Beaver Creek, Colorado

We had an absolutely wonderful time on our trip to Beaver Creek, Colorado. I've never seen so much snow in my life, and nothing could prepare us for how beautiful it is there. Here are some pictures of the highlights of our trip...

The view from our room was breath-taking...Here's what it looked like without Molly standing in front of it...There were huge statues of animals all throughout the village...Here's Miss Priss patiently waiting for her turn to tube down Haymaker Hill...She was saying "Spin me FAST!"...My favorite picture from the entire trip...Here we are getting ready to go ice-skating in the center of the village...Molly & Eric are ready to snow-mobile...this turned out to be our favorite part of the entire trip!Jacey & me...Shannon in his "Nascar"uniform...The whole gang about half way up to the summit...Sorry, Shannon...I couldn't help but post the picture of you getting stuck....Here's Jacey showing how deep the fresh snow is...We stopped at the summit (about 11,000 feet) & went in this little log cabin for some hot chocolate & apple cider...

And to warm up by the roaring fire...Can you guess the name of this mountain? Just read the slopes...S...K...Y!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

Just when we get everything together to take a trip to Colorado so that Molly can see some snow...

We got a few inches here in south Georgia!

Who would have ever guessed that we'd see this much snow over the weekend!

It was so beautiful & definitely has us geared up for our upcoming trip.

Because it gave us a small preview of just how much Molly enjoys playing in the snow!

The Countdown Is On...

...only 3 more days before Molly visit's Dr. Hodge's again for x-rays & hopefully to get her boot off. ...only 5 more days before Valentine's Day. ...only 9 more days before we leave for Colorado...woo-hoo! ...only 21 more days before the guys leave for Argentina. ...only 28 more days before Eric & I leave for Washington, D.C. ...only 30 more days before Mo's first beauty pageant. Wow, the next month is going to be BUSY!

We've Graduated!

Well, we've graduated out of the hot pink cast into a post-op boot/leg brace for Molly's broken toe. However, she and I both liked the cast a lot better. The boot has been a pain in the neck...or foot in this case! And, finally, we have everything set for our Colorado trip. Lodging, flights and car rental have all been reserved & we're getting really excited about it. The only thing left now is for Molly's foot to heal so she'll be able to run & play when we get there. Tomorrow, we're heading over to Pulaski to find Molly a dress for her very first beauty pageant. She's decided that she wants to participate in her school pageant this year & I think it will be a lot of fun. But, unfortunately, I will not be here to watch her that night. Eric & I will be in Washington, DC for a Young Farmer convention that entire week. I'm a little (actually a LOT) bummed out that I'm going to miss her first pageant, but I know she'll be in good hands. And, I'll be cheering her on...all the way from D.C.!

This Week's Hurdles...

What a week it has been already! The old saying, "when it rains, it pours" has seemed to hold true this week. Here's a quick run-down of this week's highlights...

-My grandmother has been sick and having problems with her blood pressure & heart. She saw a local doctor on Monday who found a heart blockage & he set her up an appointment to see a heart specialist in Macon on Friday. However, Tuesday morning, she seemed to get worse & was rushed to Macon. She had sonograms & an EKG ran which all looked pretty good, but has a stress test scheduled for tomorrow morning to see the extent of the blockage. Please keep her in your prayers. She is the glue that holds our family together & the rock that we always lean on!

-While washing some of Eric's hunting clothes this week, I missed cleaning out one of his jacket pockets. In it was a pack doe urine wafers. Well, needless to say, our washer smelled really nice when I pulled out the clothes to swap them to the dryer. I did 3 "clean washer" cycles with bleach to try to get the smell out, but every load of clothes I wash comes out smelling like doe urine. I'm just waiting to be attached by a buck each time I walk outside!

-The reason I was washing Eric's hunting clothes in the first place was because he left Sunday on ANOTHER hunting trip. This time he's in Louisiana with a group of friends duck hunting. So, with everything going on, he's out of state...which makes it even more stressful!

-I had another biopsy appointment yesterday which went well. I took Molly with me to have her looked over. The new places on her leg that have been a mystery to me over the last couple of months are some type of warts which were the result of a scratch. We have some new cream that will bring them to a blister & they will peel off...she's not too happy about all that!

-I've been trying to plan our Colorado vacation which we're hoping to go on sometime next month. But, wow...that's one expensive place to visit! I'm having a hard time finding us a place to stay & airline tickets are going up everyday. They've already gone up $125 per ticket since last Friday! Also, I'm a little concerned about IF we will be able to go, because of our newest "hurdle" this week...

Yes, Miss "Graceful" has broken the growth plate in her big toe! We spent from 7am-5pm between the ER and the doctor's office Monday. She had her cast put on that day & she'll get it off tomorrow morning. They'll put her in a post-operative boot tomorrow which she'll have to wear for another 2 weeks. The hardest part is that she cannot put ANY weight on it for 3 weeks if we want to avoid surgery...which means I've been carrying her everywhere. I took her stroller with her to school yesterday which made it easier for the teachers to get her back & forth to lunch. But, it has definitely been an adventure trying to keep a 4 year-old off of her feet.

Needless to say, I'm ready for the weekend!

Year-In-Review

Since we're now embarking on a brand new year, I thought I'd take a minute to look back over some of the highlights of the past year. And, since Eric & I seem to never take pictures of ourselves, this will actually be Molly's year-in-review!

In January, Eric surprised Molly & I with these (unfortunately in would be several weeks before we were actually able to enjoy them!)...

Molly got up close & personal with an "efanant" in February...

Farming was starting up in March...

April was busy with Easter, teaparties...

Cheerleading, Kite Founders' Day...

And the Relay for Life...

We were "in full swing" of things when May brought t-ball...

And, Molly's dance recital...

Warmer weather made Brown Springs irresistable in June...

July means vacation... And Molly's birthday in Candyland...

One of the biggest highlights of the year came in August when our little Molly started school...

September is always our annual trip to George L. Smith...

And Molly got in a little dove hunting, too...

Temperatures were cooling down in October, just in time for the fair...

And Halloween...

And, our introduction to the "Ferbettes"...

We gave thanks in November as Molly's guests at school...

And were honored to be named the County and District Farm Family of the Year...

Of course, December brought every child's favorite day...Christmas!

Whew...it has been a very busy, but really fun year! I cannot wait to see what 2010 has in store for us!

Arkansas Hunting Pics...

Eric did manage to snap a couple of pictures during his trip to Arkansas (had it been me, there'd been at least 300 pictures taken)! Here they are...