The Jamba Plague

We've had a few super springy days 

(and thankfully some rain and cold weather starts tomorrow!)

and soccer was on the docket.

Here is our super dribbler...

And Abby is rocking the left footed kick. Her dad is determined to make her a left wing,

like both of us.

And while we were packing up our library books to return today, 

Grant said, "are all of these library books? What the….?"

Yes.

It's a free for all.

The kids literally glance at a book and throw it in the bag.

I got home with up to 25 usually. 

It's ridiculous.

And heavy.

But so great! So thankful for free books!

Here's our girl before leaving (note flip flops in this warm weather!).

And we've a new favorite park as of late.

It has a rope swing. And they beg to be spun around. And around.

And after a delicious Jamba Juice,

Ford barfed.

You should've seen the moms.

Racing for wipes and disinfectant.

Throwing their kids as far from him as possible.

(I'd have done the same thing…)

"Rest assured, everyone. It's not a bloody nose.

Or the stomach flu. Just Jamba Juice. From spinning."

Massive sigh of relief.

Plague avoided.

1169. both kids still fit in the bob

1170. i can still push it with them in it

1171. dusk walks while still warm

1172. grace enough for me

Valentine's Day

Ah, "Balentine's Day."

Or in other words, an excuse for mom to do crafts for preschool.

I present, the Love Bug gummy worm craft.

I admit to doing the label myself.

And stealing the idea from the web.

But the stuffing and folding (with clean hands!) were all done by Dash and Violet (see previous post).

A general assembly line over here.

Our new town has an annual father/daughter dance around Valentine's Day as well.

I signed Grant and Abby up before he could say "poker night" and have other plans.

(He was actually thrilled to go!)

It's deserving of heart hair, isn't it?

(Yes! A pinterest win!)

Can you believe she let me do it?

Note that these cute pink sparkly tights did not make it to the dance.

Right before pictures (no, this wasn't prom!) she melted down about the tights even though she'd had them on for an hour. It was a rough beginning … but thankfully it turned around.

They made it!

Here they are at the big dance after a dinner with her preschool pals...

Heart rings and cupcakes. 

Heaven, right?

Hmmm. I'm scared by this future high school face...

But thrilled to see her so happy dancing with her pals...

Some kind of "too cool" move with daddy...

And finally -- a true daddy and Abby moment.

I think she looks happy, don't you?

1165. hands that aren't so dry

1166. olympic viewing on the dvr

1167. another happy hour date night

1168. with free baby sitting

Meet Dash and Violet

I've probably posted before that every day (and by that, I actually mean several times per day) our kids either dress up or just "are" someone else. 

"I'm Elsa! You be Kristoff!"

"I'm Peter Pan! You be Wendy, okay Abby?"

"Mom! You be Ursula - just don't scare us, okay?"

And after we went to the library last week

(a weekly occurrence where they have a free for all and literally throw 25 books into our bags)

they rented The Incredibles.

Dash and Violet came alive.

Superpowers and all.

Every day it's as if they forget what made up their costume the day before 

and they go searching for something red in their closets.

Abby has narrowed down that this, in fact, is her Violet costume.

A pair of heart pants that she refused to even try on for the past 6 months. 

She's been wearing them constantly.

At least that worked out, right? Just in time for Valentine's Day.

That girl, sometimes….I tell you.

And she's even taken to wearing Fordy's batman mask. 

Everywhere.

Yet another one of Ford's Dash costumes...

Their ability to grab on to characters and not let go…

and their imaginative play because of it -- 

it's awesome.

Because let's be honest -- some days we all wish we were someone else for an hour or so.

1161. time out front to prune

1162. rain!

1163. a full family day with dinner downtown

1164. complete sharing from Ford when it comes to the mask

Christmas (It's Never Too Late!)

Since February is here, let's talk about Christmas from '13! :)

(Sorry folks. Perhaps by June I will be caught up.)

We did the first ever Santa Run this year.
Santa drives through the city on a fire truck collecting food for the hungry.
We were running through the streets to meet Santa at the closest stop … next year we'll drive, be early and relax! The kids got candy canes (still a big hit!) and even got to sit in the fire truck. 

There was Shrinky Dink watching (did you know they still made these things?!)...

And while most kids came running in to Santa's workshop in their matching Christmasy outfits, it was all we could do to get there in long sleeves and pants (for Abby, at least) and I took what I could get, mid-week, mid-day, as we hustled to see him before he left.

Our visit to Santa…

We had so much family fun I can hardly recount it…

Karen Sloan, Little Grandma and Grandmama!

And these two are either partners in crime (in church, no less) or are at each other's throats like brother and sister. Even that part makes me happy. It means their close, right? (right?!) 

Our after church shot with Fordy not letting go of his Elf on the Shelf, Chippy, seeing that he would no longer fly to the North Pole to report to Santa (since Christmas was the next day) and didn't need his "magic" - and he could therefore touch him.

Twins on Christmas Eve...

Her Brave archery ensemble...

A little nail painting...

Which morphed into "pedicures by the Christmas tree at noon! Come on, Ford!"

For the record, that polish has still not completely come off of his toenails. 

Eee gads.

And what is Christmas break without some tree cutting using a chain saw and an old hose?

I couldn't watch.

We felt so blessed to be in a home that we love, surrounded by family. And on that note, happy early Valentines Day, everyone!

1156. impromptu pancakes at 2pm

1157, ford running the entire walk

1158.eating clean

1159. spontaneous celebration

1160. good health report for a friend

The Contradiction

This boy is wilder and sweeter by the day.

He's a lean little lump of smiles, laughter, massive hugs and all-boy climbing and jumping.

I love the contradiction that he is.

His monkey-barring is what actually made me think we should try gymnastics.

"I can do it myself, moooooom." 

(and by the way, where did "mommy" go?)

And these tricks, too…

(#stuntdriver)

He does sit down. 

And as of late, reads my bible, saying, "Genesis 19….God! Where are you, God!"

He needs to read the end of the book, right?

Many days after a rigorous climb or dog walk or scooter adventure, 

they just need a little rest to finish their snack while I grab the mail…

especially when dressed in costumes.

Elsa from Frozen has graced us with her presence almost every day since we've seen the movie.

Here we are after seeing it the second time…

My girl is getting creative with an old Cinderella dress, a pink furry cape and Brave shoes.

Phew. Buys me a few months before "Can I get the Elsa dress?" starts...

And thanks to Grandmama, this guy can be the fire chief whenever he wants.

Because we all know that fighting fires starts with a determined face like this...

And lastly, our sweet super dog even gets to dress up sometimes.

The absolute best dog ever.

1152. super red
1153. my phone continuing to work
1154. priority mail
1155.  a full nights sleep

A Star Is Born

At A's preschool, they have a week in which each child gets to be the star.
A had to bring in a poster board with pictures of her favorite things
(which of course included sushi, princesses, popsicles, making jewelry, her family, painting outside, her Pasadena friends and cupcakes).

Here she is explaining it to the class.
I was really proud of her  - not a shy moment to be found.




And what a treat, Grandma and Papa got to come watch, too!

And now that winter is in full swing, our "no shoe" policy leaves some wreckage by the back door. Slippers, socks, uggs, tennis, boots… I think I need a mud room.

And although we are sad that we haven't had enough rain and snow for a sledding day yet, at least Fordy got one day of snow stomping during our early December cold snap. 

At the time, we thought we'd be seeing many, many more days like that….

Abby has been learning how to walk Red lately. 

It's lots of "Red! Heel! Red, come here! Reddddd!"

And we all continue to be in love with our little cousin, Sloan-y. I pray that she and Fordy are special pals and he can keep his eye on her at school as they get older. 

And speaking of school, I picked up Abby's Kindergarten packet for next year.

What?

I know.

I was dying a little.

This from a girl (pre-kids) who thought it was a little dramatic to cry when your kid went to kindergarten.

I can tell you now - count me in on the crying next August (yes, August!). 

1148. an impromptu night with a new friend 

1149. last minute pasta and meatballs that no one expected

1150. emails that soothe the soul

1151. prompted to laughter instead of criticism