Ahhh, Spring!

Well, I have a clean house and 2 sleeping toddlers, so I thought I would take this rare opportunity to post a few pictures and give a quick update! Not much new happening around here but...Mollie is FINALLY sleeping through the night!

The weather has been great - 77 right now, can you believe it?!?...and last but not least we're learning how to deal with the temper tantrums.

Hints of Spring

The first part of this week we had the most beautiful weather! The sun was shining and the tempurature got up into the high 60's, it was like a dream. Of course, we spent every waking moment outside - it's a good thing, too, because yesterday morning we woke up to snow!This is Mollie's chalk-eating faceThat yellow chair bucked her off a few minutes later

Locking up the girls?the Three Amigos

nice sharing!

Can't catch me!Kody disappeared after a while, and we found him in the neighbor's house
(they have way cool toys)

Visit to the Cosi Museum in Toledo

Calgon where have you gone?

...and why can't I come with you? Some of you may recall the commercials from long ago where a woman (did you ever notice it was never a man?) was having a particularly rough day and she just said, to no one in particular, "Calgon, take me away!" Suddenly, she is relaxing in a bathtub in some tropical setting and all her stress is washed away. Today was one of "those" days for me and I sat on the couch and yelled "Calgon, take me away" and then I waited. And waited. I had the thought that maybe I should actually purchased some Calgon bubble bath, but I knew that even if I filled my tub with as much product as possible, I would never be "taken away". First I would have to send the kids away, because they would never let me be alone in the bathroom - or anywhere out of their sights - for any amount of time. But don't worry too much about me. Life is better now, the kids are sleeping and I have a few minutes of peaceful quiet. I may not be able to escape to some fabulous tropical island, but tomorrow is a new day and it has potential to be so much better than today. Who knows, maybe we'll even venture out of the house and go on an adventure! I think I'll be okay, even if I don't have some fabulous bubble bath!

Finally - new pictures!

Here's a quick update, and then you can enjoy all the cute pictures:

• Mollie likes the snow now - yippee!
• Brett helped some fellow Daddies make a giant snow fort
• We had a heat wave last week - 35 degrees every day!
• It's snowing again today, but it's still above freezing.
  

You can't really tell, but this was Kody climbing out of the snow fort - it was huge!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Check out my Slide Show!

I Looked out the Window....

...and what did I see?
(can you guess what song I'm singing? Just change the words a little)this is the view from my bedroom window this morning. Brrr!

I woke up in snow this morning
I woke up in snow this morning
I went to bed with sun on my mind!

(anyone recognize this song for 10 points?- different lyrics, of course)

Luckily, the plows are very dilligent and keep our sidewalks, parking lots and roads very clear!

Time With Daddy

Whether it's playing follow the leader...or just having a snuggle....We love spending time with our Daddy!

I'm not so Unique

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 4,694 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Mission Calls, Ice Storms & New Carpet!

Highlights of this past week:
1: Grandma & Grandpa B have finally gotten their mission call! They report to the MTC on June 1, and they will be going to...... (this is where you'd hear a drumroll) Barcelona, Spain!!!

2: We now have carpet on our stairs and it's fabulous! Now our stairs are so quiet the kids don't wake up everytime we go up or down. And doesn't Brett look hunky/handy installing it?3: Winter has finally arrived in Michigan. It's been so cold I don't even like to go outside to get the mail anymore. On Sunday we had this freak "ice storm" that left the trees and everything else covered with a thick layer of ice. Although beautiful, it's very annoying to have to chisel your way through 10 inches of ice just to open the car door! The temperature right now (according to google) is 10 degrees. It's supposed to get up to 27, but I kind of doubt it. Tomorrow it says high of 32. Yippee! I knew it was cold, but I didn't think it was THAT COLD!! I guess I've been blissfully ignorant staying inside all day, thank goodness for heaters. I did have to go out to the grocery store this morning and I had to put Kody in the car through Mollie's door because his was frozen shut. Brrr!Anyone want to come for a visit?

Happy Birthday Jul

It's my big sis' birthday today! Here's a great pic from our family reinactment of the Nativity this year. Isn't she beautiful? All I can say is, she still look like she's 15! By the way, doesn't my fab bro-in-law (Jul's hubbie) look great in a pink bathrobe?!

A Good Day

We had a pretty time the other day, the kids were playing well together and being very happy and cute. Days like this don't come along too often so I took advantage and snapped some pictures. Kody was so funny, he kept asking me to take pictures of his toys. Mollie is starting to interact a lot with Kody, trying to copy what he does and it is so funny! I was laying on the floor (out of sheer exhaustion but they thought it was to play) and they kept blowing raspberries on my tummy. We were all laughing so hard!

Merry Christmas!

What a great Christmas we had this year! My awesome sisters sacrificed their presents from my parents so that they could buy plane tickets for us to fly home from Michigan, and we made the most of it! We packed in as many activities as we could, working around illness and a few little side trips (Brett went to the Vegas bowl with his parents and my brother-in-law Kenny, while I went with my parents and the kids to visit my Grandma in Boise for her 88th birthday - doesn't she look fabulous?!?) We were also able to hook up with some of our friends from San Francisco! Christmas Eve was a blast with the annual "Christmas Pageant", exchanging gifts with the cousins and our new (I hope) tradition of a white elephant gift story/exchange! Kody was a wise man, giving the gift of frankinsence - or was it myrrh? and Brett played the duel role of donkey/camel flawlessly! I was the official co-photographer with my sister Ali, and Mollie had the role of poor sick kid. It was awesome! All other parts were filled by various family members too numerous to mention! We were laughing so hard from the reinactment it was hard to concentrate during the white elephant exchange - did Jul just say left or right? Later that evening, my little family was able to open one gift, new jammies that I actually sewed with my own two hands (and lots of help from my awesome neighbor)! And did I mention they match?!? I know, I'm amazing. Really, it was such a good visit and we took turns being sick so the rest of us could have a good time! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, spent with those you love. Merry Christmas!

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear...

Our church has a Creche (Nativity) exibit every year in our building and people from the area come to see it.  There are thousands of Nativity sets from all over the world!  These are some of the ones we liked and/or thought were interesting.

... See my Tabblo>

Just to Catch Up....

These are some pictures we took this fall when Grandma & Grandpa B visited us. I kept meaning to blog them but never got around to it. I know it's taken a while, but I hope it's worth it! Fall in Michigan is so beautiful, but I found out the hard way that it doesn't last long. Next year I will be more prepared!

temper temper

Mollie's first big tantrum, it lasted at least 20 minutes going full force! This moment was actually when she calmed down a little. She wanted to play with the phone and I wouldn't let her. I think we're in for a bumpy ride with this one - it's a good thing she is so cute!

It's Coming...

Are you ready for Dumbledore's Army?!?