In Mourning

I KNOW it is really dumb to get so upset over something so trivial, but it doesn't matter.

Ben and I are in a state of depression that the Broncos AND the Seahawks lost this weekend.

I know, I know. Aren't there a million other things to be more concerned about? Aren't there problems MUCH more severe than a silly football game?

Yes, and yes. Absolutely.

But that's just it.

This past year has been incredibly difficult. REALLY difficult- things I have already discussed on this blog in regards to devastating current events. But that's not it- there's been some other things that have been pretty tough to deal with.

Silly football has been a release. Something to be happy and excited about. A distraction from all the troubles of life.

And now it's over.

And we're sad.

Thank goodness we have these cuties to remind us what REALLY matters in life.

Stink Face

 Camille loves making a "Stink Face"- and we love it, too:

 Audra used to make a stink face as well:

I don't like to brag, but I Ben and I sure have cute kids.

Sick, But Spunky

I think Camille and I are the last one sick- the other girls seem to be doing much better.

Yesterday, on top of being sick, Camille also finally cut her first tooth! Her bottom front left tooth popped through. Now I don't know if her fussiness was because of her horrible flu or cutting the tooth. Either way, I feel bad for the poor girl- it's been a miserable couple of days. Even though she still looks cute.

 Then, Audra wrote this note and left it on her door:

It is supposed to say:

"We want to live here. Please do not come in."

She and Claire built forts in their room and then told us we could not go in their room- and they were very serious about it. We had to do the entire bedtime routine outside of their bedroom. Aren't these notes not supposed to come for about another 4 years?

Winter Blues

Things aren't going well over here.

Granted, I know some of you have been hospitalized or are headed to the hospital or had Christmas ruined by sickness. So I know things could be worse.We aren't headed to the hospital quite yet.

But there are plenty of runny noses and sore throats around these parts, which means we have not been able to leave the house. In fact, we have yet to leave the house this year.

Except Ben. He is our one holdout. That's great because he needs to go to work, but bad because that means I am left at home ALL DAY with sick kids with lots of energy who can not leave the house. It's too cold to play outside, and we're too sick to be in public.

We have gotten creative- even though I have absolutely no energy to do so.

The girls dressed up Camille:

 We bowled (this kept them occupied for 45 minutes- yahoo!):

 We made marshmallow snowmen:

There has also been HOURS of coloring and LOTS of reading. They got the book "Enchanted"- based on the Disney movie of the same title- for Christmas. I told them we could watch the movie after we read the book, and we have read almost the entire book- pretty good since it's 150 pages. Tomorrow night we will have a movie night.

We also might be watching a lot of TV tomorrow besides movie night.

I am spent.

Any other sick day activity ideas???

2013 Predictions

I'm posting a lot today- I guess that's what happens when a new year begins!

Last year I did pretty well with my predictions- only missing one of 12. That probably means I make very boring predictions. This year I will try to go a little more out on a limb.

Here's my 13 predictions for 2013:

13. No trips to the ER (Hey, it's worked the last two years, so I'll put it in here again!)
12. We'll take an extended trip to Seattle (we had better- I miss my family and can't wait to see my family and Seattle friends!)
11. Seattle vs. Broncos in the SuperBowl
10. I will lose 20+ pounds. That's definitely a goal of mine, and I do have a plan. Hopefully it will work!
9. I will use my teaching skills outside of primary. (I have a couple of things in the works, which I will not divulge just yet, but I'm starting to miss teaching and I would really like to put those skills back to good use. We'll see!)
8. Ben will go to Bethesda, MD for some job trainings that he has been nominated for (How close is that to you, Shells? Maybe we'll come with him and be able to see your family and finally meet Freya!)
7. Our kitchen re-model will be complete and perfect
6. Camille will hate nursery (it seems the third child always hates nursery)
5. I'm planning on signing Audra up for a running club. I predict she will be brilliant. She absolutely LOVES running, and is faster than all the boys.
4. Camille will be driving me nuts getting into everything
3. Audra will know how to read, and Claire will know her ABC's
2. We will have a whopper of a snowstorm that will shut down the city for a couple of days (we haven't had one for awhile and are about due for one)
1. Overall, things will pretty much continue as normal: Endless political fights on the national level, overall good health for our family, and just trudging along doing the best we can.

Here's to a GREAT 2013!

Camille's Crawling!

After weeks of preparing, Camille is officially crawling! Here's some video for the Grandma's to watch:

 

Claire's Song

There is a song at church that the kids learn that goes,

"When my mother calls me, quickly I'll obey."

Tonight Claire sat down at dinner and sang,

 "When my mother calls me, I will run away."

That pretty much sums up life with Claire- she has her own take on just about everything, and it's usually not good for Mom. (And, as a side note- just what IS nursery teaching???)