Birthday Blizzard

Remember a couple of weeks ago when the forecasters predicted a huge weekend blizzard and we all prepared for it by stocking up on groceries and filling up our gas tanks?  And then, nothing....Ok, so the weather people were off by a couple of weeks, so we still got our snowy weekend THIS weekend. 
On Friday, the PLAN was that I would pick up Mom in Aurora at Don's house, then take her "senior living" shopping for a new residence, then meet up with Pam and we'd have a birthday dinner.  We looked at three places (these were in addition to the various places that she'd previously looked at with Don & Vicki, Pam, and then Alex), none of which suited her the way some others had, but we had a nice day and had lunch at one of the stops.  We were getting ready to meet Pam when we learned that the snow had already begun falling in Greeley.  So, we nixed that plan, and I drove home  where several areas were already experiencing "white-out" conditions.
It snowed all night and continued on through much of the day Saturday.  Brad and I had planned on going to Ft Collins to play bridge, but that was cancelled due to the weather, so we just stayed in, other than taking Gramma to her hair appointment and going to get groceries. Brad cooked one of my favorite meals, which along with a bottle of wine, was the highlight of that day!
My wonderful family really rallied on Sunday and I have to say that it was one of my favorite birthday celebrations!  Carrie, Gabi, Meredith, Emma and I began with a Chinese lunch, then off to do some birthday shopping, made a little more challenging than they realized the two places they had intended to take me were both closed!  We then met up with Amie and Sophie for  mani-pedis, keeping the Chinese theme going!

We then did some on the spot shopping at a nearby store, where I randomly picked up some birthday gifts, then home to a huge pot of Cajun boil that Brad had made while we were gone.  And of course, I was treated to the usual "play" done by the grand kids with Emma singing solo in the background, the girls dancing, and then the finale, the boys unrolling a banner with "Happy Birthday Grandma" written on it!

And then, the grand finale.....a delicious pineapple upside down cheesecake made by Meredith!

P.S. Have I mentioned how much we will miss these desserts?

St Patricks Day/Grammas birthday celebration

Happy St. Patricks Day!

 

Does anyone realize how difficult it is to take a picture of 7 very active kids?  Believe it or not, this is the best shot! I just wanted to show them all in green....(I did eliminate the ones of Grayson pulling Corbins' hair and the subsequent crying/hitting).

We did have a fun Sunday dinner and the kids were all so good...maybe just knowing that their days together are numbered with the upcoming Taylor move...but regardless, they had fun together. 

 Rarely does a Sunday go by without someone putting on a  costume, and Emma chose the lovely, lavender duck.  Sophie and Gabi adore her!  Later, they were playing some kind of game to guess the future....how many kids they'd each have, where they'd live, how many cars etc.  Meanwhile, the boys were playing "boy games" in the backyard. 

Gramma requested tacos for her birthday meal, which we all enjoyed and Meredith made her favorite chocolate banana cream pie for dessert.  I think her 93rd was a success!  She loved her gifts- a beauty salon certificate from Curt and Amie's family, new Skeecher shoes from the Frost family, a gorgeous purse and earrings from the Taylors, and some new shirts from Brad and Sue.
These are the first pair of athletic shoes for her!  We commented about how stylish she looked in her new hoodie and shoes!

 

The little blizzard who couldn't

This weekend was supposed to bring 6-10" of snow, but once again,  we were gypped!  The official amount was .24".  So glad I planned ahead and got groceries/gas beforehand.  Crazy Colorado weather.....  Brad and Curt are still working on a job in Denver, and are getting weary of that drive, so I'm sure they aren't disappointed in the non-blizzard.  A busy weekend here, but not as busy as things are at the Taylor house!  The decision has been made to move (for a look at their location, see haggardrealty.com.  It's the house with the red door).  They will move to a condo for the first few weeks, then to the house as  soon as it is vacant. I am so relieved that they have living arrangements made, and are making progress at getting their current home on the market.  The plan will be to move mid-April and to get Emma and Elijah in school so that they are able to meet some kids before summer begins.  We are sad for our loss, but happy for their new beginnings.
Saturday, we went to see the new OZ movie.  Interesting concept to find out how Oz got it's wizard before Dorothy and Toto ever arrived!  On the way to the movie, Gabi was telling Corbin (in our car) the story and said, "they never needed no stinkin' wizard.  They just had to believe in themselves because they had it in them the whole time".  Well, there you go!
Sunday was spent doing the usual- cooking, cleaning, laundry etc.  We made a huge pot of posole green chili and some guacamole with quesadillas and Meredith brought her yummy chocolate cake (the secret is a cake mix made by just adding a can of pumpkin and some chocolate chips...no eggs, no oil, no water, no nada!)  Spencer commented at dinner that he may have to forgo the Sunday dinner unless Meredith can get the dessert here, and was coming up with some innovative ways of making that happen!  The girls asked Emma to bring her duck tape collection to make Barbie clothes, so they spent the day in my craft room.

What was everyone else doing? 

Curt and Spencer were listing more of their fabulous finds on Ebay... while Meredith was giving Gramma the lowdown on the move and Carrie was working on a puzzle, the boys were playing in the storage room and having an occasional wrestling match, Grayson was eating a bowl of cereal with Grandpa's help, and Amie was working on the kitchen clean-up. Yup, another normal Sunday!

March...new beginnings

We are excited to announce the completion of Brad's radiation as of Wednesday, February 27. Of course, we couldn't get through the week without some nasty weather conditions on Tuesday, making our drive to Ft. Collins extra scary.  We began the week with dinner after treatment at Beth and Fred's house, a great time with two of our favorite couples.  His very last treatment was uneventful, but celebrated with a single serving cake, with "Happy Day" written on it.   These pictures of the machine and mask are from that night.

With a good outcome, which we'll know by the end of the month, no more radiation
treatments will be given.  Brad wasn't sorry to say goodbye to the mask!  Our next step will
be to get a new chemo protocol from Dr. Nye at University Hospital.

Our next big piece of news involves the possibility of the Taylor family relocating to Ogalala, Nebraska, where Meredith interviewed for a new position at the hospital there. Fortunately, it's only about a three hour drive from here.  They will know something more definitively by next week, when she gets an official offer.  We are saddened by this new turn of events, but know that they must do what is best for their own family.  (Selfishly, the rest of us will miss them, especially Corbin who has a special bond with Elijah, and Emma who will be missed by Rory, as well as the girls).  The entire family will miss Meredith's awesome Sunday desserts!  (I am still hoping that McKee hospital comes through with an offer...)

It' s been a busy weekend.  Brad and Curt are both exhausted from the travel/work schedule this week.  It would sure be nice if they had some work a little closer to home, but we certainly are grateful that they have work.  Amie and Meredith both ran Saturday in preparation for their upcoming races, with Amie running 15 miles to train for a marathon.  Spencer had a garage sale Friday as Carrie had "suggested" that he clear their garage so that it would allow her to park her car in it.  As of this post, I believe her car is still in the driveway! I played Grandma's Taxi Friday, picking up and dropping off kids for school and attempted to gather supplies for a craft project/baby shower gift, which I was able to complete (with a whole lot of difficulty) just prior to the shower on Saturday, with my craft room looking a little like Spencer's garage!  Saturday, we (all eight of the adults) went to Denver to the Chop House restaurant to celebrate not only Brad's treatment ending, but also Curt's 36th birthday.  We had a great time and a fabulous dinner!  It's been many years since we were all able to go out together!

 

Gabi got a horse and "staple" for her doll

Sunday brought a really nice, nearly Spring day, warm enough to have the windows open for a few hours.  We did make a huge recipe of Brad's potato soup with ham, some winter salad with pears and apples and Meredith's chocolate/caramel cake.  The kids were in and out and SO wound up...very noisy!

Chef Grayson- loves pots and pans!

The cellphone triplets