Ice to Mud

After being iced in for most of the week, we decided to visit the lake house for a change of scenery.  During the months of January-March, with the lake level down, we typically know what to expect....mud.  Dave loves to hike around the lake (lake bed) during the winter months and oh, did we have a fun time.  As it turned out, it was a muddy time!  I don't have the final outcome captured in pictures...probably because I was worried I would get mud on my phone....but believe me, it was dirty!  Kobe had a grand time chasing the birds from one point of the water to the other.  Over and over again (just like a kid).  Of course, it wouldn't be a true Pryor outing if our kids kept their clothes on.  Olivia shed her shirt on a cold day on the beach.  How does she stand it?!

Even though we were in Alabama for a little over 24 hours, the slow pace made it feel like at least two full days.  It was wonderful to be so relaxed.  It also gave Dave some downtime after returning from Detroit and Germany and to get over being jet lagged. 

So the kids returned to school finally on Tuesday after observing the MLK holiday.  I attended their Tiger Pride Assembly, which acknowledges specific students for their outstanding behavior each quarter.  Olivia has been on 'perfect purple' every day of the school year.  Zach...he was awarded a Tiger Pride, but this may be his only quarter.  Time will tell :-) Looking at our calendar with all of the holidays, teacher work days, snow days and an upcoming trip to Daytona for the 24 Hours of Daytona, my kids will be in school a total of 12 days during the month of January!  We haven't had a full week of school yet.  It is nice in some ways, but a full week is going to be a shock to our system.  Of course, we have Winter Break coming up in mid-February, so..... :-)
Dave invited me to a dinner at The Yellow House on Green Street this past Wednesday along with his Marketing and PR Departments.  They played Whirlyball as a team building event - fun!  It took me over an hour to drive from Smyrna to Holcomb Bridge Rd. during rush hour, but it was worth it to catch up with everyone.  On the way home, I saw the coolest thing.  There was a full moon and it was reflecting off my tachometer.  It was an amazing blue and I couldn't take my eyes off of it.  A little distracting, yes, but how cool was that?!  Again, a picture wouldn't do it justice.  I don't think I've ever noticed a full moon on my gauges, but it's even better off of Porsche gauges.  Yes, I am becoming a car geek too....and a lunar geek!

Bring on the Snow!

We have been pleasantly surprised this winter with three snows already.  One before Christmas break, Christmas Day and this past Sunday.  This time around the snow, and mainly the ice, has kept everyone out of school and has given us all time to snuggle up with our kids, read, and more importantly rest.  Dave flew out to for the Detroit Auto Show and then on to Germany until Saturday, so he has missed this entire event.  And what an event it has turned out to be.  Olivia and Zach haven't spent a ton of time outside, but I can't blame them.  It's pretty to look at, fun to play in for short periods of time, but so much better to stay warm and play.
Kobe has had a tough time of it, this being his first year in the world, he isn't sure how to get his plumbing going in this cold, ice covered world.  It's been entertaining to watch him during this ice-in.  Of course, we have been out enough to capture some pictures and videos....but no snowman yet.  The ice came too fast :-(

I coerced (forced) Olivia to take Kobe out to 'try' to pee!

Check out the hammer on the table.  They brought it out to 'break' the ice.  No, that's not dangerous at all....

Sledding in the 'hood.

So, after staying inside most of the first day, Olivia and Zach got their mojo around 7:30 pm and played to their hearts content.  They immediately started acting out a action movie.  I gathered they were in trouble with the ice and were trying to save each other.  The entire 30 minute movie was hilarious, I have an awesome 2 minute clip of it, but could only post a shorter one.