Saturday, December 30, 2017

White out

Of course the day we decide to run all around town is the day we get a blizzard.  I can't complain too much.  Our last two winters have had little to no snow.  We now have at least 8 inches.  I see lots of sledding and snow men in our future!

Friday, December 29, 2017

7

Our girl turned 7 today.  She acts much more like a teen than a 7 year old so this birthday didn't seem to catch us as off guard as some of the others have in the past.
Shes still sassy and spunky.  She tells it like it is all the time.  She doesn't take any garbage from her brothers, but she still has a soft side and loves to be praised and appreciated.  Ben and aunt Corrie are two of her favorite people.  However, she still talks about how cool aunt Marie is because she bought Ellie ice cream two months ago when we were visiting them on vacation. 
She's taken on some new challenges over the past few months and is doing amazing.  Her reading has dramatically improved over the past two months although she doesn't think its necessary to practice if its not during school hours.  She still loves pink, but tells us her favorite color is now blue.  I think thats only because Bens favorite color is blue.  Sophia the First is still a favorite show.  She prefers vanilla to chocolate and is still our healthiest and most adventurous eater.  She still wants to wear a dress any chance she gets and loves to play make up with her friend. She loves her baby dolls still considers Charlie her baby.  She loves to help us cook and prefers to be outside, as long as someone is out with her.  Shes fiercely independent, as long as someone is near by to keep her company.  She's definitely one of a kind!
Ellie picked donuts for breakfast today, flank steak for lunch and pizza for dinner.  We made cake with blue frosting and Ellie frosted it on her own.  She got some fun gifts and has some ice skating in her near future. 

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

White Christmas

We had a white Christmas for the first time in a quite a few years.  We ended up with 4 or 5 inches and the kids are thrilled.
We had our typical Christmas Eve: church, A Christmas Story and The Night Before Christmas read by Jon.  Once the kids were upstairs, the adults watched White Christmas and enjoyed some quiet. 
We had a quiet Christmas at home.  The kids got some really cool stuff including a trip to Disney!  We aren't going until next year, but at least they'll have time to save up some money for those overpriced souvenirs! 
We're excited to have Jon home for a while and we're looking forward to a birthday on Friday!  Its going to be a good end to 2017.

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Saturday, December 16, 2017

War time

Ben just taught Zach how to play chess.  I think he was sick of Zach beating him at checkers!

Friday, December 15, 2017

Snow

We finally have a decent amount of snow.  After playing outside the only thing to do is relax by the fire with your dog.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Cookie Day

Cookie day 2017 was a huge success!

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Christmas concert

The boys had their co-ops Christmas concert tonight.  Ben was very excited to get dressed up and sing for us.  Sam and Zach didn't even flinch when they walked into a room full of people.  They all did awesome and had a great night.




Saturday, December 9, 2017

Thursday, December 7, 2017

I'm over you Catch -22

It took 25ish years, but I've finally read Joseph Hellers Catch-22.  I picked up the book a couple times in high school, but I could never make it past the first few chapters.  It was weird, kind of boring and I just couldn't keep all the characters straight.  Just before our vacation in October, I saw it in the library.  It was the 50th anniversary edition.  Its a classic so it has to be good, right?  Maybe I wasn't mature enough to appreciate it in high school.  I picked it up and was determined to read it...all of it.  After almost 2 months, I have finally finished it.  Thats two months, I'll never get back.  Its ridiculous, backwards and in many ways, juvenile.  Reading reviews of the book from veterans praising Heller for his accurate portrayal of military life makes me even more annoyed.  If that is (was) an accurate portrayal of our military, how have we not been taken over by pretty much any other country on the planet?  A few times I had hopes that I was turning a corner and was on the up swing, but it would go right back to the childish conversations I'd grown accustomed to reading.  Reading descriptions of the book, made me want to like it.  I tried really hard to lighten up and see the humorous side, but when the end of the book turned our "hero" into a coward, I was let down yet again.  I'm glad to have finally finished the book after all this time, but I'm more than ready to move on to something that doesn't make me want to throw it across the room every time I pick it up!