Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Snow day again!  We've had more snow in the past two days than we've had in the past few years combined.

On Wednesday we went sledding, with much more success than the last time it snowed.

We had great fun, but were all completely frozen by the time we got back.  Yesterday, Violette and I headed over to Nana's house (as it's just across the street, we can easily walk there) to make strawberry scones and delicious chocolate bark full of nuts and fruit and coconut and other yummy goodness.

Nana's house.  (Also, Papa is a mechanic, which is why there are so many cars everywhere.)

Me trying my hand at some artsy photography.

More attempts to be artsy.

Today we went back over to Nana's to finish up the chocolate bark and parcel it out into Valentines for everyone.  Sadly, all the snow has started melting and turning to slush, making the walk over today much less pretty than yesterday.  It's actually pretty warm out today.  I'm not really a fan of warm.

The weather recently, while fun, did mean that the Model UN conference I've been looking forward to got cancelled.  No school, but no conference either.  Boo.  Instead I've been watching Psych and knitting (in addition to my sledding adventures and baking fun).

I wish the snow had lasted longer.  Oh well.  On Sunday we'll be heading down to see Sarah for a very late Christmas celebration with my Aunt and Uncle.  Maybe there will be snow left there!  (Unlikely, but I can still hope.)

Here's one final parting shot of the lovely snow:  (I really like snow.  Can you tell?)

Snow Day!

Where I live, we don't get snow all that often.  In fact, we usually get maybe one good snow day a year, if that.  So when we do get snow, we try to pack in all the snow day activities we can.

Unfortunately, the snow was too powdery to be able to have a snowball fight or build a snowman, not that we didn't try anyways.  Violette and I ended up having a "snow confetti" fight, in which we just threw handfuls of powdery snow in the general direction of the other.

One activity we were determined to get to was sledding.  And when I say determined, I mean determined.

 We walked over to the biggest sleddable hill near us and started sledding!  Or, rather, attempting to sled.

Sam, that's not how we take pictures.

Thanks for the help, Violette.

After our first attempts down the hill, we tore up the inflatable sled on some rocks (it's not very deep snow).  That wasn't going to stop us!  We duct-taped it and pumped it up again, ready for the next attempt.  Let's call this strategy Plan A.

Plan A is a go.

Don't be fooled.  We're not actually moving.

Plan A failed.

Next up was Plan B. 

Plan B involved Sam trying to sled in the wheel-less wheelbarrow. 

Plan B failed.

Next I tried Plan C, which involved a little kiddy-sled.

Needless to say, Plan C failed.

Plan D was Sam trying to roll down the hill.

Plan D failed when Sam rolled into the ditch.

Plan E was once again my idea.  I refused to be bested by the kiddy-sled, so I got in again and told Sam to pull me down the hill.

Onward, noble steed!

Plan E also failed, although not pictured.

Plan F was pretty much the same, but Violette was in the kiddy-sled this time.

This one looked pretty promising, but did, ultimately, fail.

Plan G was Sam in the kiddy-sled and it failed before it even started.  But then he got an idea.  An awful idea.  The Sam got a wonderful, awful idea!

And thus, Plan H (inchworm down the hill) was born!

As you can imagine, Plan H failed pretty spectacularly, at which point Sam gave up and started making muddy snow angels instead.

We headed back to the house, where I decided to join in on the snow angel making, as I was already covered in snow. 

Sam apparently forgot how to snow angel.

Sam, that is not how you snow angel.

We all then went back inside for hot chocolate.  We never really succeeded at sledding, but at least we put in a valiant effort!

My Supermegafoxyawesomehot Vacation

Hello, anyone who actually reads this blog!  It's been quite a while.  But I've had good reasons!  (Most of which are related to school, college applications, and the super-amazing-fantastic vacation I went on over Christmas break.)

Where did I go on this awesome vacation?  Universal (Wizarding World of Harry Potter!) and Disney World!  How insanely awesome is that?

Our first stop was Universal, where we stayed at the lovely Portofino Hotel.

Isn't it gorgeous?

I wanted to spend every second of our time in Harry Potter World, but it was ridiculously crowded, so I just ended up spending most of my time there.  The first night we were there, my sister and I went to the parks while everyone else stayed at the hotel, so she got to witness my initial reaction, which involved more excitement than I've felt in forever.  Everything about Harry Potter world (aside from the crowds) is simply amazing and I wish I could just live there.

"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."  -J.K. Rowling

We all got chocolate frogs, which are wonderful, but I'm still trying to figure out how to eat it.  It's solid chocolate, so I nearly broke my teeth trying to bite it.  The chocolate cauldrons are equally yummy and much easier to eat.  The butterbeer was also amazing, though it's so sweet I wouldn't want to drink much of it at a time.  I recommend the frozen butterbeer.

I had lots of fun editing these photos, in case you couldn't tell.

The rides are also amazing, though the wait for the Forbidden Journey is as crazy as everyone says.  Luckily, they opened the ride at 6:30 a.m. for resort guests (because of the crowds), so we only had to wait an hour.

I also enjoyed Seuss Landing and several rides in Universal Studios.  The roller coasters were especially awesome.  Seuss Landing was my second favorite place at Universal.  I adore Dr. Seuss and they got everything perfect.  I particularly recommend the Cat in the Hat ride and the Trolley, both of which I did three times because I'm really a little kid at heart.

We're all a bit minion crazy.

Yum, Chocolate Frogs!

We spent three days at Universal, and the next seven at Disney World!

We had lunch at Akershus and got to meet several of the princesses there.

 Sarah and I, sometimes along with Violette and Sam, were on a mission to get as many signatures as possible.  We got a lot of them, including the princesses, classic characters, and a whole bunch of others.  The most effort was probably waiting three and a half hours in the rain to see Anna and Elsa.  (If you haven't seen Frozen yet, go see it because it is incredibly beautiful and wonderful and amazing.)

We're super adorable.

Anastasia, Drizella, and Lady Tremaine were hilarious!  Mom told me to grimace, but apparently Sarah and Violette didn't get the memo.

Look at my new dress!  It's fun to spin in.

I got this book in the UK section of Epcot and I'm super in love with it.  It might just be one of the coolest books ever.  Also, please notice the wonderful tiara I got for Christmas.  Thank you, Santa.

Everyone had so much fun, despite the crowds being completely ridiculous.

We ate at the Be Our Guest restaurant and, of course, had the grey stuff.  It really is delicious!

I love every part of Mary Poppins' outfit and I would wear that dress everyday.  Every single day.

So that's my story about my superbly amazing time in Florida this Christmas.  I hope everyone else had a lovely holiday as well.