More birthday pics!!

In my last post I mentioned not being able to post pics since I apparently left my camera cord in Vegas ... DOH! I just realized my laptop has a card reader, so I can put the camera memory card straight in the computer to get the pics. (Drew, aren't you proud of me for figuring that out all by myself, before you had to tell the old lady about her new fangled technology? ha ha)

Anyway, here are some random bday pics. The first ones are when we celebrated with the bday cake Grandma baked for Abby on our return home Friday, then some from the big day Saturday. Happy 6th bday again, Abby!

Happy Birthday Abby!!

Today is Abby's 6th birthday! She has had a very fun and busy day!!

We arrived home from Las Vegas yesterday afternoon, and we wanted to celebrate Abby's birthday before grandma and grandpa headed home ... so we had cake and ice cream and opened a few presents then.

I would share pictures with you ... but after unpacking today, it appears that the cord that connects my camera to the computer to upload the pics must have been left behind at the hotel. ARGH!

The morning started for the birthday princess with some donuts that daddy brought home. She lounged around in her pj's until it was about time to get ready for the THS Cheerleading Clinic. She spent 3 hours today learning cheering skills and a cheer that her kindergarten group will perform at a boys basketball game in a week. Thank goodness our friend Jenny of Simply Charming Photography was on hand with her camera ... because I took pics, but they are not this good and I have no cable to get them on the computer! Thanks Jenny!














(Click on the pics for a full size view)
Then we dashed off to TJ's basketball game, and back home ... and we had dinner at her favorite bday place, Chevy's. Hence the sombrero and giant ice cream dish in the pic at the top. Ole'!

She's crashed now and has completely enjoyed her first day as a 6 year old!

Enjoying Las Vegas!

This is our last night in Vegas, we're heading home on Friday ... but the weather has been beautiful (68-70 degrees) and we have had a really nice trip!

We had a blast going to the Elvis chapel with our friends to renew their vows. A beautiful white limo picked us up at the hotel and took us to the chapel, and the service was fun. We laughed all the way through, but it was fun to see them enjoy a chance to renew their pledge to one another.

The Beach Boys were fun last night at our dinner/concert event. My, they are kind of OLD! ha ha

Drew has not had as much internet time to post on his trip to Europe as I had hoped, but in addition to his blog, there are some pics of their choir on the Carthage College web site,

www.carthage.edu

I don't see him specfically in any of the pics but it's fun to see a couple of the places where they did their concerts. Can't wait to see all of his pics!

We're taking the bus downtown to the "original" Vegas tonight, we have put on many miles on the Strip and would like to see something different. Should be fun!

Ready to Thaw Out!

Enough already of life in the freezer! We have had a "warm up" today and it's about 20 degrees. Still cold, but a 41 degree warm up from the previous night of -21!

Mitch and I are headed to Las Vegas tomorrow, and hopefully it will continue to be in the 60's there as it has been. That will feel like summer to us after what we have experienced this week!

Grandma and Grandpa Scott arrive tomorrow to be here with the kids while we are gone. We couldn't do this without them, we have no family here in town. It is a much-appreciated break from work stresses for us, and a great chance for the kids to have some extended time with their grandparents. Now that everyone is in school during the day, there is time for Grandma and Grandpa to have a break from kid duties, and it hopefully will be a smooth week for everyone.

We are heading to a large international convention affiliated with my job. It's always fun with big sessions with lots of pomp and circumstance. We'll stay at the Treasure Island Hotel.

Sunday night we have a welcome reception, Monday we have meetings and will be going to dinner at Emeril's steakhouse (Delmonico). On Tuesday, we'll attend the Opening Ceremonies of the convention, which are usually complete with indoor fireworks in some large arena type facility. Since it's Inauguration Day, they will broadcast that live for us, and then the keynote speaker is Lou Holtz. The trade show opens that day and is huge and takes several days to see.

There is a group of about a dozen people from this area on our flights and going to the meetings. We'll have a little fun with them on Tuesday night when we go with one couple to the "Elvis Chapel" to renew their wedding vows. They just celebrated their 20th anniversary and thought this would be a fun thing to do. The Elvis Chapel limo picks us up at the hotel at 7:30 pm, and the wedding ceremony is at 8 pm. If you are feeling very adventurous about 10 pm Central Time Tuesday night, you can see the ceremony live on the chapel's web cam, http://www.elvischapel.com/ and it should be a real hoot!

Wednesday night we have a dinner to attend and the musical entertainment is "The Beach Boys" ... the real ones! Should be fun! We'll continue with meetings and events, and return home Friday. I'm taking the laptop with me so I will probably post while we are gone.

Then we are back just in time to celebrate Abby's 6th birthday on the 24th! Drew returns from Europe on the 25th, and is having a great time. He called yesterday and it was so great to hear his voice.

Record Cold!! Brrrr!

-21F was the official temperature recorded today ... a new record, breaking the old record of -20F 32 years ago on this day, in 1977!

Fortunately, the extreme cold is about to come to an end. It has been warmer in parts of Alaska than here in Illinois all week, this just is not right!

The kids are out of school for the 3rd day in a row due to the extreme weather, and then of course they have Monday off for MLK. so their three day weekend turned into a six day weekend!

We're living in the freezer!

No school again today due to extreme cold!

The sad thing is our thermometer, in the picture, only shows about -10F. But the tv station and the National Weather Service both say it is about -17F. That's temperature, not wind chill. Maybe our thermometer won't go any lower! ha ha

We won't get above zero today, and tonight is supposed to be even a bit colder. Our coldest temperatures in 5 years, according to the news. So maybe no school again tomorrow, for the 3rd day in a row? And then Monday is a school holiday for MLK Day ... so the kids may end up with almost a full week off! And here they have only been back to school about a week after the Christmas holiday. The end of the school year is going to be in June, for sure!

In these winter conditions, the official countdown to the warm Florida sun for Spring Break is on. Only NINE WEEKS until we head to Destin!!

Surprise Snow Day!

When I went to bed last night, we were supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow. No big deal. Woke up this morning to quite a bit of snow (6 inches, maybe?) and no school! Lots of blowing and drifting, and really cold temperatures on the way.

Anxiously awaiting Drew's blog to be updated from Germany! They were scheduled to stay in Berlin last night, and tonight the choir performs their concert at the United Methodist Church in Berlin.

Drew's trip to Europe

Well, they took off about an hour late due to snow and blizzard warnings in Chicago ... but the Carthage Choir's flight has lifted off and is headed toward Munich, Germany! They will cross the Atlantic tonight and be in Europe by the time we wake Tuesday morning.

Drew has set up a blog that he hopes to post pictures and updates to as they make their way through Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria to perform 6 concerts. They have an amazing itinerary, and it's a great opportunity for a group of college students. His blog is here,
www.drewineurope.blogspot.com

Weekend This and That!

Lots going on this weekend for the gray, cold winter! Today we went to the THS girls basketball games. Being part of the team has been a great thing for Beverly.

Tomorrow TJ starts a basketball skills clinic. He is the happiest when he has the ball in his hands and is on the court!

Also tomorrow ... at 7 pm Central Time on ABC, be sure to watch this week's edition of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to see the episode that was filmed here in our area. I had the pleasure of helping the builder keep things in order from an administrative standpoint, and I was on the job site a lot. It was a fun and rewarding project, and it was fun being in one of the scenes, the "braveheart march" where the "workers" storm the house to tear it down. You wouldn't believe how many times you have to film that for Hollywood to get it just right! ha ha

Finally, keep Drew in your thoughts and prayers for safe travels as he heads to Europe for a two week tour with the Carthage Choir. What an awesome opportunity for a 19 year old young man! They will do 6 concerts and have lots of sightseeing time in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria! They return on January 25.

A Special Day!

Five years ago today, this little peanut was put into our arms at the Grand Sun City Hotel in Changsha, Hunan!

So hard to believe it has been 5 years, but so much has changed in that time that the reality of 5 years passing is clear. The bald little baby from 5 years ago now has hair down to her waistline ... and the terrified little baby from 5 years ago is happily and firmly implanted into family life. Sometimes it makes me wonder if it has ONLY been 5 years!

Last year I did post all of our travel messages to a separate blog. It has the most recent post first, but you can go all the way to bottom and read "up" to find the posts about meeting Abby, click on the blog name:

Our Beautiful Sunflower

Happy family day, Abigail Kui Yan! I'm proud to be your mom, and I love the way adoption has changed the face and dynamic of our family.