Stranded

So...Daphne pooped on the rug.

Then we dragged it outside and draped it over the patio chairs. We sprayed it down and scrubbed it and sprayed it again. We left it to dry.

Then we left it some more.

Then it snowed.

Then it froze solid and it snowed some more.

It's been out there for quite some time.

Anna turns 8!

Is there anything more cozy than a winter birthday during a family year? I say unto you....NO!

Not only did she get a MASSIVE bag of Coco Roos for her birthday breakfast, she got to open a morning gift before school....

That's unheard of!

A new shirt to wear to school! Cute clothes are a major part of Anna's love language.

And in a fun surprise, the girls all got letters from Kylie today. They were pretty happy about it.

Everly needed a bit of help with the reading.

Anna got an extra special gift...she was over the moon and feel super loved.  Kylie was bummed she wouldn't be able to be there for Anna's baptism coming up.

Everly did a dramatic reading of Truth Restored in honor of the birthday girl. She added lots of conflict and rhyming to jazz it up.

Pot roast dinner with all the fixins for this girl!

And a beautiful strawberry cake. With a suspicious empty space left in the middle. Just the right size for....say....

A magical fabulous candle flower! Drama baby!

It plays the birthday song, really high and really fast. We tried to sing along, which sounded just like a bunch of very excited munchkins. That's a present in itself.

And then we found out that it never turns off.

Ever.

Magicalness is wearing thin.

First we will kill the psycho candle flower. Then we'll cut the cake.

Happy 8th, Anna Jane!

Snow and wind

Can it be??

Never grow up...

Oh my word.

I love their giggles and the way they get organized because they know its hard to say no to this level of cuteness.

Ice Skating Melodrama

Hot on our heels from Arkansas were the Allreds.

We were driving home. They were driving to Kansas City for a mini vacation.

So we met them at the Crown Center skating rink for some skating! Megan was thrilled to get those skates on more that just once a year.

Did I mention how excited Meg is? She's throwing-gang-signs excited!

Everly does not share her love of the ice. She's happy to watch.

While were were all happily skating away...Sarah was hatching one of her crazy plans. She wanted to shoot a mini movie...

 featuring a brooding bad-boy (staying fresh on his current events, as bad-boys are want to do)....

and a rugged country boy (clearly in need of a smooch)

Sarah is giving directing cues to her romantic leads...Mathew may find the cousin aspect a tad embarrassing...

But his theater background came through for him. The show must go on!

And now we have the country boy...swooping in to save the lovely lady.

What a minute! Is that a ring??? This isn't Arkansas!!

Coming to theaters very near us...Spring 2019.

Up goes the tree!

With Thanksgiving coming so early in November, the tree is going up early too! Rules are rules and everyone knows we put up the tree the day after....unless we're tired and we don't feel like it. Then we break the rules. Because everyone knows that rules are made to be broken. 

That's the rule.

This is also the year that I decided that life is way too short to be meticulously winding every branch with lights. It takes hours and with every branch I feel more and more angry that I'm the only one working on it. So I decided to skip it. And skip the anger. 

It's totally fine! A little wonky and perhaps overloaded...but at least I'm not fuming in the corner. 

That's a win for Christmas!

Thanksgiving and Joe

This year Thanksgiving lined up nicely with Grandpa Joe's 80th birthday....so we drive.

We stayed with John and Shannon and hit a movie the first night..I was pleased to see that the ways of popcorn sharing and working the system run deep in our family. We fit right in....

One large refillable popcorn please! And 6 empty nacho trays, if you don't mind.

The next day we enjoyed lots of down time with cousins...

The cute little girls were so excited to help roll the rolls.

Mark and John took on the frying of the turkey.

It started off a typical November day, but the sun came out and we soaked it right up.

All done! Crispy and juicy....and done in a fraction of the time!

We ate and cleaned up and took naps...it was such a chill relaxing day. Then it was time to get ready to head over to Sarah's for pie and Joe's birthday celebration.

I decided to grab a shower and freshen up the do.... I could't help to notice an uncanny resemblance to...

Larry. The most underrated of the Stooges.

We snapped a quick family photo on the way out the door. I am forever conscious of the need of bookend photos for the covers of our yearly blog book. This one will do nicely!

When the Huffords do pie. They do pie.

We love Grandpa Joe so much!

His son, Doug, organized and requested photos of Joe with each of his kids and grandkids. Then he combined them all to make a fun memory for Joe to keep. I think he felt how much we all cherish him!

Pie time!!

And Werewolf game time....this is where Mathew shines....

and where I go find more pie and a comfy chair to sit and chat.

Me and the boys having fun with selfies. Get ready for this... it's so flattering.

I love them...they really are so different, but in equally lovable ways.

Back to John and Shannons. The girls promised they would go to sleep but just needed a bit more time to draw and share story ideas. How do you say no to that??

A little more drawing time together before we headed home!

Happy Thanksgiving!!