Take them Bowling

My mom's plan to go bowling to celebrate all the January birthdays was a big hit.

I forgot how much fun bowling can be.

HOT fries...

How can you go wrong with a bunch of kids trying to knock stuff down with a heavy resin ball? (Never mind a mashed finger here and there.) Good times.

We should do it again.

A Couple of Things before Cancun

~ Hurray for warm places!

Last year in Mexico

Mitch-darling and I (and baby 'X') are leaving on a jet plane in a week and a half. I'm looking forward to it - but honestly, I haven't given it a lot of thought because life doesn't slow down here.

First:
* All the kids' STUFF this and next week (scouts, school projects, activity days, YW, tumbling, piano, basketball - plus the lead-up to this weekend's big all state Lego Robotics tourney...)
* Mike has finally agreed to go to a Dr. for a check-up (this is big news since he hates going to doctors like he hates watching Anne of Green Gables). I got him into a Dr. (not taking new patients) whom we used to live near and Mike likes.
* I need to have blood drawn - prenatal stuff.
* Extended family this week: bowling tonight, a baptism this Friday, new baby Finn to visit some more
* Church work

And of course, at some point in the next week or so I'll need to make all arrangements for our kids and animals while we're gone.

Mexico will be a welcome break... and our last chance to do something like this before baby comes (and for like a year or so after). It won't be as cool as last year's trip to Mexico - we'll be in the middle of tourista-ville (or, I mean, Margaritaville). But we're fine with hanging out on the beach and taking it easy. (I'm going to look awesome in my bathing suit - I'm telling you now. 4+ months of prenatal girth AND winter pasty too. Oh yeah.)

A Weekend of Nephews

Woohoo!!! We had a great weekend.

My sister Bendy delivered this sweet little thing, her first, Saturday afternoon - our new friend, Finn. The girls and I were on the scene as soon as we heard the news. There is nothing better in this whole world...

We also got to have the Brothers Henderson at our house for a sleepover, their parents  on an anniversary trip to warmer climes. Pizza night. Then movie night in the basement. Wild. Wild.   

Nephews are the best.

The Rebirth of Slick

We have a 7 year old in the house today. He had an elderly beta named Swimmy that cashed it in just before Christmas. For his birthday he picked out this beauty and named him Slick......

Which put us in mind of this classic.

Stuff you do with a 7 year old on his birthday: make what he wants for breakfast, cheer really loud at his basketball game this morning (they won), go out to lunch with grandparents, take him to see Tron (even though he has no idea what it's supposed to be about), make what he wants for dinner + a basketball cake and presents.
He also gets plenty of lounge time today (snuggling in his new birthday quilt from G-ma M. - that thing is SO soft).

He's cool like dat.

Happy 7th T.

Back in the Saddle

Grace and Tillman last night out on the ice at the SoJo rink.

It's January. Life here is returning to a routine. Slowly. I have been pretty busy - but surprisingly not-so-productive. You know how in December you kind of put everything on hold - because it's the holidays ("I'll take care of that when we're done with Christmas." - that kind of thing)? And then as soon as January hits you find yourself running crazy trying to do all that stuff that you've put off? That's me.
Christmas decor finally came down this week. Last night Mike hauled our tree out to the curb (except we missed the pick up this week - so it will have to sit out there till the 10th - classy).

Today I totally planned to make some progress in taking back our lives. I threw in the last load of laundry, and started a sweater soaking in the laundry room sink; turned on the faucet and walked away for a minute while it filled. That minute turned into like 30. As I sat reading in my room, the Space Donkey started barking outside at some loose dog - annoying (and we try to keep a tight lid on all that since the incident). So I made my way towards the garage to put him away...encountering a large puddle outside the laundry room as I went. Bad. I turned off the water, rounded up some towels and started to sop. 20 minutes later I was disgusted with myself but not overly inconvenienced. Lesson learned, crisis averted. I thought. Until....about an hour later as I hauled some Christmas stuff to the basement storage room on my way to the elliptical for a quick work-out. Opening the door, I caught the scent of water. Apparently there was some seepage from the laundry room above. Understatement. I don't know how many gallons had come through the ceiling. My sweet mother came to my rescue with her emergency management skills. Now the vampire room is filled with stuff airing out and fans are going. The end result: I didn't make much headway in getting my life back in order today - but on the upside, I don't think anything was permanently damaged in the flood. (Crossing my fingers. I'll be laying out the Springbar tomorrow to make sure it gets REALLY dry). Just one of those days.

The new year isn't all chaos and destruction. I also have a lot of positive vibes about the year ahead. I / We have plans for the year - plans to make life better, sweeter. Plus... what, are you kidding me? We got us a baby coming! (I had to throw in that vague allusion to "Raising Arizona". I love that movie.)

I'm feeling pretty good about 2011.

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

We hope you all had a magical and memorable Christmas this year.

In case you were wondering, Mitch-darling and I managed to set a record for the most Christmas shopping accomplished in the shortest amount of time for the most children - EVER. We've patted ourselves on the back for that one. And to tell you the truth, other than one pretty stressful day last week, it wasn't as terrible as I feared it would be. All was calm, all was bright.

Christmas Eve was full of the usual excitement - culminating with the ever-more impressive Sullivan Nativity.

            

Just before bed...Christmas Eve. They were not sleepy.

 Christmas Day we hosted the big Sullivan family dinner at our place. 30+ people, and I think it came off well. Everything is still intact. Of course, I haven't inspected the basement (the kids' domain) that closely. Just kidding. 9 or 10 more kids isn't going to make that much difference at a house already full of little dudes.

What's an extended Sullivan gathering without some picking and singing? A little boogie action by my littlest nephew Ezekiel Roanhorse...

We've been doing some good quality R & R the last few days. Mike's Mom hosted their family dinner yesterday with world-class food (again). Today she and I went for pedicures at our favorite place - I always appreciate those outings with her. And tomorrow is a ski/boarding day for 4 lucky kids with their Dad and G-pa M. Not bad.

Christmas is such a beautiful thing. I love the hopeful feeling it brings. And those of gratitude and love for the Savior of the world. It represents everything good to me.

If you didn't receive a Christmas card from us (and even if you did), Merry Christmas to you. We have the best family and friends in the world.

A View of the Inside of our Fridge and Other Updates

Everyone here has been busy taking turns getting sick. Strep. Our fridge is full of bright bubble-gummy bottles of antibiotics for all 5 kids. Plus Mike. (He actually has pills - not pictured.) That makes 6 for 7 of us. Pretty impressive numbers.

Twice a day everyone forms a line at the kitchen counter and I administer the goods.  Somehow I have escaped the scourge. But I haven't been 100%. My sciatic pain has gotten a little out of hand. So, I'll be seeing a chiropractor soon (or anyone else who claims they can give me some relief). 

A few items of interest lately from the life of Noble:

His submission for the Carbon Atom model assignment at school -

Saturday his Lego Robotics Club had a scrimmage against the only other club in the area in preparation for the big competition in January.  The Super Mega Nano Chips (Noble's club) beat the Smashing Robot Chickens... hands down. I was seriously amazed at what they could do. Wow.

Today I went to see my midwife - and - in case you doubted, our pregnancy has been professionally confirmed. I love to hear that little swoosh-swoosh heartbeat. *sigh*  She set the due date for July 1.

This weekend we will actually start our  Christmas shopping...watch out, world.  We're late this year so we have some ground to make up. All my friends and family out there who were done Christmas shopping in October, try not to think too poorly of me. I have to tell you, I had a nightmare last week that Christmas Eve wuz upon us and we didn't have anything done. Holy smokes. I woke up sweating...and reminding myself, "It was only a dream... only a dream." Wish us luck.

A two-year-old has been HERE

On the First Day of Hanukkah

A Hanukkah meal.

I couldn't believe how much energy I had yesterday so I started working on a bunch of projects. A homemade felted advent calendar, a dump truck-load of laundry, mopping the floors... I didn't finish any of it. EXCEPT my last minute plan to make a Hanukkah meal. The kids were pretty excited that there was something festive going on. They overlooked the sad inaccuracy of our pretend menorah and just took it all in. I sat them down at the table and started to tell the story of Hanukkah. No sooner had I begun, but they started chiming in with details of the story that they already knew.  Tillman: "Yeah, Judah Maccabee! I know him. He fought against the Greeks." Jessie: "The Greeks sacrificed a pig on the altar of the temple!" (I don't think anyone ever taught me this stuff in elementary school... or high school for that matter. My kids are either WAY smarter than me or educational opportunities have improved - or both.)

Anyway, I think we'll repeat this next year. Everyone loved the food. Potato latke, Challah (braided egg bread), roasted chicken in a traditional marinade, apple sauce, and apple cookies with ice cream (don't know if that part is very Jewish - but whatever). The kids wanted to know if we could celebrate every night of Hanukkah.

Me: "Um. This is good enough."

Snow Report - 11/29

An additional 12 inches of powder over night - making a 2 day total of nearly 2 feet.

 We kept in 4High to get out and to school this morning. Jessie couldn't believe school wasn't canceled. I told her it would take a lot more snow for that. As it was, they arrived at school 10 minutes late (mostly because things hadn't been plowed at the school and traffic was snarled at drop off).

 It took 2.3 hours to clear this driveway (& the walks) today. Who needs a gym? 

 The cool thing is now our house looks like a cupcake.