Virtual Fashion Show

Just before Mother's Day, Aaron's grandparents gifted me (and all the mothers in the family) with some money.  The caveat: all the money had to be spent on clothing for ourselves AND for every article of clothing purchased, one item from the current wardrobe had to be either trashed or donated.

So here goes on my super fun shopping spree!

I was given these black pants when I was pregnant (not even going to say which pregnancy, since it's embarrassing) and they are big and awkward.  To replace them, I got a new pair of work out pants, and renewed by resolution to work on my physical fitness.

These near-black jeans were given to me but I never wear them because they have an awkward fit; just right at the waist, but too shallow from waist to crotch, and just a little too short.  Trading them out for these sweet capris with floral embroidery on them.

 This sweater has seen better days.  It's pilling and a little short.  In it's place, I found a pretty coral tee with a faint pineapple on it.  I love this new top!

 I've had this red shirt for a long time. It's been stretched out of shape and is too short.  Loving this striped tee in khaki, orange and pinks!

 An old favorite shirt, too stained ti keep around.  Another coral top to replace it.  This one is sparkly and says 'I don't sweat, I sparkle' in gold letters.

 I have worn and loved this white sweater for years and years.  Clearly it was time for an upgrade, I was just going to wear it to the bitter end.  Instead I have this cute draping sweater with gathered sleeves.

I've been meaning to pass this business shirt on for some time, but made it last longer by always wearing it under a black sweater to hid the oddly-short sleeves with no buttons.  In contrast, I'm never going to hide this cute navy pineapples and palms tee!

 A shirt that's done me lots of good, especially under other shirts during the winter.  Sadly, it's developed a couple holes and doesn't fit as well as it used to.  Thank goodness for my new 'super mom' shirt, to make me feel fabulous!

 This burnt orange was one I loved to wear.  I still wore it within the last week, even though the hem is coming undone and it has a hole right in front (hiding right in that fold).  The teal and lace on the new tee sold me! I feel so feminine and soft in it!

 I recently replaced this black shirt with another basic black tee and wear it so infrequently, but I was holding on to it 'just in case'.  It's really time to let it go.  So off it went, in favor of this fun gray and teal paisley tee.

 I haven't worn this sweater in a long time, since it is stretched around but shrunk up.  I didn't really want to get rid of it because it's part of a set and I still love the skirt.  In practicality, I'm keeping the skirt I still wear with other tops but losing the old sweater.  (I'm also getting rid of a matching blue one, for which I also still wear the skirt.  This shopping spree really encouraged me to purge!)  I'd gotten a nice pair of black leggings that I wear with a sheer black tunic, but I really wanted another option than to be all black.  This green tunic is incredibly comfortable and I love it!

 Hanging on to things I don't wear is clearly a problem of mine.  This black suit has lost it's stretch.  I have a tankini already, but it'll be fun to swap that top out with this new top.  I love the high neckline and the way it fits!

 This brown skirt and the orange and brown top have been in my wardrobe a long time.  I've been meaning to get rid of the skirt because the uneven hem might be cute, but it drives me nuts every time I wear it.

 Seriously LOVE this skirt set!  It warranted two pictures of the same outfit.  I feel so pretty, even though it's so bright and I might otherwise have passed it up for being too loud.  I'm so glad I tried it on!  It's going to be my Mother's Day outfit this weekend!

 I don't have the replacements for these yet, but I've been sized and have ordered two new bras.  I tried them on in store and can't wait to have them.  The old ones are embarrassingly old.  Pretty sure they were both purchased before my last pregnancy.  What's more appalling is that I was wearing both of them within the last two weeks.  So glad to be replacing them!

Hot Date!

Aaron and I got to go out for a few hours!  We did something we haven't done in years: went shooting together!  We both enjoy it; it's how we met on our first group date a little over ten years ago.  It was really fun to get out and shoot again.  The only difference was that, last decade we shot empty bottles with a rifle and this time we were shooting various handguns.

 

It is very obvious to me that I'm not as skilled as I once was - that happens when you ignore a task for a decade.  In the picture of me shooting, my shirt is pulled back in an awkward way.  This was because the casings were ejecting back at me and a couple of them went down my shirt - painful! I have (the day after the incident) a noticeable burn right between my breasts because I couldn't get one of them off fast enough.  Startling, painful and embarrassing!

Aaron was complete concentration and really ended up perfecting his shots!  His goal was to get at least one bull's eye with one of the guns, and he was able to get more than that!  This was particularly exciting for him because one of the guns we shot was one he bought last week, a kind of belated birthday present.  He was really excited to get familiar with his new gun!

 

After the gun range, we went to Outback Steak House and chatted while eating yummy steak!

Sledding with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa B invited the kids over for a few hours to go sledding and play in the snow!  We looked at options like sledding down the long hill to the pond or on the small hill by the vineyard, and finally decided to go ahead and make a sled hill from Grandpa's snow plow dumping - he used a big machine and made a grand slope and Grandma took the shovel and made a set of snow stairs up the side.  It was really a great setup!

While we waited for Grandpa to finish working out the man-made hill, the kids played on the play set with less-than-awesome results.  Lizzie was very frustrated because she couldn't get the swing to move through the high snow.

Evie made the best of the slide.

Carson used the play house at the top to play peek-a-boo with me.

Finally, the hill was ready to be used!

We had lots of fun, and were so excited when Uncle Brian and Jessica came to join the fun!

Evie, Aaron and I had fun finding that the ice on the pond was really thick and slid around some.  It was hard, though, because the ice wasn't smooth and flat, it was bubbly and rippled - hard on the knees when we tried.

Evie's bright pink outfit stands out pretty much anywhere, but in all this white and light, it was a beacon!

Evie tried sliding across the ice like a penguin.  I guess penguins are made for it or something, because she barely made it two feet!

I handed the camera off to Evelyn for a few pictures of me with my honey.

Jess was super helpful - she wanted to pull Carson back to the top of the hill but hit a spot she couldn't get over and deserted her endeavor.

It was warm enough that we started getting a puddle at the bottom of the hill, on the driveway.  Lizzie loved splashing through it and then Grandpa and Uncle Brian brought extra snow and filled it in.

Aaron and Grandpa also spent a little time making a mini snow cave.  It was barely big enough for the kids to squirm into one at a time, but they thought it was pretty cool.

Another sweet Jess moment - she wanted to check on Grandpa and make sure he was okay at the bottom of the hill.

It should be noted that there are no pictures of Cole in this fun - because he SLEPT through it all!  He fell asleep on the way over and stayed that way two more hours!

In a winter that seems to be endless like this one, it's been great to take advantage of family time and the fun that can be had in the snow.  It may be the end of February, but the snow shows no signs of melting away and giving over to spring - curse that groundhog...