This and That

This week Dan spent all of Monday night throwing up. So he stayed home on Tuesday. Sam spent Friday night throwing up. Afton and I didn't get sick, fortunately. Hearing other people throw up is pretty gross, too, though.

We bought the kids a playset. The company forgot a few parts, so we're still waiting on a tire swing and a trapeze bar, but the kids don't know the difference. Of course pretty much ever since we got it it's been rainy and cold. We still get the kids to go out there every so often. Somehow Ironman heard about it so he came over to try it out. He approves.

The other day instead of eating her peanut butter and jam, (We call it "jam" - not "jelly." I'm not sure why.) Afton decided to use her peanut butter as war paint.

Gretchen and I took our friend out for a fun birthday dinner. Love you, Dionne!

The other day Afton asked me to take pictures of her. She wanted to sit in this chair.

 Then she asked me to put this blanket on her head like an angel.

She really is an angel. Most of the time. This morning, however, she screamed the whole way to church for her bracelets (which she called necklaces) even though she's the one who threw them on the floor of the car in a short burst of rebelliousness. Good thing church is only 5 minutes away.

In case you're ever wondering how we display our Christmas cards (which I'm sure you are!) we string them up in the archway leading to the kitchen. Here they are before we took 'em down. We love Christmas cards!

That's all for this week!

Christmas 2012 - part 2

Okay. I'm now using Google Chrome and hopefully it lets me upload pictures.

So after looking at what Santa brought, we went upstairs for chunky bread and cereal. Then we went back down so Grandpa could get all the presents from under the tree and hand them to his elves for distribution. The kids loved handing out presents.

We let the kids all open their presents at the same time and while they enjoyed their loot, the adults took turns opening their gifts. It was a really nice morning.

Dan received some rockclimbing gear, a home project book, a mystical wolf shirt, etc. I received some awesome ceramic knives, sewing shears, and a deer head door knocker among other wonderful presents.

We spent the rest of the day lounging and eating. Candice and I went on a walk, we played games, and Dan, Kirk and some kids got in the hot tub.

One night we celebrated Candice's birthday. I got out some balloons and blew them up while Dan tried his hand at balloon creations. If he ever loses his job, he's got a solid back-up.

Wendy and Afton loved on Millie.

Getting ready for Jumpalooza.

We dressed Millie up in a size 6 month Santa suit.

 And then tried it on Charlotte (2 years, 4 months) to see if it would fit. She's pretty tiny. It fit!

One day I got to see one of my best friends and former roommates, Katrina! Dan snapped this gem before we were prepared:

Nice.

It was so fun to catch up with her and see her adorable family. Wish we lived closer!

We loved our trip so much and had such a great time. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

And as a side note, Google Chrome is the bomb! This post took me like half the time it would have using internet explorer. I'm a fan.

Happy birthday, Grandma Cheney!

We love you!

Resolutions

Well, Blogger still isn't allowing me to upload pictures .(The "upload" button totally disappeared. I googled the problem and it looks like they're trying to fix it, but for now, no pictures.) So I am gracing you with a picture-free blog on my resolutions from last year and my resolutions for 2013.

First, 2012. My resolutions were:
1. Take a trip with Dan - no kids.
2. Read 30 books.
3. Make a blurb book of our blog from 2008.
4. Make a t-shirt quilt using my old shirts.
5. Start some kind of schooling with Sam at home.
6. Go through each room and declutter.

I successfully completed each of those resolutions except the last one.
1. I went to Peru with Dan on an awesome adventure.
2. I read 38 books. I am going to list them now. I understand if you keep scrolling past it, but I want to record it for myself.
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
 Escape by Carolyn Jessop
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (reread)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Desperate Passage by Ethan Rarick
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Halfway to Heaven by Mark Obmascik
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (reread)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Divergent by Veronica Roth
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Having Our Say by the Delaney Sisters
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (reread)
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
The Fogotten Garden by Kate Morton
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
The Book of Mormon
The Professor by Charlotte Bronte
Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
Six Ways to Keep the "Good" in Your Boy by by Dannah Gresh
I Brake for Yard Sales (more of a coffee table book...) by Lara Spencer
The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

I also halfway read The White Rock and The Black Count but I just couldn't finish them. My favorite reads of the year were Halfway to Heaven (about a middle-aged father of three who decides to climb all the mountains over 14,000 feet in Colorado in one year), North and South (a classic set in industrial England), Unbroken (a true WWII story), and Edenbrooke (a cheesy can't-put-it-down love story that got a little too over-the-top sappy at the end, but other than that was really cute).

3. I made the Blurb book. It took forever but my brother informed me of a way to make it quicker in the future.
4. I made the quilt. I love it. It took a long time. I think there's a picture of it in one of our November or October posts.
5. We've started doing "lessons" with Sam. He can pick either a reading or writing lesson. Each lesson is only like 10 minutes or so but we try to make him do a lesson before he can watch a show or do other things.
6. I wasn't so good at decluttering. I cleaned, but I didn't go through stuff as thoroughly as I would have liked.

Okay. So for anyone still reading at this point, here are my resolutions for 2013!

1. Read biographies on the first 22 U.S. presidents. This is a little daunting, but I think I can do it. I'm thinking a lot of presidents (like Millard Filmore) won't have very long biographies. My brother asked me why I would read biographies on the presidents if it didn't even sound like fun, but I am terrible at history so I think it would be nice to learn more about the people who shaped our country. So that's #1.
2. Finish the dining room. We already painted and got a rug. Dan finished the chair rail and I just finished the curtains this week. Now we need to pick artwork and I'd like to learn how to reupholster chairs so that we can do those, too.
3. Practice the piano for 20 minutes, 5 times a week.
4. Complete three service projects. (Organize and invite others to help, them do 'em.)
5. Make Blurb books for our blog from the years 2009 and 2010.

So there you have it! I only really started making resolutions a few years ago and so far I've enjoyed it. We'll see if I can do each of these things in the next 359 days.

Christmas 2012 - Monster post. Just warning you.

As I mentioned before, Christmas was wonderful!

We flew to Virginia on Friday, December 21. This was the first time Afton had her own seat.

Don't they look alike?

Sam was excited to fly so he could have "snacky snacks." He never calls them that, but whatever. Snacky snacks it was. He was a great traveler. Can't say the same for Afton. She was crying, whining, all over the place, on my lap, Dan's lap, etc. But we survived. We got to Virginia in the afternoon and relaxed the rest of the day.

Saturday Dan and I went out to do a little last-minute shopping and we stopped by Charlottesville's best bagel restaurant - Bodo's. That was the first of three trips we'd make in like 6 days. I should mention that Kirk and Gretchen and clan were already in VA and Ryan and Teresa and clan came on Saturday. That afternoon we went on an "adventure" through the woods.

 

That hat is all that remains of her Toy Story alien toy costume from last Halloween. In case you're wondering. The ears fell off.

And I took some pictures of Carter and his stitches goatee.

Sunday Sam woke up sick and barfed all day. I went to church w/ Afton while Dan took care of Sam. Poor kid. He was back to his usual self the next day. Candice and Craig and clan came Sunday and I got to meet my newest niece - Millie!

She is adorable.

We also spent a lot of time in my parents' basement playing. We decorated the Christmas tree and the kids painted ornaments.

 

Monday (Christmas Eve) we did our annual-if-we're-all-together name swap where we draw someone's name and get them a present at the Ruckersville Wal-mart. Dan's Christmas wish came true that day - it snowed! Our kids saw snow for the first time that they can remember.

We also cooked a lot of food for our Christmas Eve dinner, opened a pre-dinner present (socks all around!), and had a special Christmas family home evening.

 

 First attempt at a family picture.

Much better.

 

Christmas morning! All the kids came down to see what Grandma Santa had brought.

 

 

 

I have to finish the rest in another post b/c for some reason it's not allowing me to add more pictures... Stay tuned.