Caught

After my dad passed away, I developed any pictures of Bree and Jake with my dad and put them in a simple photo album.  For as little effort as it took, that album is the most looked at, carried around, talked about, and loved album in our house.  Even to those who never got a chance to meet him. 

 

No Snow Day

Its just a tad cold these days. In fact, school has been cancelled for 3 days due to extreme cold temperatures.  Its not even safe to let the kids walk two doors down to pay with the neighborhood kids. 

 

 

When I saw what the weatherman was forecasting, I got a tad excited.  Even if we only got a fraction of the Polar Vortex they were calling for, I knew I had to be ready. 

 

So what do we do on these frigid days?

 

Make new Valentine's decorations!

 

Jacob's

 

Rachel's

 

Bree's

 

Holly's

 

And Jim's is still a work in progress.

 

 

 

Tasty

Nothing beats the grocery store having strawberries on sale during this Polar Vortex

 

 

Its like a little taste of summer right when you need it.

Burning Up

 We went bowling on Saturday and, well, bowling is a sport.  It engages muscles that do not get used on any normal given day. So therefore day(s) after bowling, you start to think to yourself...

 

"I really ought to do something about limbering up those hamstrings."

 

 

Yet another way to be #Ready.

Complaints

You know how we all joke (although there really is truth behind the jokes) about men who can't seem to get their laundry into the baskets, their dishes can only make it as far as the counter but never into the sink or dishwasher, or will go indefinitely without any item you can name because going to the store themselves is just too much work? 

 

Well.... my lips are sealed on those complaints as I simply don't know how to clean up after myself in the shop.

 

 

And I'm pretty sure my husband would also like it if I someday learned how to use the saw dust collector/ventilation system we own too. 

 

 

We all have flaws. 

Baller

What can be more simple or more memorable than a Saturday afternoon spent at the bowling alley?

 

 

There is also nothing like a little friendly family competition.  First game we broke down into me and Jake versus Jim and the girls

 

That didn't go so very well. 

195 vs. 390

 

So the next set of games we switched it up to girls vs. boys.

 

That brought the scores closer at

266 vs. 316.

 

But the simple fact is Holly carried the teams both time.

 

 

Two Game Averages:

 

Jim - 199

Rachel - 92

Bree - 87

Jake - 102

Holly - 105

Its a sign

Our hospital posts their menu on Facebook and it makes my mouth water every time.  They offer soups daily with options like Cheesy Chicken Tortilla, Ham & Swiss Potato, Broccoli Cheddar (one of my favorites to try anywhere I go), and Taco Soup.  It makes me want to schedule a family dinner out to eat at the hospital!

 

Then the Hospital's Volunteers and Auxiliary take the time to post pictures of items in the gift shop.  That too is a very smart thing to do because one glance at their most recent post sent me running to buy one of their items. 

 

 

This message has been a reoccurring theme in my life lately - from conversations to books to movies.  Not to mention it is rooted in my soul.  My mother was diagnosed with MS at age 42.  She lost her drivers license and ability to walk without assistance in one big swoop.  Then my dad passed away at age 61.... before official retirement age.

 

This sign is a reminder to...

 

Live.  Take the vacation.  Eat the dessert.  Exercise.  Visit friends.  Go on the road trip.  Take pictures.  Save for a rainy day.  Explore.

 

Be ready for adventure.

 

Find balance because you never know what the future holds.

Club Store

This may look like an innocent, run of the mill box...

 

But its not!!

 

 

Well, it is but it isn't. 

 

Its a promised Christmas present that is the brain child of watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation while searching up gift ideas for the hubby.  

 

No, I did not enroll my husband in the Jelly of the Month Club....

 

I subscribed him to the Potato Chip of the Month Club instead!!

What to do?

I had quite the to-do list to accomplish today.  All those little things that keep getting pushed to the side, no biggie if they don't get done... well...  eventually they will break the camel's back.  So today was the day for knocking out that punch list!!  Then school was delayed and eventually closed.  Not ideal but many hands make the workload light, right?

 

No.  Not with kids.  It drags out far longer than it should and most of the time will only be done halfway.  But oh well.  Onward we go.

 

 

One of the more important to-do's on the list was a haircut for me!!  First one since Halloween and I was feeling it.  3 inches gone, layers back in, and curls can resume their correct shape!

 

I think I will sleep peacefully tonight.

Leads to Another

You just gotta love those days when the book you are reading reminds you to stay on track with your 'Word of the Year' and inspires the first treadmill workout since...  October?  And then the music you are listening to inspires you to stay on and push a little harder and a little harder and a little harder. 

 

Got to get these legs and body 'ready' for any adventure that comes my way.

 

Pieces

Its a bit chilly outside.  -5 when I woke up to be exact.  But that never stops the kids from wanting to be outside.

 

 

Don't worry.  There are some awesome igloo type forts being built to help shelter them from the cold.

 

I also went to the store to buy the ingredients for one of our favorite soups to help warm their insides when they are done playing in the snow.  On my way out I found the perfect addition to any family meal and snow day activity:

 

Yet another puzzle to be done and I think this one is already screaming to be glued together. 

 

Meal Planning

I really need to meal plan.

 

Actually, I really need to sit down and get all my favorite recipes written out and into my recipe book.  THEN I need to go grocery shopping and restock my pantry with all the staples and then some.  That way when the kids ask 'Whats for dinner?', I can offer them something better than 'Squids'.

 

 

The problem is...

 

...they really like the squids, get really excited when I mention squids, and never fail to clean their plates of the squids.

 

Its me who wants something better then squids thus the reason to write out my recipes, go grocery shopping, and meal plan.

Different Kind of Epic

Today we were supposed to have an Epic Game day.  Epic as in I rented a facility that can hold 100 people and I invited about that many (kids included).  Everyone was supposed to bring their favorite games, a dish to pass, and we were going to spend hour after hour after hour gaming it up.

 

But then Mother Nature interfered and the game night was postponed.  Kind of. 

 

At first our day was spent reading (and listening to books on CD).

 

 

Playing outside in the newly created Winter Wonderland.

 

And napping. 

 

But when a day was meant to play games, the games must be played. 

 

Family headed over before roads got too bad and our Epic Game Day was back on - in a different way.  Different can be just as good.

Great Wolf

Christmas 2016

Gift Card to Great Wolf Lodge

 

Christmas 2017

 Gift Card to Great Wolf Lodge

 

Christmas 2018

Do I need to get you guys another gift card to Great Wolf Lodge to get you to go?!

 

I think it was more of a threat than an offer, but after two years of collecting gift cards we finally made it to Great Wolf Lodge!

 

 

I love pictures like these.   Just the three of them posing in today's fashion, youth frozen in time.  So much fun to go back to places, retake the picture, and see the changes.

 

The kids didn't have school on Friday due to a Teacher's In-service day giving us a chance to hit the waterpark on a less busy Thursday evening.

 

Holly is slowly coming out of her swimming shell so to speak.  Last year she started gaining confidence in swimming alone (with her life jacket of course), but still did not like to be splashed.  An accidental splash in her direction would end our water fun for the day.  I believe we are overcoming that. 

 

 

Such good sisters when personalities aren't clashing. 

 

I didn't intentionally not get pictures of Jacob.  Half the time I couldn't find him.  In true kid nature, he befriended a boy his age and took off for the day.  Slides, basketball pool, lazy river, back to the slides, hot tub.  I couldn't keep up and he could stand still!

 

 

It was a great time.  Kid Cabin Suites were awesome.  Pool water was warm.  Bathrooms were clean.  A+ weekend in my books!



Loved

There are key people in each of our lives. 

 

People who have helped shape and create our world in unexpected ways.  People we cannot imagine what our lives would be like had they not entered.  People who have kept us sane, inspired, healed, loved, cherished, driven, focused, and more.  People who remind us that those who are gone are not really that far away.

 

 

 

They are people who help keep us grounded while reminding us to keep dreaming.

 

They are people who can never, ever be replaced and I thank God everyday for mine. 

It can wait

I could not get comfortable last night.  My pillows were too fluffy.  My pillows were too flat.  My pillows were too hard.  My pillows were too soft.  And on and on it went.  No surprise then when I woke with a raging headache.  Out went the plans of today being a productive day of continued deep cleaning, scrubbing, and organizing.  Instead, it became a day of phone calls to the QuickBooks hotline, fighting with insurance people as to why I can't get Bree's glasses fixed (after she accidently stomped on them while fleeing from a spider in her bed), and reading.  Coffee and reading.  Lots and lots of reading. 

 

 

Sickly

Bree was home sick from school today.  I have a sneaking suspicion that it had more to do with nerves than with an actual virus but to play it safe for everyone else's immune system, I kept her home.  And... in my opinion, if you're capable to sit on the couch watching TV or reading, you're capable of sitting on the floor and finish packing away the rest of the Christmas decorations.  With a little help, of course.