We spent New Year's with some of our favorite people in Wenatchee. Dennis bought these cool lanterns for the kids to light and send into the sky. Really it was quite a flame, so the parents ended up lighting all of them, with minimal help from the kids. They were pretty fragile, but fun and magical for them.
Another picture from our time in Wenatchee - Taylor's practicing up - lucky for me, she is good with babies and likes them. I think I will assign them each two days a week when they get to be the "helper", otherwise I am going to have to listen to quite a bit of bickering over who gets to choose the outfit, who gets to sit next to the baby in the car, etc. At least until the novelty wears off.....
Tuckered out on the way home from New Year's - although I think the one smiling is faking sleep. Really, fine with me, as long as it's quiet!!!!
Taking our sweet nieces and daughters to the Science Center in January.
Some other things of note from the last couple of months:
Our brother-in-law, Paul, died in November. His girls are pictured above at the Science Center. It's been very difficult to see them go through the loss of their dad, and hard for all of us as we loved Paul very much. He was a caring father, and a good brother and friend to Dennis & I. His last words to me the day he died were "I REALLY love you!!!" accompanied by a big hug, which was very characteristic of him. We miss him very much.
The girls and I spent 4 of the last 5 weeks at my parent's house while Dennis painted like a mad-man at our house, getting the baby's room done, some bathroom remodeling done, and lots of trim painted. It was an interesting experience not living at home, to say the least, but I am fortunate to have such gracious parents who obviously love me and the kids. My dad made breakfast for all of us most mornings, and lots of great dinners for us. I was pretty spoiled for 4 weeks. Some things I learned during this experience:
1. Living two blocks from my kid's school is a God-send. Driving 15 minutes to school feels like a huge waste of time, not to mention 15 minutes back the other way to karate, then back 15 minutes to pick up child #1, then back 15 minutes to drive her home, then 30 minutes to drive child #3 to swim lessons, etc, etc, etc, all without the help of Dennis. I spent half my day in the car. I didn't realize how "green" my car activites were until I stayed with my parents. Not to mention the ridiculous amount spent on gas, and how many times per week I had to fill up.
2. I really like my husband and have Dennis-withdrawal when he's not around. This might seem obvious but sometimes you don't understand how much you like something or someone until they aren't available to you.
3. My parents are even nicer people than I thought, and I thought they were pretty nice to start with.
4. Having my house finished feels really nice - and I do feel more inspired to keep it clean. I'm hoping this is a result of the "house-finishing" and not just a nesting instinct that will pass when the baby is born. :)
A great February to everyone!!!!
