Flashback Friday!

Recently, on other sites that I read, they have started doing something called "Flashback Fridays". I thought it might be kind of fun to do on our little blog. We'll see where it takes us. Today, it took me to a box and the first thing I came across was our wedding announcement from the Rocket. It was a sweet trip down memory lane!

New Year's Resolutions

It's sure nice to get back to a normal week, and our normal schedule. I would imagine that we have as chaotic a week as any parents, given the multitude of extracurricular activities in which our kids participate, but it's nice to get back to our regular routine.

I think the thing I like best about January is that it is a natural "start-over" time. All the things that you thought you needed to fix in your life can now be done because it is a new year! I'm not much on the "going back to the gym" thing, although I should; I told Maggie we needed to have our own version of "Biggest Loser," with everyone throwing in $20 and the winner on March 1st taking it all - she wasn't so excited, I have to say. My resolutions this year are to be better organized and more in control of my obligations, whether those be professional, financial, personal, etc. The last year went by and I feel like I was on the razor's edge of careening out of control and off a cliff; this year, I'm going to pay more attention and keep the rubber side down, so to say.

I'm also going to really try to be more involved with my kids' lives, especially around sports and their activities. Sophie is really taking to basketball, Bella and Mia want to learn soccer, and I'm hoping to turn Hannah into a golfing buddy. I don't naturally have the patience to do these things well with the kids, so I'm going to work hard on that.

Finally, I'm going to continue to keep simplifying my life. Maggie and I have been de-cluttering the house, and that's a good start. I'm going to resume riding by bike to work as soon as the weather gets a little warmer (20F is a little frosty on the cheeks, and on my face too!), and I'd like to get in the habit of walking after dinner with the dogs. Wyoming isn't particularly hospitable for these things this time of year, but it certainly is in the Spring and Summer. I think that enjoying the simple things, i.e. less TV and computer time, more family and outdoors time. I'm going to have to make a decision later in the Summer as to whether I will run for reelection to the school board, and a lot of that depends on how our company is operating and where I am at that point in time - I don't want to run knowing that I can't give the proper amount of time necessary, but I won't know what that is until almost the last possible minute.

Happy New Year's!

A Few Christmas Memories

So, here are just a few shots of our Christmas; a few of my favorites.

The girls in their Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve.

The girls all slept downstairs together and the next morning
anxiously awaited the "green light" to see if Santa came.

Truly one of my favorites. Hannah wrote a letter asking
Santa to leave his signature and was thrilled that he did!

Sophie and her Webkinz.


Hannah and her Zhu Zhu Pet.

Bella in one of her new outfits and her hat.
This hat has rarely left her head since Christmas morning.
She also got a mini Camelback and at one point was in the
outfit, hat and walking around the house drinking from her
Camelback {so funny}.


Mia and her new lapdesk or as she likes to think of it, her suitcase.
Yes, Santa thought this would be great because it stores writing & drawing
things under the desktop. However, for Mia, it is just another container
in which she can store all of her worldly possessions.

The girls with some of their holiday loot.
Specifically, their dog crossing signs {notice Bella's hat}.

Sleep...who needs it?

Well, the girls have been gone for almost a week and the house has been blissfully quiet. This is not meant to imply that I don't miss them, but a week of peace has been glorious! However, our four canine friends have been lost without their tormentors, oops I mean sidekicks. So, they have taken to sleeping with Justin and I every night. All four of them on our bed, every night. So while our days have been peaceful our nights have become restless and crowded with Justin and I jockeying for enough room to stretch out and enough inches of sheet to remotely cover ourselves. You might be asking yourself why we don't just lock them out of our room for the night or, at the least, kick them off the bed. The answer is simple: these dogs don't realize they are dogs, they think that they are people too and therefore is it is near impossible to convince them that they should not sleep in our our room, much less on a floor.

Great - there goes our week of peaceful sleep!

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A Final Farewell to Fat Ivan

Ivan in his "casket"


Bella laying Ivan to rest.


Sophie starting the burial.


Hannah taking part in the burial.


Mia taking part in the burial.



Fat Ivan, the beloved family guinea pig, passed away last night after a week long battle with a respiratory infection. It is so very sad watching the girls grieve for him {especially Sophie - the animal lover}, but they are beginning to understand that death is also a part of life and that he is not suffering anymore. Today we had a little memorial service for Ivan and buried him in our garden in the front yard. Hannah gave a lovely prayer {amidst sobbing sisters} asking God to watch over him, love him and to let him run around, squeak and play with his friends.
It was so sweet.

A sick guinea pig

It's a very sad time at our house right now; Fat Ivan, our black guinea pig who has been with us for 3.5 years is very sick right now. The vet office told us there's not a lot we can do - either he gets through this, or he doesn't, but it's really out of our hands. Sophie is taking it especially hard; she is the animal lover in our family. We talked about how all living things die eventually, and if he does there is a reason for it.

He did rally a little tonite after we cleaned his cage and he's eating more than he has for the past several days.