January in Pictures

January started and ended pretty much the same way...

 

Cold and snowy!

 

Which caused more than a few bad  hair days.

 

But also allowed for some fun adventures...

 

And some fantastic family time!

 

As you can see... the snow didn't keep us from having fun! Kevin and I got to go to a Bulls game!

And he and the girls spent a lot of time playing in the igloo they helped to build!

 

But it was still redonkulously cold...

 

And snowy!

 

 But that's OK. At least the birth of my niece Nori brought us a few more rays of sunshine!!!

My girls are totally in love with her! They keep asking when I'm gonna make them one!

I think Kevin might be a little in love with her as well :)

 

Yup! January was cold and snowy... but also quite WONDERFUL!

Cold can't stop THIS party!

January brought us a polar vortex and the coldest, longest, snowy-est winter Chicago has on record! There was so much snow that Kevin and the girls were able to help build, not one, but TWO igloos in my sisters backyard! AND despite the bitter cold, we were still able to party like it was 1999!!

And THIS girl wouldn't have it any other way. Especially since January also brought about her 6th birthday!

She asked for a RAINBOW themed party, which I was VERY grateful for since it only required some construction paper and food coloring! Also, I would be lying if I said I wasn't relieved that she didn't choose a "Frozen" party theme like most little girls her age. I might have died if I had to listen to "Let it Go" a  kazillion times in one day!

Anyway, I had fun making the cupcakes and decorations, but was especially pleased with the leftover-wrapping-paper-table-cloth that we put out for the kids to color! (Kevin's idea!)

The kids loved coloring on the table and it kept them busy while we cooked frozen pizza and set out their lunch. And by the way, this little guy just happens to be Brooklyn's big Kindergarten crush!

Look at all their hard work! We have some real artists on our hands.

After coloring and pizza eating, it was time for games! First off was a trek through our "laser beam" obstacle coarse to find the magical unicorn horn suckers! (Suckers that look like unicorn horns, not creatures who walk around sucking on unicorn horns...in case you were wondering.)

Then the kids had to protect a magical dragon egg (balloon) from touching the hot lava ground that only THEY could touch because of the magic shoes they were wearing. This was by far their favorite game and they played it forever!

Last, but not least, was the tried and true Red Light, Green Light game! Amazing how a game that involves nothing more than stopping and going never gets old :)

After games the kids each took turns sharing a wonderful gift with Brooklyn! She was given so much art stuff, I won't have to entertain her until her next birthday! Yay me!

In the end, we sang a lovely rendition of the Birthday Song and then stuffed our faces with some very yummy confetti cupcakes!

It was so much fun that we hardly remembered good old Chicago was under a deep freeze! Amazing what a little fun can do for you!

A Very Happy December!

December 2013 brought us SNOW! Lots and lots of snow with blisteringly cold temperatures. But that didn't stop us from getting outside to have a little fun...

 

Except when it did!

But those moments were filled with tree decorating, watching movies with friends, sewing and crafting presents, riding bikes through slush and ice, going to the theater to see HOBBIT: The Desolation of Smaug, playing at the Children's Museum, feeding early morning seminary students, caroling, and babysitting Monte (my sister's dog)!

And occasionally we spend our indoor time decorating for CHRISTMAS!!!

Later in the month we were able to get out to the ward Christmas Party! It was so fun to see the little kids sing, and eat and chat with so many of our friends.

We even got to see Santa Clause, which left the girls giddy for weeks! Yes, weeks...long after he was gone...

When Christmas came around, we spent Christmas Eve having dinner with our good friends, the Booths. We ate a delicious meal, played some games, opened a few presents, and had a fantastic time together. So much fun, in fact, that we forgot to take ANY pictures...which incidentally happened the week before when we celebrated an early Christmas with my sister Becca and her family as well!

The picture forgetting continued on Christmas morning while we were opening presents and enjoying a yummy breakfast, but Kevin remembered to pull out the camera again when he went on his annual Christmas Design run. Can you tell what it is?

When all was said and done, I did remember to snap a few pictures of the girls in their Christmas dresses. I had to laugh when I pulled the pictures up on the computer and noticed that Lily looks drunk in almost all of them!

Oh well! At least I got one decent shot!

After all the celebrations were over, we set up a gigantic tent in our living room so we could watch our new movies together and play with our toys. It was all fun and games until midnight when Lily vomited all over the pallet on the floor. Her puking continued on throughout the week, spread to the rest of us, and brought us all into January a few pounds lighter! Count your many blessings...right?!

Anyway, we DID have a fantastic December and a beautiful and memorable Christmas, despite the bug that followed :) And now, I leave you with the outtake video of our Facebook Christmas Video. We had asked the girls to tell the story of Christmas, and apparently, they got a little carried away!