"Insta"-replay 102, and to all a good night!

Last replay of 2015! Well, next week's will also be about 2015 but it will be in 2016.

This Christmas we decided to visit Idaho.  It meant giving up a few traditions and gaining a week of memories that we will look back on with smiles and laughter.

The trip was supposed to take about nine hours.  After sitting for a few hours the girls were excited to get out and stretch.  Their excitement grew when they saw the snow!  Little did we know just how much snow we would be seeing.

The trip got a bit longer when the freeway was closed down.  We found out there had been an accident in time to turn around but not in time to find a reasonable alternative route.  Still staying the night at a hotel beat sleeping in the van!

Next day, bright and early we were on our way, again.

Then, at last we were there!  Cousins galore and much silliness.

The rest of the week was spent playing in the snow while parents sat inside where it was warm.

When they weren't outside the kids were still rarely seen.  Legos and Barbies were constantly being played with!

We made a few trip out and about to see the local sights, like Chick-fil-A.

Seeing a snow covered zoo was fun.  The animals that were out were all very active.

After a few hours outside we were happy to spend a few hour inside learning at the discovery center.

After that crazy, fun filled week I think I am ready to sleep for at least a week!  Hope your Christmas was filled with memories and that you have s chance to rest up from the excitement.

"Insta"-replay #101

Last week was a rush of last minute preparations! I think we are ready for the holidays, finally!

The week started off not as planned.  We had to take our cat to the vet.  Apparently she had managed to get in the fight during her time as an outdoor pet.  Girls are happy she'll be indoors for the rest of winter.

Thing improved when we went to Star Wars on opening night!  The movie is amazing, I can't wait to see it again!

Girl Scouts has given my girls many opportunities they would have missed out on.  Ice skating is one of those opportunities.  It was fun to watch the girls on the ice.  Merry even managed to skate a few laps without holding on to anything!

We ended the week listening to festive singing.  My mom and Bill are both carolers but this was the only time this year that we were able to hear them.  We picked a great event to come to! It included a story teller, sing along, Santa, and treat bags!

Christmas is coming soon so I hope it is a merry one!

"Insta"-replay #100! I feel like I ought to do something big but I'm not going to.

With dance recital finished we had a relaxing week last week.

I had a final to take so the girls got an early Christmas present.  It did the trick and I was able to take my test without interruptions.

The cousins brought over "customers" and then interviewed for the job of waiter.

Merry convinced me to let her have one of my pokemon games so she could get a special pokemon only available from McD.  The game kept her busy and dostacted during the thunderstorm at McD, so it was a good thing.

Normally I make my kids get ready in the morning but Friday we had a more relaxed morning and after lunch I realized Merry was still in her PJs.

We had our first cousins sleep over!  They stayed up late watching StarWars and eating pizza.  

This is our "field" it looks more like a giant mud puddle at the moment.  I'm happy for the rain but hope flooding won't cause too many problems.

Hope December is going well for you also! 

"Insta"-replay #99, snowman's dance

Happy December!  After the first week of holiday festivities I am definitely in the Christmas mood!

Christmas Barbie made her first (and so far only) appearance of the year.  She brought with her some forgotten stocking stuffers left over from last year.  I'm glad they don't out grow hats!

Last week was my last week of school for the term.  I was ecstatic when I finally managed a perfect score on my test.

My mom's birthday is at the start of December so it is always a part of the Christmas season.  It was surprisingly hard to get all of us together for cake!

This is how most of my pictures turn out, fuzzy.  I decided it was a memory worth keeping even if the photo wasn't perfect.

And the highlight of the week, snowman's dance!  This year Charry was in only one dance and Merry was in two. As always I was delighted by how hard they worked and how lovely they looked.

I expect little bits of holiday spirit will sneak in over the next few weeks.  And I hope you are enjoying the season of festivities!

"Insta"-replay #98, a thankful heart is a happy heart

Last week was Thanksgiving break so no school and LOTS of cousins!

They had fun playing board games.

Braved the cold for a chance to play outside.

And spent a reasonable amount of time at Target so their moms could get much needed coffee.

They even joined up with cousins from the other side of the family for fun, food, and crafting.

Charry felt extra special since she was Aunt Katie's sous chef for Thanksgiving  dinner.  They made almost the entire meal (aunt Abbie made the fabulous mashed potatoes.)

We ended the week celebrating Jon's birthday.  He can no longer make fun of me for being "older" because we are now the same age.

November is officially coming to a close as we start Advent sand Christmas traditions.  We have had much to be thankful for and many reasons to be happy!

"Insta"-replay #97, fall fun

Middle November, that short time between birthdays and holidays.

Charry has been working hard.  She starts school during breakfast so she can be done before her evening activities. This way we keep the 4 days a week schedule.

Merry has also been working hard. She works better with an audience.

Charry and I have been learning clogging.  It's fun exercise and I think she's better that I am.

Dress rehearsal week was surprisingly simple with all our rehearsals on the same day.

Charry surprised me by looking a bit more grown-up with her hair up.

Sunday was full of music.  First boom whacking during church thanks to a missionary visitor.

Then Hayden's "the Creation."  Despite the bored looks they assured me later that they actually really enjoyed it.

School, dancing, and music, it was a full week.  We are looking forward to family and fun in the weeks to come, let the holidays commence!

"Insta"-replay #96,

This last week seemed long!  I had tests in both of my classes as well as the normal weeks assignments.  So I spent most of my free time on school, but thank goodness for the weekend!  

Legos have been out every morning.  They come up with some crazy stories, everything from blowing up decoy death stars to opening brand new malls.

Starbucks has their buy one get one free holiday drinks, so I dragged Jon to coffee.  Free coffee is the best!

We started the weekend at the Peanuts movie with my inlaws.  It was a cute movie full of nods to the original comics.  I even liked the stylized animation.

November is halfway done, the holiday season is up and running!

"Insta"-replay #95, birthday week!

Happy Birthday to me!

My sister's birthday is just a few days before mine, so we tend to celebrate together, luckily we get along pretty well now that we're adults.

I'm the same age as strawberry shortcake, and I had this doll way back in the day.

Charry spent a lot of time in the kitchen this week.  She cleaned ours, even mopped.

And she helped aunt Katie make me a birthday meal.  I was pretty impressed that she knows how to separate eggs!

Now that birthdays are done it is time to start the holiday season! 

"Insta"-replay #94, happy Halloween

I did much better taking pictures this week!  But mostly of school time.

Girls worked together on Oregon history. They are learning about early missionaries and how difficult is was to even get to Oregon before the Oregon trail.

 They worked together on science experiments also.  The first was an experiment for Charry's science.  She's learning about simple machines and this experiment showed how levers work.

The second experiment went with Merry's astronomy lesson.  They poked pipe cleaners through tissue to "see" what the inside of the box looked like, and learned how radar works.

We spent time with cousins, mostly at Target.

And had fun partying withToby on his birthday.  The lego themed party was awesome, of course.

 We finished October handing out candy at our church's first annual trunk-or-treat.  It was our first time decorating a trunk and it turned out to be lots of fun!

It was a good week, busy like always but good.