Joseph asked the other day why I haven't updated our blog in awhile. Who knew that he reads it faithfully? To be honest, not only has life been clipping along at a brisk pace, but there hasn't been anything really notable to document. I plan to upload some pictures from our Christmas trip to Florida, but it has taken me FOREVER to edit them. I took a lot of pictures because I was the only one with a camera. Here are some random tidbits from our month before we begin February.
New Year's Eve Party . . . Not
New Semester
Dan was the deejay for the stake youth dance on New Year's Eve, so he and the girls were gone all night (reportedly the dance was very fun). Joseph and I debated different entertainment options, and were even invited over to hang out at a friend's house. However, what really sounded good to us was staying inside on a cold night and reading our respective books next to eachother in my bed! I love that Joseph has learned to love reading (right now he is reading the Lightning Thief and Heroes of Olympus series'). Whenever he sees me stretched out on the couch with a book he grabs his own book and cuddles next to me.
We spent the first few weeks of January getting settled back into school after pulling the kids out for a full week before Christmas. We were so glad to have that time for our vacation, but despite our best efforts to be proactive it has been a painful catch-up time for several of the kids. Somehow, we all survived.
Today is the first day of the second semester. That means Aubrey is done with High School Health class and never ever has to be in another awkward health class discussion! She is very relieved about that fact and has some pretty interesting stories to share about some of the things the students brought up. Things I'm not necessarily going to put on the blog, but ask her if you're interested. Let's just say that she goes to a school where kids feel very comfortable talking about anything and everything. Which is generally a good thing.
The vast appeal of English accents
This month I finally caught the Downton Abbey bug, after hearing about it from friends for years. I don't love every single plot point, but I have fallen in love with the depiction of the era. The characters, the costumes, the sense of history. My new Downton Abbey diversion has made ironing 11 dress shirts a week much more bearable for me!
New Years Resolutions
I've also been getting back into exercise after being very lazy over the holidays (except for the fact that we walked over 9 miles a day at Disneyworld!). I wish I loved exercise more. My favorite type of exercise is walking outside, and I enjoy that immensely more when I have someone to talk to. Any other type of exercise requires superhuman effort for me to put away my list of excuses. I have been doing a reasonably decent job dragging myself to the gym a few times a week as for an intense weights/interval training class. I hate every minute of it but I'm always proud of myself for doing it.
Relief at the Pump
Gas prices - Wow! I haven't seen gas this low in a decade. Our prices are always higher than most of the country (I really don't know why that is the case, other than higher taxes . . .), but I got gas for $1.81 the other day which was a great feeling and left extra cash for the Starbucks hot cocoa I wanted.
The end of an era
In other news, I cleaned out the crayons/playdough/crafty area in a kitchen cabinet this last week and gave away our last coloring books. I had to confront the fact that no one in our house plays with playdough or colors in coloring books any more. So sad.
The same day I finally removed all the picture books from Joseph's shelf to make room for the Percy Jackson and Lost Hero books he loves. I have been taking away the picture books in stages, but recently I realized that he really isn't going to open a picture book to read, no matter how wonderful the story or pictures. Most of the books have joined the many hundreds other books stuffed under every bed and in boxes in the garage. I will have the best Grandma library someday.
This is how we spend our Friday nights
This is how we spend our Friday nights
Joseph has a basketball game every Friday evening at 6 pm, 7 pm, or 8 pm. By 9 pm on Friday night Dan and I are walking dead, after running on early morning Seminary schedule all week. Joseph just finished the first session of 4th grade basketball with the Boys and Girls Club and is starting the second session. This year he has really improved his defense, offense and dribbling skills! It has been so fun to watch him, and we always follow up the games with a trip to get McDonalds ice cream for Joseph and best friend/teammate Alex.
Vocabulary Fun
It's no secret to my family that I like big words. I read so many books as a child that I amassed a big vocabulary, although I didn't always know how to pronounce the words or use them correctly! This year in her pre-AP English class Aubrey had to find 10 challenging vocabulary words per week to analyze and define. I was excited to help her find big words and kept a running list on my phone when I heard or thought of a good word. I know, I'm a nerd. Here are some pages from her vocabulary notebook. She had to explain where she found each of the words. (Commensurate - got it from mom (notice, my dad does not have as good of a vocab. That's probably where I get it from).
Ubiquitous - my Mom uses it all. the. time. (hee hee - it's true. Such a cool word).
Recipe failure and successes
Bailey and I have been trying to find new healthy recipes. Some have been great, others not so good. We should have known these "chocolate" black bean cookies would be nasty when the recipe suggested we reserve some of the whole black beans to "decorate" each cookie. Seriously, who wants a whole black bean on a cookie as decoration? For that matter, who wants mashed up black beans inside a cookie? Not us, I can tell you.
I did find a recipe I love though, and it's my new go-to healthy snack. I roast chickpeas with olive oil, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and other spices. The end result is kind of crunchy and spicy. Bailey and Dan think they taste like sawdust, but I think it's a yummy snack which keeps me full for a long time!
Siblings
I love this picture of Aubrey and Joseph after Joseph's basketball game in early January. Dan's face is saying "please, please let me go to sleep."
Huh?
I walked in one day to see the big Lovesac beanbag on top of Joseph? Do you see his feet sticking out like the Wicked Witch of the East when a house fell on her? Apparently he was bored and wanted to know what it would feel like to have a beanbag on his head.
Opening Sibling Gifts
I've been working backward through my pictures in January, and I just noticed that we didn't open sibling gifts until January 2nd. ? The kids did a great job finding thoughtful gifts for each other.
New 'dos for a New Year
Finally, the end of December both girls decided to make a big change and get a lot of hair cut off. They were excited about a change and happy with the results. A few weeks after these photos Bailey went back and paid to have some blond highlights added. Look at all the hair on the ground in this photo!
