Here's The Weather for Ya

A winter storm system is blasting thru the Midwest this weekend making travel treacherous. Look for snow accumulations from 6-8" with the northern counties receiving up to 12" in some locations. There is a chance for sleet and freezing rain mixed in as well. In addition to the heavy snow winds will also be very strong and make travel and road clean up diffucult. Winds Saturday night into Sunday will gust to 35-40 MPH. With cold temperatures reaching only the mid 20's Sunday wind chills will be reaching into the low teens and even some single digits. If you have to be outside, dress accordingly. This can be a dangerous situation. Skies will clear Monday and into the first half of the coming workweek. Temperatures will also warm close to 40°.

I'M SURE THE FRIENDLY SKIES WILL BE SAFE!

On our way home!

Our project finished up last night and we left everything in really good shape! We have a couple loose ends and i am sure a few more will develop in the next few weeks, but I think we left them with the best overall setup of any of our 3 subsidiaries. We ended up working just under 160 hours the past 2 weeks.

It was a good trip, but we are both anxious to be home (assuming the snow doesn't keep us from making it!). It seems like forever since we have been home. At the same time it has gone fairly fast when you look back at everything that has been accomplished. It is also pretty funny to think about how much more comfortable we are here after 3 weeks of finding our way in England. It doesn't seem strange to look the wrong way for cars when crossing the street, seeing double decker busses and ancient buildings everywhere, and riding the train everywhere we go.

We are going to head to a huge toy store and Piccadilly Circle in London. I would also like to see inside either St. Paul's or Westminster Abbey, but we might just not have time.

I hope you are all careful this weekend with the snow coming!! I can't wait to see you all!!

Chicago Ice Storm

Darcee and I are checking the weather for heading home at 5 PM, so far it looks doable.

What a weekend!

Sorry I haven't been posting much or responding to emails either. This weekend was crazy. We ended up getting them switched over to the new systems before the start of work today, but it was a struggle. We worked 90 hours between the 2 of us Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The project is in good shape now though with just the detail work to do to finish things off.

Thanks for all the emails the past few days...it is great to know what you are all up to at home!

Even Better!!!

I should be at home this time next week!!!

WWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In exactly one week we will be landing in Chicago!!!! :)

A few pictures from around Leeds

It is only light here from 7:15 to 4:15 so all the pictures are night ones. Hopefully this weekend we will be able to see the city in the daylight!

I have often wondered what Apple Juice mixed with Pear Juice would taste like

Grocery stores are a bit different over here. They have most of the same things, but there are some differences. Probably the one you notice first at the ASDA (it's actually a Walmart...they bought the largest chain of grocery stores in the UK) is the 6 aisles devoted to alcohol. Apparently there is an international law about the total number beverage items a store can have because the ASDA makes up for all the alcohol by not selling any sport drinks and very few juices. As a result, I am drinking apple/pear juice this morning! ASDA also sells tuxedo's which is pretty surprising considering it is owned by Walmart.

Burnt Popcorn & an Elf named Elizabeth

Tonight I thought it would be fun to share a small bag of popcorn and read a new story before we laid down for a winters nap. But before our very eyes, the microwave was ready to blow with heavy smoke as I left the popcorn in too long and our minds were struck with fright of an Elf named Elizabeth watching us in the middle of the night.... Obviously the popcorn is not hard to explain but the Elf story?

I purchased "The Elf on a Shelf" book today at the gift shop. It is the cutest little thing. Well, I thought it was.... The story is about an Elf that is working for Santa during the Christmas season. Lauren named her Elf, Elizabeth. The Elf is really a boy but Elizabeth ended up the name... Elizabeth cannot be touched because she has "Christmas magic". Each day Elizabeth sits on her shelf and watches us to see if we are naughty or nice throughout the day. At night time she flies to the North Pole and reports to Santa while we are asleep. When we wake up in the mornings Elizabeth is suppose to be somewhere different than where we left her the night before. All through the season, we are suppose to whisper our wishes to Elizabeth. Christmas Eve is the last night we are to see Elizabeth as she flies to the North Pole to help Santa deliver all the gifts to the children for Christmas and then they start working on the new toys for next year.... Lauren loves Elizabeth; however, I believe Elizabeth now has her scared too death. Elizabeth is restricted not to enter Lauren's bedroom at nighttime. She is only allowed to watch Lauren during the daytime. Lauren has been assured that each morning when she awakes that Elizabeth will be "on her shelf" and not running free throughout the house. If you can't imagine the awestruck after I read the story, just remember the time when she thought that the Grinch was actually inside of the box she was holding.

A story that is so innocent has turned into a possible nightmare. I'm awaiting the yell for HELP as Elizabeth is dancing in Lauren's head running amuck instead of the excitement of Christmastime approaching.

Now I understand why it's so hard to keep Santa a secret....

Train Pictures

Pictures from Dad!

Dad sent these great pictures of Lauren and Chris last night and I thought I would post them so everyone could see them too. Hey...what happened to that little girls bangs??? :)

Christmas at the Museum

Christina & Lauren came to stay with Tom, Rachel & I on Saturday. We had a fun day and stayed inside out of the cold and rain. Sunday Lauren joined Rachel in Sunday school while we went to church. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then were off to the Children's Museum to see Santa and the Yule slide. The girls played in the ice castle and raced down the Yule slide. Of course we couldn't miss the carousel. The girls had fun playing in the water in the science area and petting the robot puppy. It was quite a time but of course not the same without Brad and Grammy & Pa.

Where are all the garbage cans??

We spent 2 days walking all over London and now 3 days in Leeds and you can never find a garbage can when you need it. I don't know how they keep both cities clean because there are just no garbage cans. In the Chicago and NY subway there is a garbage can every 5 feet. We were in probably 10 subway stations and 4 train stations and I didn't see a single garbage can.