Biggest surprise EVER!

It began on Monday night, two days ago...Bryan came home from work and began acting ridiculously giddy about my Christmas present. Then he gets a phone call and heads for the door. When I ask where he's going, he tells me that he is going to help out some old people that Brent has been texting about all day. Apparently these old people are stuck in the snow and need help getting out to get their medication. A few minutes later there is a loud knock at the door. I grab little boy and take him to the door with me. I open it cautiously, because I'm not expecting anyone, it's dark, and I'm home alone. Well guess who cam knocking at my door? My parents! All the way from New Mexico! I had nooo clue that they were coming. Apparently they had been traveling across country all week and I was the only one that didn't know. The clues of this adventure began to add up. Like the fact that my parents answering machine was turned-which only happens when they're away. When I asked about it last week my mom said she tripped over the cord and broke the answering machine :) So the old people bryan went to help were my parents. This was the biggest best surprise yet. I just feel so special that someone came across country to see me. Additionally now I can just drive home with them so I'll make it in time for Mandy Burnam's wedding! The only thing that would make this more perfect is if there were a Trader Joes along the way and I could buy a case of Peppermint Joe Joes. Additionally, Little boy drank half a bottle of peppermint extract today. Posion control told me to watch for general signs of drunkness. Like I've spent a ton a time around drunk people to judge this by. Basically babbling, falling while walking and drowsiness-all of these in a 10 month old hmm....I can't wait to post pictures of all the goodies we're making, especially the peppermint marshmallows! which is how Baby Boy got the extract..

Roanoke has morphed into winter wonderland over the last day! Within the last twenty four hours our little Virginia town has gotten 20 inches of snow! It is officially the biggest snow fall that Roanoke has seen in over a decade. My mom said she was channel surfing and saw the weather Channel reporting from our airport, so you know we hit the big time. :) The snow is a pristine white that covers the cars until unidentifiable. The boughs of the evergreen trees are weighed down to the point that they can't support the snow. We ventured out to play in the snow where Little Princess was unable to walk because it was so deep. The snow was so clean and beautiful, so we all had a try. Little Princess told me that it tasted like 'food'. That reminded me of a cook book I had when I was a young girl. It was the Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie cookbook. In it there was the recipe for snow candy. So I made everyone come inside so we could look up the recipe. Unfortunately, we don't have molassas in the house, and we weren't crazy enough to drive to the store. So I got another idea. I googled snow ice cream recipe and found a delicious recipe. To 5 cups of clean snow you add 1 cup of milk 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla. It took less than 5 minutes and it produced ice cream that was top quality! you can hardly buy it that delicious! Although, I must admit the cold weather made it slightly less desirable.
In other family news Baby boy took his first steps on Thursday (12-18) night. He was standing up using his pack n play, while Bryan sat on the couch. Baby Boy turned around and walked to his dad! it was completely unexpected, but he willing repeated the feat a few more times for our entertainment. Additionally, Little Princess is keeping up with her cuteness and she told me the other day 'mom, I think Porter looks like Captain Moroni.' I'm so happy she is such a bright little girl that is learning the scriptures. Another thing she said this week, after taking a shower was 'oh man, I'm so wet, my mom is going to KILL me!' where'd she pick up that saying? oh well..
Unfortunately due to the snow we missed out on Dickens of a Christmas this year. But we are happy to be together and warm in this little apartment. And being locked in has given me a chance to catch up on Christmas cooking. Chocolate chip cookie dough is ready in the fridge, the bread dough is rising and the roast in the crockpot. Next up will be the meringues for chocolate covered meringues. I love cooking! and eating.. :)

that time of year and other stuff

Well it's the holidays again and here at the Keele house we love the holidays! we were lucky enough to get to spend Thanksgiving with Bryan's sister Melissa and her family. We were really grateful that they made the trip down from Indiana to see us and make us some delicious pumpkin pies. Thanksgiving day started out with the Drumstick Dash down town. Bryan ran the 5k and the rest of us walked, pushing the kids in strollers. It was a fun time that raised money for the rescue mission. Bryan finished around 22 minutes, a good improvement from his last run, so congrats again honey! December 5th we made our annual trek up Bent Mountain to get our Christmas tree. Once again this expedition landed on the first snow fall of the season. There was already a few inches of accumulation by the time we got there so we made it a quick trip, but I think the tree we got was still marvelous(Bryan picked the winner). Little Princess insisted that the tree be small enough for her to carry. So we compromised and got a regular size pine and also a Charlie Brown style tree just small enough for Little Princess to carry. I have some adorable pictures of her and her dad dragging their trees through the snow that I'll post soon. Some funny Little princess moments lately are: She's discovered advertisments. The Black Friday ads came out and she fell in love with this princess vanity/piano combo. Quite frankly it looks annoying. But she carried the ad around for two days straight. She slept with it. First thing in the morning she was carrying out of her bed. It has since been destroyed, but she seemed to want it so bad, we went out at 5AM Black friday morning to get this fabulous present for her. I really, really, hope it's not as annoying as it looks in the picture.. Just a few nights ago I see her sopping up a mess. 'I had an accident' she tells me. This is highly bizarre considering she hasn't had an accident in months, but I let it slide. A little while later, I glance over the couch and see her pull of her shorts and head to the corner of the room. "what are you DOING?" I asked..she runs off the the bathroom and proceeds to use the toilet. She comes back out and tells me 'I'm just going potty like Vegas'(our dog). ughh really? peeing on the floor? I'm guessing that 'accident' was not and accident.Luckily those incidents have not repeated themselves. Little boy is growing big. He weighs a little over 20 lbs and is 31 inches long. That puts him in the 95th percentile for height. The Dr. said it's still too early to sign him up for the NBA but we'll see. A comparision between my boy and girl, He is 20 lbs at 10 months, Little princess was 18 lbs at 18 months. Genetics is a crazy thing. I'm going to use this blog as a family journal of sorts, so I should be posting more often and in small lengths.