A Meme and a Party...

I have a combo post today- Shelly over at Tropical Mom tagged me for a photo meme, and I am taking party in a virtual blogging party that runs from April 9-16.
The instructions for the photo meme are as follows:

1. Locate your oldest photo folder in your computer
2. Scroll down to the 10th photo
3. Post the photo with the story behind it
4. And then tag 5 more people to continue the thread.

We were a little behind when it came to jumping on the digital camera bandwagon, so the oldest photos in my computer are from January/February 2005, but my kids were pretty small then, so I guess it will be alright.

We don’t get loads of snow here, but when we do it’s pretty major-the photo I posted is of one such storm and it was probably one of the first that my son was able to enjoy (he was two here and my daughter was five). Now I say, “enjoy” but he wasn’t quite sure about the sled at the time. My husband stuck the two of them on it and dragged it around the yard a bit before seeing if my son would enjoy a small hill or two. As it turned out, he did like his first big snow adventure (as you can see from this other photo) and both my kids pine for big snowfalls every winter.

Now for my second reason to post today: The Ultimate Blog Party 2010! Susan and Janice over at 5 Minutes for Mom are hosting this "virtual" party as a means of finding more blogging friendships-there is also a chance at some really great prizes, and you know how I am about giveaways…  Since I started blogging this past August, I wasn’t around for previous parties, but I noticed that a lot of the blogs I follow were participating, so I thought, why not? The rules are simple:


1. Just link up at 5 Minutes for Mom with a blog party post

2. Include the blog party banner in the post

3. Look over the list of giveaways, and list your favorites on this post

4. Provide links back to the blogs hosting the giveaways

5. And for the fun part, find some new blogs to follow.

My first choice in prizes would have to be the grand prize-a Toshiba Satellite L505D-ES5025 laptop, but I'm not sure if I can put this in my list, so here are my other choices:

US11- A $100 gift eCertificate to Restaurant.com provided by Amy LeForge at Earnest Parenting

US39 -Be My Guest certificate ($250 value) for one lucky winner, (2 night stay for a family of four) at any Hilton Garden Inn from bloggin2noggin

USC 15 – $50 Target gift card offered by princesshaley

US61 – Win a $25 e-gift certificate to Toys-R-Us offered by FrugFabMom

US15-$25 e-gift certificate to the Disney Store provided by http://www.couponingtodisney.com/

US73 – $30 Amazon gift card provided by escalatenetwork 

US28 – A Guy and Eva Jewelry Necklace provided by Jessica Fuqua – Ind. Guy and Eva Advisor

US37 – $20 Visa Gift Card provided by Grocery Shop For FREE

USC 25 -$25 Barnes  Noble Gift Card offered by Babasfarmlife

USC 41 – $25 Gift Card to Macy’s from Mels_World

US63 –Razor® Rip Rider™ 360 offered by busymommymedia

Well, I know I am supposed to tag five others for the meme, but I am exhausted from looking over this extensive list, and my daughter wants on my computer.  (I promised...)  I am also pretty excited about the party and I hope to see you all there!