i spy

Everyday 7 Comments »

With my tired eyes…

4 neglected children.

One hiding from the camera with poopy pants.

One wishing she wasn’t elected as the babysitter.

One performing the tasks set before him.

And one cat napping in a spot safe from wandering feet and falling debris.

ispy

We’ll be home tomorrow. Home sweet (freezing cold) home!

inside out

Everyday 6 Comments »

There’s been a lot going on inside and out lately. We’re wrapping up our last week in St. Geezy, and it’s been a great time! Thanks to all the family and old and new friends that have made us feel welcome. We couldn’t have done it without your support…

Last week Uncle Mark rolled through town and made sure to give Drew & Brinley the nickel tour of his sweet ride. It’s a Peterbilt for dang’s sake!

mark

Before the visit was over Uncle Mark asked D&B to ensure that his rig was properly working before moving down the open road. Lights? Check!

light

Ye olde tire thumper, which Brinley executed with the grace of a true ballerina. Yes, ballerinas and truck stops. Yup. Thaaat’s right.

balletform

Lights fading…limbs wrapped…temperature rising…zzzzzzz…Either that or she’s already learned to pucker her lips and make smokey eyes at the boys.

sleepyfaces

Smokey eyes?! Now that’s funny!

sleepyface

Check out my crow’s feet! And when I relax my face they magically disappear. Don’t even start to think you can afford the lotion I use.

crowsfeet

Rowan made sure to fully enjoy the great meals we received from the generous people of our ward. Hey Rowan, are you gonna put mayonnaise in your hair when you’re older? Just asking…

redjello

You’re gonna put what in your hair?!

happyhappy

Up on top of Dixie rock there was one rule: Hold to the rod, the iron rod. They even sang the song. Should we tell them it’s actually steel? Nah.

ironrod

And it came to pass that they wandered on forbidden paths and became lost and were smote on the head despite their great strength.

toughandwimpy

But behold they did repent of their ways and did build their foundation upon the rock and became strong again.

strong

The studio got left in Denver, but we were still able to put together Eleanor’s first model portfolio. When there’s a will, there’s a way! Why so serious, E?

soserious

hand

ear

tootsies1

Eleanor is a good sleeper, once you actually get her to sleep! She likes to wiggle and squirm out of her swaddle, although in this case it appears that she wanted her head swaddled too.

antiswaddle

Finally zonked! See you in 4-6 hours!

nighttime

santa spoils january toils

Everyday 4 Comments »

I know you hoped for a post about the arrival of #4, but instead we are all left wanting. Amy is now more pregnant than she has ever been before. That’s a fun record to break! Although this baby isn’t due till the 8th it is officially late, considering all the other kids came at least a week early. Way to buck the trend #4; we could really do without all the slothfulness… Maybe clearing our conscience with a new post will induce labor. Here’s hoping!

It wasn’t so long ago that it was still 2009, when kids were kids and Amy still had ankles. On the Eve of Christmas Brinley and her wiggle racer got into a fight with a wall and the wall won. Needless to say she had an extra egg for making the fondue.

fondueandbubbly

Drew had a very important lesson to teach all of us. The hardest part was keeping it under wraps.

lesson

All the fam gathered in the living room for the reveal, which was distributed machine-gun style.

famdamily

So what was the message? The Christmas story of course, courtesy of Fisher Price.

drewlesson

Then the big day came. What did Santa bring? Well for starters, Santa observed that if Brinley crashed into walls on a slow, low center-of-gravity device, going even faster on something with a higher center-of-gravity would increase her safety…right. Drew gave her a helmet, just in case. 

binniebike

Rowan & Santa both know that calculus, cold fusion and molecular biology are for the birds. On the other hand, shape recognition and text messaging are a tuffy! Check out that tongue action!

rosanta

Drew is a decade too young to be getting his own car, and it may be tough for his friends to bum a ride until Drew can get some engine and body work done…

rccar

Mommy & Daddy must have been listening when the kids BEGGED them for Pillow Pets for Christmas. If we had this moment on video you’d know why we are deaf.

pillowpet

Rowan wouldn’t even let go of hers to open more presents. A little filler here: Rowan’s lovey is a zebra too, and anywhere she sees the slightest imitation of zebra print she is sure to let you know: BABA!

pillowpetro

What? You mean you can talk on these things, not just text? Kids these days… 

phone

We might be where the palm trees grow, but it didn’t take long for us to find a snowy slope to satisfy our powdery desires. Check out Amy in Brinley’s snowsuit. I mean Brinley in Amy’s…one in the same.

brinleyoramy

Daddy taught the kids proper sledding technique: Sit down, hold on, and scream like a wild man!

sleddrew

Brinley was even leaning into the turns!

sled

Then Daddy tried to be a show-off stuntman. as usual…

stuntman

We’ve adapted to this mild climate, so before long our less than adequate footwear had served us to its breaking point and it was time for a warm-up. There’s nothing like getting cozying up to the fire with a good book. Kids these days…

feetfire

Sapatos en fuego!

shoes

Moving on, the kids called in the teleporter and had themselves dropped into a jungle infested with dangerous and deadly wild beasts. Good thing they each had a set of binoculars and a speaker that told them what might attack next!

safari

Where did that bear get that speaker and those binoculars from? Oh, hi Drew. 

bear

Rowan’s teleporter must have had some kind of glitch, as she ended up on a sheer rock face. Hold on Ro!

mountainclimber

There was a “disagreement” about whose binoculars were whose, and somebody ended up being able to do without…

makingdo

Eventually Rowan managed to get off the cliff unharmed and just in time to see more Baba! Hey Ro, you don’t happen to notice any problem with that zebra do you? Kids these days…

baba

Mommy says it’s midnight somewhere! Happy New Year! And these things are good!

newyears