Good Times - February

I'm horribly behind on this here blog. Rather than ignore the past as I've done before I'm going to make an attempt to catch up on the highlights of our family life.

February is now a blur but I do remember celebrating Chinese New Year. Harrison enjoyed the fluff in our fluff and peanut butter 'year of the rabbit' pitas.

Basketball season ended. Trophies were awarded! Hooray!

Valentine's Day was celebrated. The girls attended a special party at a local play place.
They had a runway and tons of dress-up clothes.

Mark and I went on a Valentine's Day date.
The temperatures started warming allowing us to get outside a little more.
I unpacked our china for the first time since Jan. 2008. The boxes made fun chairs.
We had to have our well pulled up and the pump replaced.
We hit the zoo on one of those warmer days.
Look how cute these toddler snow leopards are.
A final outing to the botanical garden.

Grateful

When I showed up to the girls' arts and crafts class Monday this mom (who I have only spoken to once before) said, "I want to give you something."

We seem to elicit charity from people. At first, I would get offended thinking that people didn't think we were able to provide for our young brood. But I've come to realize that most people know that raising kids is expensive and that with six kids, someone is likely to play with or wear whatever it is that's being handed down. And they're right!

So back to Monday...this nice woman explained that she and her boys are going out of town for two months but they had this box of Geotrax they wanted to give us. Mark met her yesterday to pick up what ends up is a bathtub-size tote of Geotrax. Amazing! The kids were screaming and whooping it up last night thinking that Christmas came twice this year. Now they're all building what's sure to be a room-sized town of Geotrax.

Thank you to Svzy and family for your generosity!

Look what I did today

I made my first loaf of artisan bread. It's 100% whole wheat with flaxseed to boot. I need to fine tune my methods but for a first round, it's pretty tasty.

Good Times - January

Here are our ten favorite photos from this month that didn't get their own blog entry:

1. Madelyn and I made homemade cinnamon rolls one morning. We got to use the bread proofing function on our new oven but it was more like lunch time by the time they were done.
2. Harrison loves the new kitchen. There are drawers to sit in, cabinets to open, and a spice rack to be explored.
3. The kids spent one whole day creating a miniature village in our front yard. It featured a walking path, a tepee, a sandbox, a garden, a fire pit and a table. Very imaginative!
4. I couldn't resist pitching in. I took them hot chocolate and cookies to snack on in their village.
5. Harrison is 15-months-old now. He loves his bathtime.
6. The girls attended a construction themed costume party.
7. Harrison with the Lowe & Young tractor.
8. Lego-mania has taken hold of our house since Christmas. Our game table is now reserved for Legos only.
9. Harrison likes the Lego table too. He's learning that leaving his siblings' creations intact allows him more time at the table.
10. The kids all got beanbag chairs for Christmas. They have been great, especially for movie nights.

2010 Highlight -- Kitchen Remodel

The kitchen remodel was certainly one of the highlights of the year. It was also one of the worst parts of the year. It is forever etched in our memory, to be sure.

There's something really amazing about the pride one gets from planning and executing a project like this to completion. Sitting back at the end of the day and marveling at how all those ideas and dreams came together, how all the hard work paid off, how blessed we are to be able to take on such a project in the first place, well, it almost seems worth the headaches, the frustration, and the setbacks along the way.

And besides, the appliance boxes made for a super cool castle in the playroom.

2010 Highlight -- Team Sports

This was the year we decided we could manage adding team sports to our calendar. It was a stretch. Team sports are not in our box, as it were. They take up a lot of time and game time is not always the same time. But this was the year. We felt it was important for the girls to try a sport, be part of a team. And, you know what, it's been so fun!

Catherine started us off with soccer this fall. Catherine always had a smile on her face and was eager to learn new skills. She made some sweet friends and we all look forward to spring soccer starting in a few weeks.

Chloe has played basketball for the winter season. She's young for her team but she's learning the basics. Next year, she may be a force to be reckoned with.

Madelyn also decided on playing basketball this winter. Her age group is much more aggressive and fast-paced. Madelyn plays some mean defense and is willing to try anything her coach suggests, including stealing the ball from the largest kid on the other team.

We're really proud of our girls for their willingness to try something new and their winning spirits.

2010 Highlight -- Camping

Yes, I know that 2010 has been over for almost a month now but I wanted to share some of our 2010 highlights. By far, our favorite part of 2010 was camping. We bought a travel trailer days before 2010 began and had a blast using it throughout the year. We drove from coast to coast, racked up more than 15,000 miles, and spent 62 nights (except Mark who returned home to work during part of our trip east) in our rig.

Our final trip for the year was to Alamogordo. We spent three nights there just before Christmas, just after the kitchen was done.

Our first stop was the park. They had a great one!

Our six little monkeys. Seth was not participating in family photos this weekend. He generally was sporting a frown. We almost got him in this one.
We then spent two days at White Sands National Monument. It was awesome! The weather was around 60 degrees and we went barefoot as we explored the dunes.
The kids rolled down the dunes...
And made sand angels...
And went sledding...
And jumping...
Finally a smile from Seth!
Our second day's picture is probably better but it was cooler when we arrived so we look a little chilly.
The fast sledding duo of Catherine & Madelyn
So much fun!
This year our plans won't accrue as many miles but we sure hope to make as many memories!