spring fever hits early

Don't you hate when this happens?

Okay, clearly I've gone stir crazy and lost my marbles what with all this insane cold.  The kids are off school again today, and all their giddy squeally romping around is getting to me.  I can't shoo them outside to regain my peace and sanity, not when frostbite can set in in 10 minutes or less.

When we had the 1st day off earlier this month due to cold, I think they said it'd been 18 years since that happened, and now it's day #5 just this month...cray crayziee! Sayonara January, it's been fun.  Let's do it again in eleven months.

Crystal Anniversary

Nate and I are celebrating our anniversary today.  Yay!  I'm so glad that God in his generous providence ordained that we should meet and travel through life together...

...and that we should be blessed with four happy, healthy kids.  Wow. 

I can't really wrap my brain around it all.  But I try to ponder the awesomeness of life and our blessings on occasion.  Then somebody spills their milk at the dinner table.

2013 holidays

Made it through the holidays with safe travels and nobody getting sick.  Score!  Had a lovely time with our lovely families and got to meet our new great (grand?) niece too - Cole is a daddy!  Addysen is a cutie.

Adrienne bought that headband at Kohl's with her own money 'cuz I wasn't interested in paying for it.  The last day before break was designated "ugly sweater and festive hat day" at her middle school. She wore the headband, and I said she covered both bases with ugly festive headwear.  Ha!  She didn't care.  That girl marches to the beat of her own drummer. 

We hit a few snafus during our down time.  We hadn't printed pictures for 2 years, and figured we'd dig into the forbidding task of deciding which pics to upload, then crop and whatnot.  When I was almost done, Snapfish or IE keeled over after I'd spent a few hours cropping 900 pictures, so got to do it all over again the next day.  What a sinking, sickening feeling that was - in a first world problems kinda way, I mean.  You know those annoying dreams where you relive part of your day in a never ending cycle?  Yeah, I was cropping photos relentlessly in my sleep that night.  Then yesterday when we took down the tree, we discovered mold all over the carpet underneath. We banished the kids from the room while I donned a veritable hazmat suit and attacked it with ammonia.  Still not sure if the stain will completely come out.  Oy!  But anyway, minus the computer implosion and mold spores, it was a peachy holiday. 

Happy 2014!  May all your wildest dreams come true.

'Course, some bait on that hook wouldn't hurt either...

another concert

Jazz band this time, and the dress code is different.   'Cuz we've got nothing better to do than purchase dress shirts and ties in multiple colors.  It was a pretty cool concert though.  Looks like those jazzers have fun.

no more braces = popcorn!

Got my braces off recently, yeehaw!  After almost two years, I can finally eat popcorn again.  I did eat some no-no foods while in them, like my cinnamon fire Jolly Ranchers, since life would be pretty bleak without them.  But I was afraid of having to make an extra trip to the ortho for an emergency hull extraction.

 

My vampire fangs have been tamed.  So, yay for straight teeth, and popcorn is just delicious!  Even though it was just the cheapo microwave kind.  Chemicals and corn, nummy.

Michael had his first band concert of the year last night.  The dress code this year includes a tie, which I don't think he'd ever worn before (clip-ons as a little tike excluded).  Dad had to help.

2013 Happy Halloween!

Michael didn't go trick-or-treating this year (sniff sniff), but he went along on his skateboard so he didn't miss out on the action entirely.  Nicky is probably not PC in his get-up, but hot dang, that sombrero was 25 cents at a garage sale.

mmm mmm mmm

Looky what my hubby brought me.  The box don't look like this no more.  Abdallah candies have been added to my heaven foods wish list.

 

# pictures of your food

Red Wing 2013

Our little brood is growing up.  Every few years on our annual Red Wing trip, we hike up Barn Bluff.  It goes a lot quicker without toddlers...and when we don't accidentally take the freaky trail that's recommended for experienced hikers.