The Bessicks: December 2009

Monday, December 28, 2009

Winter Surprise in Chicago

Surprise!!!! We surprised Lindsay who was in town visiting Patti. Best Christmas present ever! Lindsay came to Chicago to do tea and the Nutcracker with Patti and we just happen to be in the area, so we stopped by to spend some time with them. While they had tea at the Drake in the afternoon, we spent the morning visiting with Grandma who has just had knee surgery. She was also glad to see us.

We drove to the city, parked the car, had some Starbucks and went up to Patti and Lindsay's room to deliver some wine and cheese. Linds has no idea we were coming and was super surprised. After some snacks and Proseco in the room, we had a lovely steak dinner. It was a great night.

The next morning we had brunch with Andrew's Conant boys who were all in town too. It was a great weekend, but I remember why we moved away from Chicago. Being in the city for the whole weekend, made me so anxious. The busy streets and crowded sidewalks were just too much for me. But I must say, Chicago is very pretty in the winter, especially with the snow.

Staying warm with matching hats.

Beautiful Christmas Tree

Ange and I at dinner

Patti and Linds at dinner

Bringing Back the 80's

Andrew's school party this year was 80's themed. They like to have a good time and they love the themed parties. I can't complain, they are super fun. We searched high and low for a rad outfit for Andrew. I had my sweet 80's prom dress from the Mejestic's 80's prom a couple of years ago. I added some sweet white pumps, gloves and jewelry. Andrew on the other hand, just couldn't figure out what he wanted to wear. After searching several Goodwills, Savors and Thrift Stores, Andrew settled on the Flock of Seatgulls/Chandler's 80's look from Friends.

It was a great party. Here are some pictures for you all to laugh at. Don't tell Andrew I posted these though, I'm sure he wouldn't want you all seeing his awesome get-up. :o)

Check out that sweet hair.

Probably dancing to some sweet 80's tunes.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Winter in Madison

17 inches of snow, one snow day, 0 snow plows and a commute of an hour and 40 minutes to get home the next day, what did we get ourselves into? Our first winter in Madison. When they started talking about this winter storm coming through the plains, we really didn't know what to expect. All we knew, was that the meteorologists, teachers and kids started talking about a snow day on Wednesday on Monday. We could only hope it was going to be as bad as they planned. Well on Tuesday night, Andrew and I got the call from our districts saying we had a snow day. Let me tell you.....Best. Feeling. Ever! Knowing you don't have to get up and go to work the next day, is just awesome!

So we bundled up, turned up the heat, and settled in for what we were told would be the storm of the decade. It started Tuesday afternoon on the drive home, and continued into the next day. Tuesday night, we watched as the snow came down, and the wind picked up. We weren't sure how much we would get, but we knew it would be bad. Wednesday morning we woke up to whiteout conditions. 15 inches of snow, heavy winds and blowing snow. It was CRAZY!!

We had the greatest snow day ever. We slept in, spent several hours outside, took a nap, shoveled some more and enjoyed being snowed in. While it had been windy, it ended up being about 30 degrees and a perfect winter day. For lunch we even had grilled cheese and tomato soup, absolutely perfect. I have to say though, we procrastinated in buying a snow blower and we sure did pay the price. Andrew used his muscles and shoveled most of the drive way, but our neighbors did help with their snow blowers after the snow plows came by and plowed our drive way in. It was a great day, and a perfect little break between Thanksgiving and Christmas break. Here are some pictures from the day.