Still here...for now.

Just a quick note to let you know we are still alive and kickin'. It has been decided by the powers that be: we are moving. California here we come! We listed the house a little over a week ago, and we hope it sells before our very quickly approaching departure date. So far the plan is to start our journey west over Memorial Day weekend (thats the last weekend in May). The kids are super excited (and so are the grown ups) to start our new adventure. Wish us luck, we're gonna need it!

Dance Party!

Since figuring out how to stream Pandora through our TV, we have been doing so frequently. The kids refer to this as Dance Party. They love to boogie. They also really like being recorded. Bennett was a little cranky, and we were trying to get him to dance too which he does for a few seconds. Generally he gets just as into it as the girls. Zoe was really bouncing around which is pretty typical of her. Sydney, on the other hand, was much more comical than usual. I have a few videos of their dancing, but every time I watch this clip I laugh out loud. In that spirit, I thought that others may benefit from a good giggle. So here it is.

How Does Your Garden Groove?

Zoe's first grade program. I ordered a DVD so I didn't have to rely on my own recording abilities, but took about 10 minutes of video (the intro through Zoe's class) so that I could share it here. The program is called How Does Your Garden Groove? and Zoe's class were "hot potatoes." Zoe did a great job even though she said she was really nervous. She even remembered her line and said it loud and clear. I was so proud! I totally cried. Hope you enjoy the first bit of the show. By the way, you stop being able to see Zoe after about 6 minutes. Sorry, sat on the wrong side of the room.

The few pics I do have from Christmas

The family at the restaurant after our annual fancy dinning out.
(L to R: Lacey and Bennett, Auntie Shar, Sydney, Nanny Sue, Zoe, Rob)

The kiddos in their Christmas jammies

Blizzard

This is the view from our front window (2 days ago). The result of the Blizzard that hit a few days ago and snowed us in. We went from zero snow and about 75 degrees just a few days before to sub-zero temperatures an about a foot of snow (drifts from 3-5 ft.). Needless to say school has been cancelled all week. When I opened the garage to try to begin shoveling the drive way (by myself as husband is TDY again) the snow reached well above my knees. It took several goes to get it done because I don't own any snow boots (my feet grow every time I have a baby and my old ones were a full size too small) so I wore rain boots that protect against the wet - but not so much the cold. The job got done though. I can't take all the credit, my neighbor (Bless him!) came over and helped with the last 1/4 of the drive and the walkway to the front door. Today we ventured out to the grocery store, the main roads were mostly ok, but the neighborhood streets were treacherous. No issues though, and we are now more or less set for the next wave of snow that is suppose to hit.

In other news :

A very late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We had a lovely holiday and hope you all did too.
Bennett has been toying with the idea of walking for months, and has been pushing things around for nearly as long. About a week and a half ago he struck out and started walking about without any support. Not just a few steps either - he took off and is going everywhere. Watch out sisters, brother is on the go!

The girls both brought home excellent report cards :O)

I am nearly finished with my last term and will soon have my degree (Yay! It only took about 10 years).

I am sure there are dozens of things that I have forgotten to post, but I guess that is what I get for being such an inconsistent blogger. I would make a New Years resolution about it, but that is the quickest way to ensure that I never blog again. (Okay maybe not, but I am not famous for keeping resolutions).

Yes, I know I posted a picture of snow and none of the kids. I haven't been very good about taking pictures lately and took none of Christmas (hint hint, if you were at Christmas and have pictures I would dearly love copies :O)

A late Thanksgiving post:

Thanksgiving this year was a tiny bit strange. Rob had to be out of town (again), so the children and I thought we would have to go it alone this year. Fortunately, Shar was able to make it! Yay! On Thanksgiving we ate "dinner" at about 1:00. Pretty early, but the food was ready and the kids were starving, so we just went with it. Normally we would all sit around and watch football and chit-chat. But this year, with no men in the house (except Bennett, who is too young to put up much of an argument about it) we opted out of the football and instead took the troops to see Tangled in the theatre. It was Bennett's first trip to the movies, and I gotta say he did great. Not a peep! We all enjoyed the movie and when we came home it was time to get the kiddos into bed. Then Shar and I got to enjoy some grown up time, good conversation and a bottle of wine. The next day we braved the mall and shopped around a bit (our first ever foray into Black Friday shopping). It wasn't as bad as expected, mostly because we waited until late afternoon when all of the mega-super-shoppers had come and gone. The girls were super excited to visit the Disney Store and were treated to some cute Rapunzel jammies for their great behavior through the "boring grown up stores." All in all it was a rather unusual holiday for us, but a really great time was had by all. Wish Rob could have been here, but we are looking forward to having him back for Christmas!

Catch Up

Wow, long time, no post. So here is a very brief run down of what has been happening in my neck of the woods:

September: Rob came back from Afghanistan and we all attempt to readjust. I seriously have very little recollection of any actual events during the entire month. There was a visit from Shar for her birthday and a couple of other birthdays during the month (Mom, Grandma B, Lindsey).

October: Trip to Texas to visit Auntie Shar and pick up Nanny (who flew in to Texas to be able to visit both Shar and us). Six Flags over Texas, Zoe's first real roller coaster (which she loved) and then a couple more roller coasters (the loop-to-loop was her favorite), outlet mall before driving home. Pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving, trick or treating (Zoe = Super Girl, Sydney = Belle, Bennett = Lion, Mommy = covered in barf thanks to Bennett).

November (so far): Rob to training. Parent teacher conferences (my kids rock). My first group art show (guess I rock too). Refridgerator breaks : ( and gets fixed : ). Bennett's first steps (about an hour ago) and yes I know that 16 months is a little late to start walking, but what can I say he has his own agenda.

And that is the news in brief.