2011 in review

We do this every year. I doubt any of you read it, but my kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to go back and read them, so I do it for us! (Who am I kidding? The whole blog is for us!!)

Ryan, age 35
1. What is your favorite food?
Upsidedown pizza
2. What is your favorite fruit?
bananas
3. What is your favorite drink?
Depends on the day--Diet Dr. Pepper
4. What is your favorite toy?
Rubik's Cube
5. What is your favorite t.v. show?
Psych
6. What is your favorite game?
volleyball
7. What is your favorite restaurant?
On the Border
8. What is your favorite animal?
crocodile
9. What is your dream vacation?
camping with the family
10. What is your favorite thing to do with the family?
play games
11. What is your favorite memory of 2011?
Grand Teton National Park
12. What is your goal for 2012?
Beat Lindsay in the triathlon this year.

Lindsay--age 35
1. What is your favorite food?
Soup, salad and good bread!!
2. What is your favorite fruit?
peach
3. What is your favorite drink?
Diet Coke with vanilla from 7-11
4. What is your favorite toy?
my bike
5. What is your favorite t.v. show?
Law and Order: Criminal Intent
6. What is your favorite game?
none
7. What is your favorite restaurant?
Panera Bread
8. What is your favorite animal?
Kirby
9. What is your dream vacation?
Hawaii
10. What is your favorite thing to do with the family?
camping
11. What is your favorite memory of 2011?
camping at Cherry Creek Reservoir, doing the triathlon with Ryan and making Christmas together
12. What is your goal for 2012?
Do a whole triathlon!

Isaac, age 10
1. What is your favorite food?
Dessert
2. What is your favorite fruit?
papaya, preferably dried
3. What is your favorite drink?
any carbonated drink and eggnog
4. What is your favorite toy?
i-pod Nano and Legos
5. What is your favorite t.v. show?
Mythbusters and America's Funniest Home Videos
6. What is your favorite game?
Killer Bunnies
7. What is your favorite restaurant?
Coldstone
8. What is your favorite animal?
Rattlesnake and Black Widow
9. What is your dream vacation?
Legoland
10. What is your favorite thing to do with the family?
Read the blog books
11. What is your favorite memory of 2011?
Christmas, birthday, Casa Bonita and spelling bee
12. What is your goal for 2012?
Survive the world's end.


Audrey, age 8
1. What is your favorite food?
Macaroni and cheese
2. What is your favorite fruit?
cantaloupe and strawberries
3. What is your favorite drink?
Root Beer and soda
4. What is your favorite toy?
Black Sparkles
5. What is your favorite t.v. show?
America's Funniest Home Videos
6. What is your favorite game?
Killer Bunnies
7. What is your favorite restaurant?
Casa Bonita and White Fence Farm
8. What is your favorite animal?
puppies and zebras
9. What is your dream vacation?
Disneyworld
10. What is your favorite thing to do with the family?
Family Home Evening
11. What is your favorite memory of 2011?
Christmas, everything
12. What is your goal for 2012?
Be a puppy.

Chloe, age 8
1. What is your favorite food?
Cheese pizza
2. What is your favorite fruit?
kiwi and strawberries
3. What is your favorite drink?
soda and eggnog and lots of milk and water
4. What is your favorite toy?
Snowy
5. What is your favorite t.v. show?
Phineas and Ferb and America's Funniest Home Videos
6. What is your favorite game?
Killer Bunnies
7. What is your favorite restaurant?
Casa Bonita and White Fence Farm
8. What is your favorite animal?
hippopotmus
9. What is your dream vacation?
Hawaii
10. What is your favorite thing to do with the family?
go to Hawaii
11. What is your favorite memory of 2011?
Christmas, Day Camp, my birthday, The Lion King
12. What is your goal for 2012?
Learn the code for the Wii

Lincoln, age 4
1. What is your favorite food?
Hot chocolate
2. What is your favorite fruit?
fruit snacks
3. What is your favorite drink?
hot chocolate
4. What is your favorite toy?
Buzz Lightyear and my dragon toy
5. What is your favorite t.v. show?
Buzz Lightyear, Handy Manny and America's Funniest Home Videos
6. What is your favorite game?
Killer Bunnies
7. What is your favorite restaurant?
McDonald's
8. What is your favorite animal?
buffalo
9. What is your dream vacation?
McDonald's
10. What is your favorite thing to do with the family?
play the Wii and go to McDonald's and go camping
11. What is your favorite memory of 2011?
Easter and my birthday
12. What is your goal for 2012?
build a snowman

***Pictures courtesy of my dear and massively talented friend, Becca. Check out her stuff! The button is on the top right corner of my blog!***

Brainiacs

On Friday, the Elementary school had "Brainiac Day" where the kids were supposed to dress up as someone smart. The girls both chose to dress up as Ryan! Here they are...

MLK Play Day

The boys each got to go to friends' houses for the day while the girls had an ENORMOUS AG Doll playdate. It was so much fun! And how cute are they?!

Busy, busy, busy!!

Yes, I have been busy. So busy! I don't know how it happens...well I do have to blame some of it on Pinterest. Love it!

Here are some of the things I have been working on...

I needed a new FHE chart and didn't really love any ideas I came across online, so I made this one:

So, I hung it in the laundry room, but it looks cute there!

I also made this random sign with our new family motto on it. I saw a sign with this motto on it in a store for mucho dinero, so I decided to make my own. And it is way cuter!

And here is another sign I made:

I have been enjoying myself making fun things!

The last project!

Yes, we are officially finished with our house! I never thought I'd see the day! And I love, love, love it!!!! I am so much more motivated to keep my house clean when I think it looks beautiful and everything has a place.

I finally caught the vision of exactly what I wanted the office to look like, and once I get the vision, there is no stopping me! It wasn't too big of a project, compared to some of the stuff we have done this year, but it did require some re-wiring on Ryan's part. Here is a sort of before picture--this was taken after the re-wiring so we could move the computer to the other side of the room.

Here are the afters... (I really need to figure out how to take better room pictures.)

I was going for a re-claimed urban loft sort of a feel. This one was so fun!! Ryan did the board and batten and then I started on the stenciling. Yes, it took forever. Actually it is not even totally finished yet! To do that I drew a stencil on poster board, cut it out with an exacto knife, traced it onto the wall and then started painting by hand. We replaced the light fixture and then added these antique crates I have been collecting as bookshelves.

I had this old trunk storing blankets in the basement and I have always wanted to use it somewhere else--it's perfect here! I had seen an "&" pillow like that in a store for $23, so I made my own for about $3!! The crates in the picture below were actually brand new bought from Michael's and antiqued. Worked pretty well!

I saw this little drawer thingy in my friend's trash, so I took it, painted it and added these cute number stickers (totally copied from my friend, Heidi) for more storage space.

I added these two book page wreaths I made from thrift store wreaths to the French doors.

I love the way it all turned out!!

Ice, ice baby and New Year's Eve

So yesterday, Lincoln and I were minding our own business, casually walking through a snowy parking lot on our way to a doctor's appointment, when the next thing we knew we were flat on our backs. Even though we were both wearing snow boots we slipped on some hidden black ice. I was literally airborne for a second and came down on my back--my head followed some unknown law of physics and slammed into the icy pavement. Lincoln was crying, we were both cold, snow-covered and shaken, my purse had dumped out in the fall and there was a car coming (we were in a parking lot if you remember.) We made our way into the doctor's office and tried to recover. To give you an idea of how bad it must have looked--the man who was driving the car in the parking lot followed us into the office to ask if we were okay. I thought I was, but as the day went on, I started feeling worse and worse. I woke up this morning and could barely turn my head without major neck pain. I have a severe case of whiplash! So tonight, instead of working out or cleaning or crafting or doing some of the things I usually do at night, I am laying on the couch in pain, snuggled up to a heating pad and trying to get caught up on the blog! (It's all for you, Kayla!)I

We were lucky to have Ryan's parents here for a brief visit on New Year's Eve. We don't really do much in the way of celebrating (my life goes a lot better when the kids and I get enough sleep) but we did have a nice dinner and let the kids stay up a little late to play games. Actually the three oldest attempted to stay up until midnight with Ryan, but I hit the sack around 9 pm. Here they are playing a fun new game that Ryan taught them.

I am really looking forward to this year. The house is done, my life is organized--I feel like I can be very productive this year. That is if I can ever stop falling on the ice.

A week off

It has been nice to take this week between the holidays to relax and spend time all together as a family. On Monday we met up with cousins to go ice skating. The girls spent the entire first hour giving me a MAJOR upper body workout by clinging desperately to my arms as we made our way around the rink. Finally I convinced them that they would have better balance if they would just LET GO. And of course I was right--they did great after that. So then Ryan and I decided to take Lincoln around the rink. I was frankly tired of going so slow and decided to pick up the pace a little. Then...TOE PICK! One minute I was up, the next I was down, HARD, right on my knee. I have an enormous bruise to prove it. I dragged Lincoln and Ryan down with me. Lincoln pretty much lost interest in ice skating after that.

We then decided to trade kids for an impromptu cousins sleep-over. So the girls got to go up to Firestone and we had Ross come spend the night with us.

The next day we took the kids to Ikea for dinner...and dessert.

We have played games together...

played lots of JUST DANCE 3 and Wii Fit (in hospital gowns just to keep it interesting...)

played with Christmas presents (this is some of Lincoln's homemade play-dough, which has been a massive hit with all of the kids...)

gone to the movies, redecorated the office (pictures to come) and cleaned the house (that was mainly just me.)

It's been a good break. Now I'm ready for the kids to go back so I can have my life back!

Christmas 2011

I neglected to take many pictures of the opening of the presents, but we did get these blurred shots of the kids running into the room to find what Santa left. Wow, am I artistic or what? Here is Linky

And Chloe.

I have to say that this Christmas was very special because we all put so much time and effort into thinking about others. Focusing on what we were going to make for each other and taking the time to plan and execute those plans was really rewarding for all of us. I really think that although we may not remember the gifts we made for each other, and though they certainly won't last forever, the feelings and memories we made while doing it WILL last. So I would say our DIY/handmade/homespun Christmas was a success! I definitely plan on doing it again every year.

Traditions

Christmas Eve at our house would not be complete without:

our Shepherd's Supper

New jammies

Donuts, chocolate milk and eggnog.

This year we were crazy and decided to add a new tradition into the mix. Growing up in my family we (kids) always slept in the same room on Christmas Eve. I have such great memories of us waking up early and reading "Five Minute Mysteries" to each other to try to fill the minutes before we were allowed to wake up my parents. So this year we laid out the sleeping bags and let the kids snuggle into the basement. I don't think it was the best plan--they were up until at least 9 (which is LATE for our kids.) Then they were awake at FOUR O'CLOCK in the morning!!!!!! They were wise enough to not wake us up that early, but it did make for some tired kids later in the day. Lincoln slept all through church. We will see if that tradition sticks...

Snow day!

We had a great time sledding on Christmas Eve day--the weather was perfect and the snow was too! We even took Kirby with us! He loved romping through the snow and chasing us down the hills. We loved watching him, but didn't love chasing him as he chased the other sledders down the hills! Little stinker...

Gingerbread madness

A few days before Christmas a huge storm rolled in. We had planned to go to the candy factory but I wasn't interested in driving downtown in that mess, so I made a little candy factory of our own here. We stopped by the store to pick up a few supplies...

and got to work the next day. I think we all felt a little sick by the end of it!