?

Russ and I recently closed on a beautiful condo in Farmington Vistas at The Plantation Golf & CC in Venice, FL! My grandparents are probably saying "There goes the neighborhood"...as we are now their 'neighbors'. They have been spending time in Venice for 16 years and after a visit around Thanksgiving...Russ was smitten with the area too. We looked at a few places during our visit, put in an offer on a place where we saw some real potential, it was accepted, and a few days ago finally closed on the unit and took possession this week. Thankfully Gg and Gpa are close by and have provided us with more help than we could have EVER asked for. This weekend was no exception. Gpa rolled up his sleeves and helped Granny, Russ and I around our condo while GG kept the girls entertain (while preparing all of our meals) at their condo! It was a VERY productive weekend thanks to all the hard work everyone put forth! We are looking forward to returning to enjoy the fruits of our labor (though with everything we have 'planned' it may be a while before we can just sit back and relax)! Here are some before and after photos! Enjoy!

This is the INCREDIBLE view from the patio...(I forgot to take before and after pictures of the patio---but hopefully I will get a few 'after' photos after my mom returns from her trip down there this month--hint hint!)
I can't wait to get back and enjoy another sunrise...and all the new plants Gpa and Russ picked out and planted!

Master Bedroom Before


Master Bedroom After (we plan to eventually take down the wall paper, but with everything else that needed to be done--there is no way we could have done that job in one weekend--especially this weekend! We SCRUBBED every inch and EVERYTHING in this room, replaced the sheets, bedding, wall decor and added a few extras)


Master bath before



Master Bath After (spent close to 3 hours SCRUBBING the floors/shower, replaced some of the 'guts' of the commode--possibly replacing the floor of the shower, have plans to strip the wall paper and will be replacing a section of the wall by the shower---this bathroom was so So SO NEGLECTED---but now it is looking a bit better!)




Dining room before

Dining room after (while you can't see the hours spent scrubbing the floor/walls/furniture--and you may not be able to see that we replaced the cushions on the chairs from this picture, it looks REMARKABLY better!)

Dining room 2 after

Guest bathroom before

Guest bathroom after (we painted the walls, hung a new border, curtain rod and shower liner/curtain, towels, bath mat...SCRUBBED the floors, re-caulked around the tub and commode, and are in the process of replacing the 'guts' of the commode---did I mention SCRUB?)
Guest bathroom after view 2

Guest bedroom before

Guest bedroom after (we SCRUBBED the walls, furniture and some of the carpet--though that is scheduled to be professionally cleaned next week...we swapped out televisions, replaced the sheets, bedding and wall hangings with brand new decor and SCRUBBED everything--again, did I mention we SCRUBBED and SCRUBBED and SCRUBBED?!)

Kitchen--not much different--we SCRUBBED the floors, appliances, cabinets, cleaned all the dishes, reorganized the cabinets/pantry

Kitchen-view from breakfast bar (eventually we would like to replace the stove/oven, dishwasher, take down the wall paper possibly replace the cabinets and counter tops---but for now we are keeping it as is)

Living Room before

Living Room after (we SCRUBBED the walls, vacuumed the furniture, replaced some of the decor, purchased a new flat screen, and a tv stand but still need to get a few more pictures for the walls and possibly replace the fan)

Living Room looking toward dining area


I didn't really get any pictures of the enclosed lanai either, but we (GG and Gpa) SCRUBBED the furniture before we arrived, washed the cushion covers of the furniture, we fixed and washed the windows/screens, re-caulked around the widows/baseboards, replaced some of the decor and are in the process of finding new cushions or possibly a sleeper sofa (so we can accommodate more guests).


Check back for more updates-- and thanks again Granny, GG and Gpa! We would not have been able to accomplish nearly what we did without your help!!! We are so grateful and so thankful you were willing and able to help!

Snowball fight

Since Russ missed out on our last snowy adventures, he decided to take the kids out in the snow for some fun after coming home from the office. After helping him get the girls suited up, I decided I would take a nice long hot shower---but not before I snapped a few photos!


Pausing for a photo
Russ showing the 'proper snow ball throwing form'
Lexie says...take that!
They had great fun playing in the snow with daddy before calling it quits because it was too cold...and because dinner was ready! I am sure there will be PLENTY more days of snow ahead!

First "major" Snow Fall

We finally got our first "major" snow fall here in Western Pennsylvania. While we have had a couple of inches here...and a couple of inches there...we finally got "enough snow to play in". It seemed like every morning Lexie would look out the window and ask if there was "enough snow" and on this particular day my response was "there is more than enough!". I think we got close to 9 inches which made playing fun...shoveling the driveway--not so fun. Luckily, our good neighbor Rege rode down on his quad and plowed the lower half for me---thanks to the drifts and the snow plows it was over a foot deep at the bottom of the driveway!

Getting ready to try out their new sled! They were so excited they didn't have to take turns--instead they could ride together! (Thanks Michael, Debbie, Marissa & Spencer!)
Since we don't really have many hills in our yard, I decided I would pull them around the neighborhood---what was I thinking? I could barely keep my footing, but they really seemed to enjoy the ride! Lexie tried to start a snowball fight---oy!
Lexie trying to traverse the snow...she was loving it!
Olivia--not so much! She had a hard time keeping upright-it was just a little too deep for her.
She loved "exploring in the snow".
I think she decided to eat her way through the snow since she was having difficulties walking through it.
Just as we were getting ready to head inside, Old Man Winter gave us a gentle push as the snow machine started up again!
Olivia wanted to make sure she told her daddy all about her big adventures outside since he missed out. (He had worked 21 of the previous 24 hours and needed a nap)
After waking daddy up from his nap, I made some home made hot chocolate for the girls to get them all warmed up. I think they liked it!
Lexie trying to get warm....
...and giving me a thumb's up!