Some warmer weather is always nice!

It's nice when the weather warms up and we can go for a nice walk & not freeze!

 

 There are so many limbs down from the last storms!  Every where you look - branches, branches, branches

 We have some monster ones in our own yard that we have to clean up & burn!  Looking forward to spring!

Annual trip to Saratoga Springs, NY

Our hot rod friends have a 'garage' night every February and we love to attend it!  It's fun to do a hot rod event in the winter, we love catching up with friends, and we love visiting Saratoga!

 

It is such a cute town - lots of shops and restaurants.

 

 They are now famous for having won the small business award - which gave them an ad spot in Superbowl 50!  Death Wish coffee - sold at Saratoga Coffee Traders.

 It was very smooth and yummy!

 The first night in Saratoga - the hot rodders meet up for a nice dinner :)  We sat with our friends Jim & Bill!

 A new movie about their annual trip to Bonneville was just released, so we watched it after dinner.   Chris got the movie for Christmas, so we had seen it before.  It is still good enough to watch again and again.  Fun with a big crowd.

 The coldest temps in many many many years had to happen that weekend.  We woke up to -15 (before the wind chill - and it was a blowin'!)  This is Saratoga Lake - frozen tundra!

 We stopped by the garage in the afternoon to check things out before the big crowds arrive.  We saw our friends Bill & Bob

 And some very cool chopped hot rods!

 Plus all the cool artwork and T shirts that help spread the 'Bones' name!

After we had dinner with some non hot rod friends, we went back to the garage.  Much busier!

 Sunday morning, we met up with the die hards for breakfast.  It's a great way to end the weekend - and hear about the funny stuff that happened long after we left the garage...

 Bolts went to doggie daycare this year, since it was going to be so cold.  He had a good time - chillin with his own friends on this nice comfy couch ;)

While I was away...

Chris is working on the finishing touches on our 1941 pickup!  The small fixes tend to be the ones that take the longest.  A little tweak there, a little tweak here...

 

 It's looking good though - and we'll definitely be driving it this summer.

Basketball!

I also took in a basketball game in my home town.  The team was 3rd in state last year, and only lost one key player, so they are still really good & so fun to watch!

 

 We won!

Hanging with the family

I stayed in town for a few more days after the excitement of the cheer competition!

Superbowl at my sisters house!  She had to grade some papers, so she came out to watch the commercials!

 

 Me & Mom ;)

 The family pets came out to play too!

 IL got some snow too...  just a dusting though.

 We checked out the local bank rates - but they are just as low as all the others...

State Cheer competition!!

I flew to IL to watch my niece compete in the State Cheer Competition!

 

 Almost our whole family turned out to cheer Claire on!!

 It was fun & exciting to watch!  But also very nerve wracking!!!  (these next two pictures are taken by the NV cheerleading team)

 2 nieces!

 My sister in laws friend was watching the competition on TV and got this great photo!

 Waiting for the results...

 They got 3rd in state!!!  Everyone was SO excited - especially since they were 9th going into the last day!  (they do wipe the scores out, so everyone starts even)

 Me & Claire!

Meanwhile - we got more snow! Sigh

While I'm gallivanting around the country :), Chris got stuck with some more snow storms!  One storm had the heavy wet stuff, so he lost power for a few hours.  Bummer!

These trees were so loaded with snow, they blocked our driveway.

 

 Bolts enjoyed the white stuff.

 It did give us some beautiful sunsets though!!

Girlfriend Trip to Charleston!!

College girlfriend trip to Charleston, SC!

 

Our cute rental! 

 Shopping!!  King Street has a Ton of shopping.  We walked over 7 miles on our first day of shopping.

 Our second day, we went to the Charleston City Market - much like Fanueil Hall for you Bostonians.

 And we checked out the Harbor

 and the beautiful homes!

 and churches!

 There's always time for dinner!  We ate at a yummy brewery.

 Diane's daughter is going to college in the area, so she joined us for a couple days :)

 A couple girlfriends left on Sunday, but I stayed with one friend for a couple more days of sightseeing.

 We walked the bridge between Charleston & Mt Pleasant for a morning wake up!

and saw some beautiful views of Charleston & the harbor

 We checked out a famous plantation - where they filmed the mini series North & South!

 Beautiful plantation home

 The slave quarters

There is so much to do in Charleston - lots of history, fun shopping, and yummy restaurants.  A great place to meet up with friends!  We had some beautiful weather and I really enjoyed catching up with friends I haven't seen in years.  I just hope we get together again much sooner!!