Ice Ice Baby

 No, that is not a frozen lake. That is a frozen front yard that is normally grass. It's so beautiful, but so dangerous!

Nashville Ice Storm Damage

 Grandma and Papa were in Nashville when the big storm hit. They had been forecasted to get a big storm, but no one could have imagined how crippling the storm would end up being. Trees just fell, cracked because of cold, so cold everything just froze. Trees around the Nashville house fell, including branches from the swinging tree. Their power was knocked out for 4 days. Here are some pictures from Grandpa:

Ice Storm of 2026

We've had an exciting week here in VA! Not as exciting as Grandma and Papa in Nashville, but exciting enough! Our storm was forecasted to drop 14-18 inches of snow, heavy ice, power loss, road closures, etc. Christopher was not supposed to be home during the whole storm so I was in major prep mode. I got all the food ready, figured out heat, got the generator ready, all the things. I wasn't too worried because I have an amazing tribe around me where I knew I would have help if I asked. Thankfully though, the launch got cancelled and he was able to get on a last minute flight and made it home so I wasn't riding out the storm alone!

The kids were so excited....and full of big plans. Andrew's group decided to ride out the storm of the year here at our house. All the boys arrived the night before the storm (Friday or Saturday) and the last one just went home a few minutes ago (Wednesday Night). We had a full house for the storm and it was awesome. Bigger kids in the basement - Zack's group on 3 mattresses in his room!

Too many stories to write up but here are a few highlights

*Go-Karting in the powder (not great), go-karting on ice - amazing

*running out of gas on the way home from the park THEN getting 2 flat tires. Took all four boys pushing and pulling to get it back home. - Then Andrew rebuilt the engine.

*Andrew testing out ice and losing - up to his waist

*Falling on the ice - even cars couldn't break through it

*Heating station to try to dry and warm up the boys clothes and shoes

*Boys heading over to Jane's house to clear her driveway since Warren was out of town

*Kids so tired they didn't get up till about noon

*Ice sledding on the ponds

*Playing ice roulette

*Nighttime walks

*The boys asking random houses if they could sled down their hills

*Picking up Xander and having to navigate a car that was not only completely stuck, but had bald tires, and had run out of gas.

*Have school cancelled everyday