Winter Wonderland 2010

I think the entire state of North Carolina either got snow or freezing rain on Friday night/Saturday morning.  The weather forecasters in our area assured us this was no storm to take lightly.  Usually, when snow is called for in our area, everyone freaks out, heads to the nearest grocery and schools are canceled for a 1/4 inch of snow.  But, this storm was different, we actually got the intended 5-7 inches of snow and then freezing rain on top of that.  I remember when I was little, we used to get snow like this at least 1 to 2 times a year.  That's changed in the past 15 years and now storms like this are rare, although we did have one like this about the same time last year (see my January 2009 pictures).  So, needless to say, this snow "storm" was a big deal for everyone here in the Triangle. 

We woke up on Saturday morning greeted by a true Winter Wonderland.  Everything was blanketed by a fresh coat of snow, and at 5:30 am (yes, I was up that early) the snow was still coming down and freezing everything it touched. Emerson's sandbox was now her own personal ice skating rink.

Emerson got up pretty early on Saturday and since I was already up, I scooped her up and we let Danny sleep.  Emerson was so excited about the snow; we promptly opened all the windows so she could see outside.  She was mesmerized and waited very patiently until the sleet stopped and we could go outside around 11:00 am.  Luckily, we were able to sit by the fire all morning and watch The Disney Channel until it was time to get our snow gear on. 

 

We finally decided to head outside with the Herman girls (minus a sleeping Macie) around 11:00. The sleet had stopped but no sooner than we "suited" up did it start sleeting again.  Ahhh!!  We didn't care though, we had two very anxious girls, that it took 20 minutes to dress and there was no way we were going back inside.  Speaking of dressing....neither Danny or I have snowsuits or snow gear for that matter, but somehow my 2 year old daughter has three snowsuits (one that has already been passed down to Macie), and four pairs of snow boots in various sizes (more are headed to the Herman house soon).  So, thanks to Mimi's diligent shopping habits at the Goodwill, Emerson was uber prepared for her romp in the snow.  Good thing, they were second hand and not full price.  And on another note, Ivie's TARGET (pronounced Tar-Je) snow boots made another appearance this year...read here for Amy's hilarious account of getting Ivie ready!

 

Emerson having some fun (and stumbles) in the snow

 

Emerson and Ivie had a great time playing around in the snow.  Since a fresh coat of freezing rain had just fallen the snow was a bit harder than normal.  Both girls were clomping around and say "Crunch, Crunch" with each footstep.  Falling in the snow became very funny to them, especially when it was falling backwards to make snow angels.  Both girls still had recollections of how to make snow angels from last year's adventures.   

The highlight of our snow play was of course making a snowman.  Danny and I quickly realized that we were going to have to be creative as the snow wasn't even making a snowball, much less a snowman.  Amy was the first to actually spot the perfect mound of snowice for our base, that Durham Public Works had shifted to one side of our cul-de-sac after plowing.  Danny moved two more pieces (certainly not perfectly round) to complete our makeshift snowman.  We completed his look with a beret, scarf, practice golf balls, and a paint stirrer.  Any other snowman would have been jealous!!

Hogan came out to join us for some fun in the snow, too!! 

After all the fun, we had to go inside but it wasn't without two kicking and screaming toddlers.  So, we promised Emerson if she came in, warmed up and took a good nap, we would come out later that afternoon.  She obliged and delivered, taking an almost 3 hour nap that I had to wake her up from, so we had to follow through with our word.  And don't worry, she didn't forget either; asking to go out in the "No" (she's still calling it that) the second she got up.  We all "geared up" again and headed out for a snow walk, "crunching" our way around our house.  The temperature had dropped drastically, though, so we were only out for about 10 minutes, long enough to appease Emerson.  The perfect end to a perfect Winter Wonderland Snow Day!

Show-and-Tells # 20, #21, #22, and #23

I am pretty far behind on my Show-and-Tell blogs, so in order to get caught up, I decided I would combine them into one quick blog.

Show-and-Tell #20

December 20, 2009

Singing Santa

If you will remember from Show-and-Tells #18 and #19, we had a Christmas themed Show-and-Tell December.  So, for Emerson's last Show-and-Tell of the month and last before Christmas, she decided to take, what might be one of her favorite Christmas toys, her Singing Santa.  This was given to Emerson by Mimi and Birdie last year at Christmas.  He dances and sings three songs; a santa rap, Jingle Bell Rock, and a holiday version of Celebrate (by Kool and the Gang).  This particular Friday was the same Friday as Emerson's Christmas Pageant at school and the day we decided to take all the kids and teachers presents into school, so that morning was hectic and I didn't get a picture of Emerson with her Santa.  I have included the next best thing with pictures of her from that day.  You ask,  why didn't you just take a picture the next day and pretend it was that day...well my friends, I know it is hard for you to believe but I like to document the picture on the day it happened so I can one day go back and see the outfits Emerson wore to school.  Shocker that I would be concerned about what Emerson wore to school!!!

Show-and-Tell #21

January 8, 2010

Disney Princess Look & Find book

January brought yet another theme for Show-and-Tells for the Devers.  DISNEY was the theme of choice and for good reason, Emerson was super excited about her upcoming trip to Disney World.  She decided to take her new Disney Princess Look and Find book to school the Friday before her trip.  Emerson was so excited when she opened this on Christmas morning and we don't think she has put it down since.   

Show-and-Tell #22

January 22, 2010

Safari Minnie

Obviously fresh off our trip and still in full Disney Emerson decided she wanted to take one of her new Disney toys to school for January 22nd's Show-and-Tell.  Safari Minnie was Emerson's "toy of the day" on the first day of our trip at Animal Kingdom.   She searched the store for the perfect toy but when she saw Safari Minnie her eyes lit up and I know we would be walking out with her; oh, and a shirt for Emerson that Mommy picked out!!  Emerson was so excited about her "Fari Minnie", as she calls it, that Minnie has slept with her every night since!

Show-and-Tell #23

January 29, 2010

Baby Disney Princess set

Ahh, the theme continues.....Can you tell that the Dever Household was all about some Disney in January. Don't be surprised if it carries over to February as well!! So, this past Friday, Emerson decided to take her new Baby Disney Princess set for Show-and-Tell; we didn't want to break the January streak. This set was Emerson's pick for "toy of the day" on the second day or our trip but first day at Magic Kingdom. These are little versions of Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty (which we learned at Disney has two names; Aurora and Briar Rose) and Ariel.  Emerson has a great time playing with them and having them talk to one another.  I have a great time watching and hearing all the gossip the princesses talk about. 

Play-Doh

For Christmas this year, Emerson got a bunch of Play-Doh and all the tools to go with it.  We hadn't owned any Play-Doh before that and any experience with Play-Doh before had either been at school or at her friend Ivie's house.  Not being a huge fan of making intentional messes, I had steered clear of Play-Doh with a toddler as long as I thought I could, but when I saw this neat set while Christmas shopping, I gave in.  And then proceeded to buy all the accessories that went with it.  Last Sunday, Danny, Emerson and I got out the Play-Doh bin from our new IKEA storage (more on that later) and had a great time playing with all the fun instruments and tools.  Emerson loved playing with "pluto" as she called it.  We made hearts, stars, squares, diamonds and spaghetti, as well as stamped, cut, rolled, and molded.  As someone who doesn't like their foods to touch, I was very careful not to mix any of the colors.  I realize this won't last long, but at least we got all the colors back in their respective cans this time.  What a fun Sunday afternoon activity to enjoy some great family time together!! 

Mommy/Daughter outing

Last Saturday Danny had to go to his office for an "office cleaning" in anticipation for their big move this past week.  Emerson and I decided on Friday that we were going to have a Mommy/Daughter morning at Kidzu Children's Museum on Franklin Street followed by lunch at Sutton's.  Sounds perfect!  We invited the Hermans to join us for a morning of fun.  Actually, Emerson was the only one out our group that had been to Kidzu before; Mimi and Betsy took her last spring for a morning outing. 

Kidzu is a great little museum full of hands-on learning activities.   Emerson had a great time playing in all the different sections of the museum.  Every section had its own theme; cars, kitchen, veggie market, vegetable garden, art, reading, blocks, and balls.  Kidzu really covered all their bases.  Emerson loved the art table and did such a great job on her piece that she was able to hang it from the ceiling with other pieces created by previous little ones. 

After Kidzu, we hit the most famous place on Franklin Street for lunch, Sutton's.  Emerson loved her grilled cheese, fries and ice cold milk.  She had an even better time looking at all the people in the pictures plastered all over Sutton's walls.  Emerson would point to a picture and associate it with someone in her life and then call out their name.  My entertainment was seeing what name she was going to call out for each picture; some of them were pretty funny. 

While we were sitting at lunch, I got an inkling to make dinner that night.  I decided to make Taco Ole' Soup from Make and Takes website (it had been in my Google Reader earlier that week).  Good thing I now have the Droid; I got to her site, got the recipe and made my list.  Actually I just kept the website up and took it into the grocery store with me.  Emerson and I ended our Mommy/Daughter adventure in Harris Teeter to pick up the items we needed for dinner.  She wanted to push the "sopping cart" that was her size around the store.  Since we were only going to be there for 15 mintues for about 15 items, I happily obliged.  She is a pretty good little shopper.  Hmmm, I wonder where she got that from?

The Dever's Disney Vacay - Magic Kingdom (Day 3)

After our first day in Magic Kingdom, we were ready for another day of fun but sadly this would be our last day.  We decided to ride the ferry over to Magic Kingdom from the parking lot.  Emerson and Ivie loved the views the ferry gave them of Cinderella's Castle.  Right inside the gate, on Main Street U.S.A, is the first character greeting, and that day Chip and Dale happened to be there.  We took advantage of the semi-short line to get a picture with them, along with several other photo op's before heading to that day's planned sections of the park. 

*Click on pictures to view them in a larger format

Adventureland was the first stop on our circle around Magic Kingdom that day.  We decided to FastPass the Jungle Cruise; so while we were waiting, we rode Pirates of the Caribbean and Magic Carpets of Aladdin.  Emerson wasn't very fond of Pirates of the Caribbean, especially when we got stuck for about 3 minutes on the ride.  Magic Carpets of Aladdin and Jungle Cruise were much more her speed. 

Pirates of the Caribbean

Magic Carpets of Aladdin

Jungle Cruise

Frontierland was right next to Adventureland so we headed that way but we didn't stay long.  Frontierland didn't have much to offer for us.  Danny and Dale did take advantage of a FastPass for Thunder Mountain, especially since they didn't get to ride Space Mountain the day before.  We also got to do some shopping in Frontierland, each family bought momento Christmas ornaments for their tree.  I did take a picture of the Haunted Mansion for Birdie, his favorite ride.  While Danny and Dale rode Thunder Mountain, Amy and I took the girls back to Fantasyland to ride Cinderella's Carrousel and enjoy Mickey's PhilharMagic one more time.  The guys met us back at Fantasyland for a much needed lunch break. 

  

The Haunted Mansion

After lunch we decided to let the girls stretch their legs for a bit in Pooh's Playful Spot while their dads headed to Tomorrowland to grab a spot in line for the Tomorrowland Speedway.  The girls really wanted to "drive the cars" the day before but we ran out of time.  We let the girls play for about 20 minutes before taking them over to the Speedway where they had to covertly "sneak" into the ride through the exit gate to meet their dads. 

Pooh's Playful Spot

 Tomorrowland Speedway

After the Tomorrowland Speedway, we decided to make our way back to the front of the Castle for the Dream Along with Mickey show.  We decided that no trip to Disney World would be complete without ice cream.  The girls got to enjoy their ice cream and then the show with full bellies. 

Enjoying some ice cream

 

Dream Along with Mickey

 After the show, we decided that Disney had gotten the best of us and we just didn't think we could make it for the intended 7pm SpectroMagic parade.  We decided to call it a day (and a trip, at that) and head back to the condo.  We coaxed the girls with one last stop at the souvenir store, and the promise of pizza and princess dress-up when we got back to the condo. 

Our Favorites from the Day

  

  

Emerson was so tired the next morning that she fell asleep on our way to the airport.  She was one tired girl!!

(photo quality is horrible..cell phone picture)

We were all very sad to leave Disney World. We had a great trip. The girls throughly enjoyed themselves and so did the adults. We were blessed to have great company the entire time with our travel companions. Ivie and Emerson got along great (for the most part) and will hopefully talk about this for a long time. We are so fortunate to have been able to go to Disney World and we hope we can go back one day. We had a magical time and I am sure we will be dusting off pixie dust for a long time!!!