Well, We're Home.

Got back yesterday from my current favorite vacation of all time. Four of my siblings and their families also joined us in Disney World. Favorite, favorite. The weather was mid seventies all week, no rain, small crowds in the parks. My kids had their bestie cousins around for seven straight days and I got major face time with my sisters and brother and their spouses.

Of course there were the momentary meltdowns, lost shoes, worn out kids, and awkward groin punches-which we'll talk about later. And by the end of most days Emme looked like she'd been licked by the inside of a garbage can she was so filthy. But really, we couldn't have asked for a better getaway. So very glad we were able to make it happen.

 Iwill limit our daily reports of the trip to the top 10 pictures and top 5 moments of the day.

Sunday. Family hang out and nature walk-

Top 5 moments:

1-Reuniting with my sisters and hugging sister Victoria's 6-months pregnant tummy.

2-Mini-disc golf challenges in the back yard

3-Kids off happily playing with cousins the whole day. Emme only checked in for snacks and bum changes.

4- Nature walk trail on the spot of an old ocean shelf with thousands of sea shells embedded in it.

5-Breakfast burritos for 30. Cramped, noisy, happy kitchen.I think i feel most at home with a little chaos.

I have a reignited desire to live close to family as soon as possible. Nothing really compares.

Royal Ball

Katie and Joey put together the most magical birthday tea party and ball for their little Lucy, complete with princesses, a fairy godmother, and a dance with a handsome prince. She posted about it here, and I thought I'd share as well:

Speaking of princesses and magical things. . .I've washed all the dress ups and hung them to dry. . .the kids don't know it yet, but we are headed for our inaugural trip to Disney World in about 4 hours. I have butterflies, I am so excited.

Ice Bouncing

The little town where I grew up usually had 2 to 4 feet of snow on the ground most of the winter. We would cross country ski in the backyard, sled behind cars down the long driveway, and build huge snow forts in the plow banks. We left our trampoline up all year and one of my favorite things to do was to tromp out there after a new snow and bounce all the snow off. (No safety nets back then.)

Needless to say, we haven't enjoyed such a prolific winter here in Memphis. But we did get a nice little ice storm the other day and the first thing my kids did was to go out and bounce the ice around. Just one of those kid instincts I guess.

Cheese Heist

One moment they were happily enjoying a lunch of PBJ's and cheese cubes in their regular every day clothes. . .

Then suddenly Olivia's cheese cubes mysteriously went missing. 

(How much do I love Lucy's mischief face? So much.)

A few crocodile tears were shed.

But upon return of the cheese, all was forgotten.

These cousins love each other quite a lot. But really, what good is a cousin if you have to be nice to them all the time like any regular friend?
Sometimes don't you just want to steal someone's cheese and see what happens?
Sometimes don't you want to just leave your house messy when someone's coming over and see if they will still be friends with you?
(Some of you are still friends with us. Thanks.)
And sometimes it is just nice to have family around who still like us even though they know the truth about us.

From the Archives

Found an old sim card I had forgotten about the other day that had some little photo gems from Pittsburgh on it. Got me feeling a little nostalgic. Olivia still asks once a week or so if we can "go to Pittsburgh today." It seems such a long time ago, more like a dream than a memory. These pictures were taken in our last couple of weeks there.

Still miss you and all your rivers and bridges and hills and cow paths for streets, quirky old city.

Christmas Eve in Memphis

One of the biggest perks of living near family (while away from most of the family) is that we have built in people to hang out with on holidays. And since both of our families were just getting over the flu, Joey and Katie were the only ones we could hang out with without feeling guilty about sharing germs. Plus, they are super awesome and we would have wanted to hang out with them even if they weren't family and germy like us. Win, win, win. We had a great Christmas Eve:

Bingo for prizes (and lots of dress-ups going on as usual.)

Jane and angels sing.

Aunt Katie playing the part of the good-natured burro, or good-naturedly playing the part of the burro,

and a tender manger scene.

Shepherds gather and Malan narrates Luke 2 with Joey's ipad.

 Mary ponders.

Christmas Eve is so special. I love to see my children beginning to understand what this is all about, and experiencing tender feelings while celebrating the birth of our Savior. Makes me want to try harder every year to keep the commercial side simple, and to magnify the important things.

And I loved sharing our Christmas Eve with the Hales. They bring so much fun and energy and warmth to everything that I feel like I'm lacking sometimes, and our girls soak that right up. It was a lovely evening. Hope yours was too.

Tube Wars

Not much going on. Just trying to catch up on the laundry/cleaning/personal hygiene that fell by the wayside during the flu. (Wow, that is one riveting post introduction. Are you still reading this?)

Also, I'm lacking motivation to exist much in the world wide web right now. Such a lot calling for my attention in the real world that I'm only finding time for blogging if I stay up too late, and that kinda makes me grumpy.  I sure do love the people and happy memories we have here, just needing some rekindled passion for maintaining this little space.  Maybe I'll work on a quick Christmas post soon. Until then, here is an idea for what to do with your leftover wrapping paper tubes:

Emme Turns Two

Well hello again. Sorry for the lapse. All of us got an incredibly nasty flu, except Caleb and Jane who had their shots. I think we were sick for like about six or seven months. I kind of lost track of time and the days of staring at the underside of my blankets all run together now in my memory. Too sick to watch anything or read anything, just rolling back and forth on my pillow with chills and fevers and aches and horrible sinusitis and coughing. So glad I was out of the woods a little bit when it hit my kids so I could take care of them. Olivia was just pitiful and slept for almost two days straight in the thick of it. Emme coughed so hard that she threw up multiple times and I tell you what, as much as I enjoy catching vomit with my bare hands, I will never miss our flu shots again.

Sweet Emme's birthday came in the middle of our bout, so her pictures were taken by me from under a pile of blankets on the couch in a dark room. And I just didn't have the energy to care. So sorry Emms. But I do love your squishy face so very much and you are our favorite 2 year old in the whole world.

(And thanks Malan, you rock star, for making Emme's birthday cupcakes.)

Emme is protective of her stuff.

  We love you, cheeks. Happy Birthday.