Mia

Because Mia isn't quite old enough to blog for herself, I've decided to blog for her {about her} today. As most of you know, Mia is quite a character and definitely keeps us on our toes. We thought this would be dissipating by now, but in fact as she nears the ripe age of 5 years, she seems to be gaining steam in the 'naughty' category. Some of her recent, favorite past times include {but most definitely are not limited to}: destroying her room in under 30 seconds {so she now gets locked out on a regular basis}; signing her name on EVERYTHING {i.e. walls, various pieces of furniture, other people's homework, etc.} and then denying or blaming it on one of her numerous imaginary friends; {my recent favorite} cutting the strings on our hardwood blinds and, last but certainly not least, excelling in the fine art of becoming a kleptomaniac, stealing anything and everything she can from anyone that wasn't smart enough to remember to lock their bedroom door when they left for the day.

Honestly, by child number four, we thought we'd been through it all {or at least enough}, but wow, she is definitely one that has us questioning if she is from the same gene pool.

The other night as we were {yet again} telling her how naughty she was, she asked Justin and I, "Is Santa watching?" To which we replied, "yes." And so it went..."Is Jesus watching?" {yes}...and the grand finale "Are the Jonas Brothers watching?" {mom and dad just stare at each other unable to respond}.

Dancing Machine

Aren't I beautiful? This is my head shot for the Utah Dance Fest. The Utah Dance Fest is a festival of dancing where it's also a competition against other dance teams. In the last couple of months, it has been crazy! Every where I looked there was dance classes. My last dance was called "Bailamos" which was a Spanish themed dance and our new dance is called "Crank It Up" and it is a hip hop routine. This summer I get to go to Las Vegas with my sister, Bella for dance camp. I feel very excited for what is coming up!

"Shootin Sophie"

In basketball I found out you have to be swift, sneaky and very positive you are going to make a basket. I've been through three nick names so far sliding Sophie, sneaky Sophie and shooting Sophie. Its hard knowing you've been going through nick names like crazy. My favorite name is shooting Sophie. Lets just go with I like making baskets. I have a tip for you USE YOU'RE HEAD!!!!!! It works I used mine it bounced in my arms, a teammate used hers it bounced in my arms it bounced off an opponents head and into my arms! It WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Flashback Friday!

In honor of the upcoming Valentines Day - I found these gems. They are of Sophie's very first Valentine's Day. So, that would have made her just shy of 4 months old. Wow - time sure does fly!

Justin, Sophie & I were going out for a fancy family dinner...
no longer a "romantic" dinner for two.

Back in the saddle...

OK, we temporarily fell off the blogosphere, but we're back! Let the posting begin.

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!