Let it Snow, Let it Snow

For several months we had been planning on going skiing in Snowshoe, West Virginia.  It has been about 5 years since Jason and I had been skiing and we were pretty excited.  We both enjoy it and we were hoping our boys would enjoy it as well.

Our trip included over 30 people we knew, so it was sure to be a blast.  Mom and Dad were going with us so we rented a suburban that we could all ride together.  Our plan was to leave Wednesday afternoon around 4 or 5.  Well, as the time got closer the weather showed a MAJOR storm going right through North Carolina/ South Carolina - not just snow BUT ICE!!  Stephanie and Adam along with her parents decided at the last minute (literally) to leave around midnight Tuesday to try and beat the storm.  Thankfully we were able to leave around noon Wednesday. 

Don't think we could have put one more thing in this vehicle.  We actually had more stuff to put in like food, but we didn't have the room and thought we can just buy it when we get up there.

We figured we would drive until we didn't feel safe anymore.  Our goal was to get north of Charlotte but the weather forecasters were predicting this to be a HUGE ice storm and were already saying that Charlotte was almost at a stand still.  Well, as we got about 3 hours north we started to see the trees turning white but it wasn't snow it was ice - craziest sight I have ever seen.

As we moved further north, there was snow on the ground and Jason started clinching the steering wheel even more.  I had all of these plans to work on my blog while we drove - well all I could do was stare out the window.  Sometimes the roads were decently groomed

but other times not so much.

Yes, there is a road under there - not sure how many lanes there are.  We just tried to stay in the tracks and prayed that no one had to go to the bathroom because the exits were where all of the accidents were happening.  This is where I was thankful for boys!!

Jason's driving was awesome through all of this and he stayed very calm.  As I posted pictures on Facebook of our journey - our friends were not as calm and couldn't believe we were driving through this.  Around 8pm we were about an hour south of Charlotte and the back of our vehicle moved without Jason hitting the gas or brake so he felt it was time to find a place to stay for the night.  We were a little nervous that we would get to Charlotte and not find anywhere to stay.  Thankfully we found an exit with a Comfort Inn and parked it for the night.  We hadn't had dinner since we didn't want to get off any exits but thankfully there was a 24 hour diner that was open (all fast foods were closed due to the weather).

Brody's first experience with snow AND ice.  This was the craziest stuff!!

We woke up Thursday morning with an inch of ice on our vehicle and the news was telling everyone to stay off the roads.  Well, we had somewhere to be!!  Jason spent an hour scraping the ice off the windows and then we debated on leaving then or waiting until noon.  Thank goodness we decided to go ahead and leave and get started on the long trek.

The road to Charlotte.  This was so crazy and thankfully there weren't a lot of people on the road.

Jason drove slow and steady and made no sudden movements.  We monitored the drinks for the boys so we wouldn't have to get off any exits and thankfully we had plenty of food in the car.  We were doing pretty good on time until we came to a stop for an hour and a half.  While we sat (thankfully with a full tank of gas) there was a blizzard outside!!  You could not even see in front of you and they were the biggest snowflakes I had ever seen.

 I wish I had the boys jackets and snow stuff out so they could have gotten out and played in it, like this group in front of us getting out to make a snowman.   "Do You Want To Build a Snowman?"  I decided to take advantage of being stopped and let Trevor get out and turn the snow yellow :) - Another reason to be thankful for boys

About 3 or 4 hours from our destination the roads turned really good - they had great equipment up there!!  Jason was able to actually run 70mph!!

After 19 hours of driving (it should have taken about 11 or 12 hours) and a LONG winding mountain road to the ski resort - we finally made it.  We were greeted by the Henderson's and the Fachko's and we were so happy to be there and ready to get to skiing the next day.  Since we were a little late getting in we missed the tube ride we were planning to do that night, which actually worked out because the tubing was broken that night.  

Off to get settled in for a good night's sleep and ready to start skiing the next day.

A little painting going on

For the past couple of months I have been doing some major painting.  Jason had been searching Craigslist to try and find his perfect pool table for the new room.  Let me say he was pretty picky, which I guess is a good thing.  He finally found one down near Gainesville and he and Adam left one day after work to go get it.

With Craigslist, you never know what you are actually getting as well as the place you will be going.  Thank goodness the wood and slate top were in good shape, but it came from a smoker house so the felt definitely would be replaced.

A few days after they brought it home, Jason asks what I think about painting it - WHAT???  I thought I was threw with these type of projects for awhile.  Well, thanks to Stephanie for introducing me to Annie Sloan's chalk paint.  No sanding or priming required.  This was definitely the selling point, so off I went to painting a pool table.

I was very happy with how it turned out after 2 coats of the chalk paint and a gloss sealant.

It was then time for the new felt.  It was amazing how many colors to choose from.  We narrowed it down to teal or blue but after being told at first teal wasn't available (it later became available) - we chose Bright Blue.

Jason taking his first shot on newly felted table.  He was very happy with how it all turned out.

Snow Day = Disney

Since we have Disney passes, I thought I would take the boys down to Disney on Friday, January 31. My plan was to leave Thursday after school and come back Friday night.  Our weather in Florida was a little crazy back in January.  On Thursday, January 30 school was cancelled for a SNOW DAY!!  Hard to believe there was a possibility of snow.  Well, it was cold but nothing too bad and of course no snow.

I kept going back and forth on whether or not to go down to Disney since the forecast showed rain for Friday.  It happened to work out that Stephanie and Ava were down in Orlando for the week while Adam was at a work conference.  I finally decided to go with it and we left around noon for our fun filled 2 days.

After a quick trip to IKEA, we met up with Stephanie and Ava and headed to Hollywood Studios for a couple of hours.  It was pretty chilly but the kids had a blast and were on their best behavior.

It's amazing what my boys get Ava on - their first task was Star Tours and of course she LOVED it.

The boys and I stayed at a hotel near Downtown Disney just because I was familiar with the area.  After eating dinner with the Henderson's the boys and I headed to the Lego store at Downtown Disney to grab a couple of souvenirs - like we needed a few more Legos.  However, this was the best deal - a clear box and you get to fill it from the wall of Legos.  They boys had so much fun filling their clear boxes.  All for $7.95 each - what a bargain.

We woke up Friday morning and Stephanie and Ava met us at our hotel for another full day of Disney.  Today's agenda = Magic Kingdom.  However, it was VERY rainy and I wasn't prepared with ponchos, but thankfully I had windbreakers that helped propel a little water.

We decided to not use strollers and wow we felt so free all day!!

Space Mountain time = Ava's big debut.  This was her first time and she had said all day that she wasn't going to ride it, but once again Brody talked her into it!!

I love Ava's face in this picture.

While we rode Space Mountain, Trevor meets Stitch.  Trevor so can't wait until he is tall enough to ride it.

We had such a fun day despite all of the rain and made plenty of memories.