Loyet Family Odyssey

We have been having some crazy weather here in Kentucky and we are trying to make the most of it. First we got almost an inch of ice and then we got several inches of snow on top of that. To make matters worse, over half a million people in Kentucky are without power. We have been lucky...in fact, my sister and her family are staying with us as they have no power. Our neighbors don't have power, a tree in their backyard took out the electric line to their house. I'm praying that it doesn't pull the transformer down any further and leave the whole block without power. Not to mention that the kids have had no school all week...we have major cabin fever to say the least. :)

All the while, Eric was in sunny, balmy Trinidad in the Caribbean for work. Lucky guy!

Love those rosy cheeks!

We have icicles to spare.

Sledding was a big hit with Benjamin and Tarini.

Tarini tried her hand at pulling Benjamin; she got about three feet :)

Tarini making her very first snow angel!

The view down our street

My poor, poor magnolias...they'd barely recovered from the ice storm in 2003. They lost a few feet off the tops then and I think they will again after all is said and done.

Some of the bazillion icicles hanging from our house.

My car looked like it was a popsicle :)

On our way to Florida we made a very important stop in Georgia to visit with and meet a very special family. Laura and I "met" online during the wait to bring our girls home from India and her friendship was invaluable to me. I was so happy at the chance to finally meet in person and for our girls to see each other again after a five month separation. Our stories are also very similar as they too adopted a baby boy first and then went on to adopt an older girl. Our girls, Tarini and Mimi, were in the same childrens home in India and so it has been our pleasure to continue their connection and build upon the friendship they had in India. Not to mention the fact that Benjamin and Max got along famously. We are looking forward to many opportunities to visit and share our lives as our girls grow up.

Tarini and Mimi

Max and Benjamin

the girls making jewelry

Tarini loves anything and everything Dora so she
was excited to see that Mimi had Dora "stuff" too.

Such beautiful girls!

...and handsome boys!

We made the trip to Naples over the holidays to visit with Eric's side of the family. It was the first opportunity Tarini had to meet everyone. We all had a great time and spent lots of time just hanging out and having fun. Tarini got along fabulously with her cousins and they played until they dropped most days. Benjamin spent a lot of time building blocks and playing "around" the pool. Tarini spent every minute she could in the pool. We didn't make it to the ocean this trip but we will have plenty of visits to get to that. This trip was really about the kids getting to visit with eachother and Tarini getting to know the rest of her family. Thank you to Meme, Papaw, Aunt Andrea, Uncle Mike, Emily and Nicole for a great time.

Benjamin practically salivating over Nicole's DS.

Emily and Nicole made Tarini her first ever Build a Bear and she loved it! I think she played the recording they made a hundred times in the car on the way home :-P

being silly with Aunt Andrea

Nicole and Benjamin spent a lot of time building towers and knocking them down.

lounging on Meme's sofa

Tarini and Papaw spent some time working on her bike riding skills. She actually rode quite a bit without needing someone to hold on. I think she just had to get over the fear and Papaw helped her out in that regard.

I love this picture! It shows my happy boy!

Tarini is like a fish and loves the water; it was a fight to get her out every time.

Candid moments like this are so sweet! I just love how he has his hand on his knee.

What a pair! And what a beautiful golf course.

and then they become aware of a golfer on the green right behind them

and he invites them out onto the green...against mommy's better judgement of course :)
(just look at Benjamin eyeing those golf balls all lined up)

Tarini fixing her hair in Emily's room.

Surprise!