Then Texas Came Back

And just like that, a week after it was a record setting 0 degrees outside, we hit 74 and it was GLORIOUS. 

These 2 have been playing together a bit more than normal and quite the cute duo.

Even at 10 and 6.5 these 2 will still play for hours upstairs and it makes me so happy. 

We stayed in for one extra week to watch church online.

 

Sledding!

On day 4 of the freeze-ocolopse of Texas 2021 we let the kids outside. It had been in single digit temps with negative windchills the 3 days prior and we just didn't want to risk any issues so we waited. But then we sled for over an hour and while Will didn't stay out there long, the bigs LOVED it! Thankfully we had snow bibs for the littles from when Drew was young and Drew wore mine and I wore Derek's! We found any gloves and scarves that we could and I put Vaseline on their cheeks before heading out for our fun on the hill just down the street with our buddies. Who knew how amazing pool floaties would work for sleds!

 

Texas Freeze!

So on Valentine's Day 2021 we all went to bed with a couple of inches of snow on the ground and our faucets dripping knowing that it was going to freeze that night. We were told there would be 'rolling blackouts' of energy to conserve the grid as Texas wasn't prepared to handle what we were about to get. We woke up to a couple short outages where the power came back on a bit later but at 5am things changed. It was about an hour in and the power didn't turn back on. Being in the single digits we made the kiddos layer up, threw extra blankets on them in bed and then tried to get them back to sleep. A friend texted us how to start the fireplace up with a battery which helped as it was getting quite cold by 9am. We had the kiddos in several layers and their beanies and did what we could to stay by the fireplace but man it was dropping in temperature. 

By noon it was too cold to stay. We have an open floor plan where the living room is 2 stories and although 55 degrees outside feels warm, it was SO cold in the house. Our friends were exploring hotel options and we made the decision to head to Gramma and Poppa's house since their rolling outages were continuing as planned and their house was staying warm. 

We spent the first night there and then woke up to news that our neighborhood had lost power again at 5am and everything was happening again. We decided to stay another night just to be safe as their house was warm and cozy and felt much less stressful. We played games, got out all the toys and enjoyed our time over there!

The kiddos and I even stayed the 3rd day during the day while Derek went home to check on the house and work there all day. Thankfully by night 3 the house held power for long enough that we could move home to stay there. We did learn that this little nugget LOVES the fireplace in the process. She climbs up there any chance she can get to lay next to it...

Valentine's Day 2021

We were supposed to be in Key Largo at a nice resort soaking up the sun while my parents were watching the kiddos but, instead, we decided to cancel due to the impending snow storm heading to Texas. In the end we are SO glad we did due to all the craziness that happened but still. Fruity drinks and the beach is all we had been counting down to. Instead, we got some snow. Ha!

We did an impromptu chili and soup night with our friends and their kiddos and it was a blast. The we hit the hay and fell asleep one last time before what would be a week of pure chaos and stress like you couldn't imagine! 

 

Animals, Animals & More Animals!

Bailey had a bath this past week...

Sunny and her cuteness.

Hazel posed for some portraits for me! 

 

40th Birthday

It's crazy surreal that I'm 40 years old. I remember my mom turning 40 and I just don't feel that old yet I am! I woke up to a bunch of fun signs that Derek had ordered along with some other little funnies around the house. And then my girlfriends planned a brunch in my honor which I LOVED. My girlfriend whipped out her fancy silver and china on my behalf and they had some delicious food! 

Derek had this sign put in our front yard to ensure everyone in the entire neighborhood knew it was my 40th. :)

We enjoyed dinner with my parents including my favorite pizza and Derek had Georgetown cupcakes shipped in as a surprise! They were DELISH! Then that evening I hit the town with a bunch of other girlfriends and enjoyed some drinks out with them! 

 

Super Bowl Sunday

Chiefs were in the big game again for the second year in a row so we obviously had to repeat  last year. We only watched the game with my parents and had as much of the same foods as we could out of superstition! Unfortunately we lost but we still had a good time watching! 

 

Will Pictures

He's just SO tough right now. He's whiney and just gets upset about something at the drop of a dime and then cries forever about it no matter what we try. But then he gives you a hug and it's the BEST hug ever. Or he giggles and it's the BEST giggle ever. And when he's sleeping it's the sweetest view ever. It's amazing how quickly you can forget the hours of difficult toddler issues when he shoots a smile your way.