2015: Upon further review, part 1.

2015 started with such promise. This would be the year, I said, that I finally got back to documenting our family's life with this blog.

2015's response to that pledge? A big HA! My first post for 2015 came in AUGUST. Even a 19-day run during NaBloPoMo could not come close to getting this blog up to date. So here, presented in multiple parts, is our year in review, a blogging smorgasbord of 2015 goings-on.

Jan. 8: Winter band concert

The theme of this midyear concert was Disney, fitting considering the band's spring break trip to WDW.

It's incredible what these kids (and their directors) can do! As always, the performance was so impressive.

Jan. 10: College Football Playoff Fan Central

This would've been way more fun if MY team had been playing for the national championship in Arlington, but even without a dog in the hunt, this event was a blast. You know, even when they're wearing the "wrong" colors, college football fans are my kind of people.

On the Saturday before Monday's championship game, a friend and I attended a teachers' summit sponsored by the CFP folks and held at the Dallas Convention Center. I arrived a few hours early, however, so I could check out the fan events that morning, specifically media day. With the help of a little FM headset, fans could listen in on the individual Q&A's going on around the room with first the Oregon and then Ohio State players and coaches.

It was quite a scene!

After his analyst duties ended for the morning, Mack Brown visited with the many fans who lined the ESPN set-up's perimeter. Gracious as ever, he was happy to pose for selfies. 

This was a great year for DFW college fans. In a 10-month span, Arlington hosted the Final Four (for which I also volunteered, even though I didn't help with the actual games) and the football national championship. And I got to pose with two pretty special trophies. Here's hoping some bigger guys in  burnt orange get to raise those trophies some fine day!

Jan. 12: Brett's 'How To' book

I think this is Brett's seventh book, but who can keep track! His next book is at the publishing house now and should be out in spring 2016.

Jan. 17: Faces of Impressionism

January's a tough month for some of us, so we like to schedule fun outings to chase away the blues. This exhibition had us at "Van Gogh."

Jan. 17: Daisy's new 'do

We call this her Joan Rivers look.

Jan. 22: Billy Joel concert

I have an ongoing love affair with Billy Joel's music, so when I saw he'd be in Dallas just a few days before my birthday, I jumped at the chance to buy my own gift and get two tickets.

It was our first big arena concert in years (since Bass Hall Lyle concerts don't count).

Of course, it was fantastic! He played almost all of my faves, including "Vienna," and even after all these years, he's "got a way" of interacting with the crowd.

What wasn't fantastic was my fainting spell afterwards. After being wedged into my seat for two solid hours, I got sick when it was time to go. But hey, it's nice to know the American Airlines Center's paramedics are so good at their jobs!

The concert sent me down memory lane. I paid a whopping $17.50 to see Billy back in 1987!

Jan. 24: Survivor brush with greatness (first in a series)

When I saw the cast for Survivor season 30, the guy from a nearby town caught my eye. Sure enough, he went to L.D. Bell, and he was even IN MY ENGLISH CLASS! I was quick to send this pic from the Bell yearbook to Ryan, our resident Superfan. We were so pumped to see how he'd do. We had NO idea what a treat this season would turn out to be!

Jan. 26 and 31: Birthday #47

Nana treated us to a delicious meal and Brett and Ryan took me to Denton and Winstar for my birthday.

Feb. 1: Super Bowl XLIX

What's better than watching the NFL's biggest game? Sharing it with friends, of course!

Feb. 8: Booth buddies

Love these guys!

Feb. 8: Ryan meets 'Anya'

At Dallas Comic Con Fan Days, Ryan got to meet Emma Caulfield, an actress from family fave Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What's even cooler is that Brett got to interview her before the show!

Feb. 14: Coop's first birthday

It's hard to describe the joy this little fella has brought our family! We gathered at Scott and Margaret's house to celebrate his first birthday.

Cousins

Silly Katie!

Uncle Breps loves Coop!

Feb. 14: Valentine's Day

Chocolate. Chocolate everywhere.

Feb. 21: Banner year at B&N

Barnes & Noble bookstores featured Brett's 100 Greatest book with their Christmas 2014 promotions, so we had fun spotting copies of his masterpiece at various B&N locations.

On this particular day, not only did we find his book, but we also spotted three of his bylines in magazines that B&N carries. What a year for our writer!

Feb. 23: Ice, ice, baby

Our first of several ice days came in February. The guys decided to brave the bitter cold to walk for provisions (Little Caesar's pizza).

Feb. 26: Sweet sisters

Feb. 27-28: No business like SNOW business

As Texans, we rarely get to see our world turn white, so when snow comes, we go a little crazy.

The flurries started during the school day. By the time the final bell rang to send us home, we had about an inch everywhere, including on our cars.

I was really glad when we all got home, especially Ryan. He had a treacherous drive home from UTA. Brett and I were on pins and needles until we saw his car pull in front of our house. 

Daisy wasn't sure what to think.

We just HAVE to throw some snowballs!

At Nana's

Coming soon: Part 2 of "2015: Upon Further Review"!

Four glorious days.

We had plenty of warning. For days, our friendly neighborhood meteorologists had been telling us about the extreme cold and freezing rain we could expect at the end of the week. But we'd heard it all before; just a week ago, we'd gotten our hopes up, and all that we got was this:

Yep. That was our "winter weather event."

So this time around, we took the necessary precautions, but we weren't quite buying what the weather guys were selling. Sure, it COULD be a real deep freeze (that would "entomb" the Metroplex, as one prognosticator put it), but it could also be one big ratings ploy.

But Thursday afternoon, the temps started dropping and wet stuff was falling. Surprisingly, our school districts didn't even need to wait until morning to call off school for Friday. Turns out, that was a smart move. Around 3:30 Friday morning, I looked out our front door to see this:

Everything was covered in at least half an inch of ice.

And just like in 2011, it was like we'd pressed PAUSE right in the middle of our busy lives. No school. No alarm clocks. That bowling tournament in Huntsville? Nope. The SAT Ryan was scheduled to take Saturday morning? Postponed. All our plans were put on hold. On Sunday, I even had the day off from the job I do for free. Dangerous driving conditions extended our mini-vacay through today (Monday), too.

So what did we do? Lots of things! We had chili, cinnamon rolls, enchiladas, lots of coffee/hot chocolate, and cozy time spent by the fire:

And we ventured outside a time or two:

One of our neighbors has a sled that he was kind enough to let us use:

And of course, we just enjoyed our icy world:

Inside, we kept our pups warm:

We also paid bills, cleaned house, decorated three out of our four Christmas trees, and watched movies and football. (I also spent plenty of time on a heating pad since my lower back is NOT a fan of the cold.)

Throughout these four days, I've noticed that there are basically two kinds of people: those who relish cocooning in their homes and those who just HAVE to get out. All weekend I was stunned to see my Facebook friends talking about their various excursions into the frozen tundra just for grins: trips to the movies, shopping excursions, dinners out on the town. I was already worried sick about my friends who had to travel for work. I couldn't handle the stress of knowing others were "slip-slidin' away" by choice! But you know, some folks just have to get out of the house. Now if you recall my ever-present wanderlust, you'd think I'd fall in that category. But when the travel is treacherous, I'm the homebodiest homebody you've ever seen! Besides, I have so much respect for the first-responders who have to be on the roads, rescuing the stranded. The best way I can convey that respect is by not being someone in need of rescue.

So tomorrow we will finally push PLAY, and all our busy-ness will resume. But what a great four days we've had! And hey, it's not even winter yet. Maybe we'll have a few more ice days before spring? (Please?!)