(Not So) Fun in the Snow!

Well, the snow continued well into Saturday night. Before bed we took a few more pics that looked interesting.

Somewhere under this mound is our grill!

Does this give any indication how deep it was? This is the railing on our deck.

The Christmas lights on our front bushes looked pretty under a layer of snow.

This made for a perfect night for our annual "White Christmas" movie night!

This morning we woke up to a bright, clear, crisp sunny day. The enjoyment of yesterday soon gave way to the realization that today we would need to shovel snow - without a snow blower!

Dan and Barb take turns digging out. Our final measure in the driveway was about 20 inches.

Barb, do you know where I left my grill? The drifts on the deck were over Dan's knees.

After a few hours we had the driveway cleared and moved enough snow off the pipestem (r) so we could get to the street.

We really did enjoy it. As we said in our last blog, we hadn't seen a snow fall like this since we left Crystal Lake. However, if we have to do this again, we are buying a snow blower!

Fun in the Snow

This weekend, Virginia and the DC area was hit with one of the biggest snow storms in years. For us, it was the biggest snow storm since we left Chicago in 1979. It started last night and has been coming down for 24 hours straight. This afternoon we decided to go out and take a walk and enjoy the beauty. We thought you might enjoy seeing some pics!

Our house and the woods behind (l), and the poor little Honda totally blanketed with snow (r).

It was really deep! Barb really had to work hard to plow her way through the deep drifts!

With a thick blanket covering the plants and ground, the birds were very active around our feeder today.

The red cardinals were so pretty set against the snow in our fir tree.

OK - that earlier picture was a hoax, Barb was on her knees. Did we fool you? Even standing, though it is pretty deep. We are up to 18" by nightfall.

Our walk was beautiful and quiet, as traffic was light and noise was muffled by the white blanket. Dan wanted to take the X-Terra out four-wheelin', but without snow tires we didn't want to take the chance.

There is no real good caption for this, but we just thought it was a cool shot.

The back yard (l), and our deck (r) where it drifted well over two feet deep.

"Help, I fell down and I can't get up!"

We have enjoyed every moment of it!!

Kennedy Center Award Luncheon 2009

On Dec. 5th, we were able to take in the kickoff luncheon at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the Honors weekend. Boeing is the sponsor for this luncheon and there were 2 tables reserved for Boeing employees who put their names in to be part of the luncheon. This is the 32nd year that the Kennedy Center has honored 5 performing arts icons for their lifetime contributions to American culture. The weekend long festivities start off with a luncheon on Sat. and end with a Honors Gala on Sunday evening attended by the current President of the U.S. and is always broadcast the end of Dec.

This year's honorees were: writer, composer, actor, director, & producer Mel Brooks; pianist & composer Dave Brubeck; opera singer Grace Melzia Bumbry; actor, director & producer Robert De Niro; & singer & songwriter Bruce Sprinsteen.

Once again the table decorations were gorgeous. We weren't as close to the head table where the celebrities were this time, but we had Michelle Lee (of Knot's Landing fame) sitting next to us at the next table!!

Bruce Springsteen & Mel Brooks were not there for the luncheon, but Robert De Niro, Dave Brubeck & Grace Bumbry were.

Also on hand were other celebrities; Florence Henderson,

Michelle Lee,

And past honoree, Carol Burnett!!! Callie, we made sure to tell her that your favorite all time movie is "Annie"!!

There were dessert tables set up in a separate room for after the luncheon. There were about 6 stations, all done in color themes. The yellow table had all yellow desserts, the green table, green desserts and so on. It was beautiful even if our teeth were color stained by the end!!

Tune in Dec. 29th to see the 2 -hour special Honor's Gala to be broadcast on CBS!

Thanksgiving in Ohio (aka Matt and Laura and Amish Land)

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving in a brand new way. We drove to Hiram, Ohio, to spend a few days with Matt, Laura, Claire, and Alyssa. We have never really been to Ohio before, except Dan once made a very short stay in Dayton while recruiting for Boeing. And, we have never been to Matt & Laura's, either. It is something we really wanted to do sometime during our residency on the east coast. It just turned out to be a good time for us to make the trip, and after inviting ourselves up, Matt and Laura graciously accepted our invitation!

We had a great time. Thanksgiving dinner was shared with Pete and Toni, friends of Matt & Laura. The rest of the time we shared with M&L and the girls. We enjoyed being with them very much.

Playing the Bibleland game in front of a cozy fire.

Claire (l) and Alyssa (r) are so cute, and growing so fast.

In nearby Middlefield, we found that the Amish community is prevalent and makes traffic and parking an interesting sight.

Matt, Laura, and the girls pose at the Middlefield Cheese Factory.

Dan and Matt did a little landscaping.

We had the privilege of a private tour through the world headquarters of Ambassadors In Sport (AIS). To learn more about AIS click HERE or go to http://www.aisint.org/ .

A few good poses with the girls outside AIS before we had to leave for home.....

.... and one good one altogether inside.

We had a great time with them. Thank you , Matt, Laura, Claire, and Alyssa for sharing your time, your Thanksgiving, and your colds!! We loved being with you!!