2016 so far...

I have neglected this blog for over a year now and I really want to get into the routine of writing regularly to document our lives and the memories we have made.

I started this blog January 10th, 2009 and I've written 690 posts. It's a great resource and place to keep track of all of our memories. I turned the first 2 years of blog posts into a book and I really need to do that with the rest but it's very time consuming. It's awesome to look back at pictures and the things we have done.

So what have we been up to so far this year? 

We took the girls ice skating for the first time. They were both champs with the little walker. Haylee even ventured out without it and did great when sticking by the wall. Me, not so much. My skates were killing my feet and I couldn't get the hang of it. And Josh was like a natural!

We took the girls to see Frozen on Ice. That may have been my favorite ice show. It was adorable!

Faith & Rose turned 1 and Dakota turned 2!

We went to Josh's annual work party. We had yummy food, treats from the ice cream man, the girls went on the rock wall, we watched a hypnotist and participated in the pinewood derby. Josh tied for the People's Choice award for the favorite vehicle and the girls car one a few races.

We spent 4 weeks selling Girl Scout cookies! Haylee did 11 booths totaling 18.5 hours and sold 541 boxes!! She beat her goal of 525 boxes and earned her trip to Sunsplash. Natalee sold 234 and beat her goal of 200.

February 1st I started my journey to live a healthier lifestyle. I am trying to pay attention to what I eat and try new foods that are healthier. I completed a 30 day cleanse and I also started PiYo. Everything was great until we went on vacation but I am slowly getting back on track. I have been consistent at my treadmill "workout" and I actually enjoy doing it. In 30 minutes I burn over 200 calories, take over 3000 steps and walk a tad over 1.5 miles. I have been drinking a doTERRA TrimShake every morning and taking my Slim & Sassy pills at lunch because it helps me not snack all day and stay away from sugar. I have lost a couple pounds but what is more important to me is just toning up a little bit.

Josh and the girls went to the Daddy-Daughter Dance and their school. This was Natalee's first time going and they all had a wonderful time.

The girls both had Valentine's Day parties at Girl Scouts and school. Natalee and I went into Haylee's classroom to help out and watch everyone pass out their cute Valentine's.

Charlotte is finally an outdoor tortoise! She is loving her new house but has been escaping everyday so we need to build up her wall.

The cold and flu season is kicking butt this year! Poor Haylee got the flu and was sick with a fever for 9 days! Because she was vaccinated she had a milder case (thank God) but she felt so crummy for way too long. She also missed her field trip.

Our sweet little Kona girl turned 3 in January. She is such a sweet goofy little girl and we are thankful she is a part of our family.

In the 8 years we have lived here we have never seen a scorpion at our house. That change on Saturday. Natalee found this little guy dead in the living room. I think Kona killed it the night before. I sure hope this doesn't become a common occurrence in our home. They freak me out!

The girls are both doing awesome in school. They have both earned Principal's Pride every grading period this year for having straight A's. I am so proud of my little geniuses. 

And that's about it! Hopefully I can keep caught up now!!

Christmas 2015

Our sweet little elf, Fred, returned to keep an eye on the girls again this year. And like always, he got into mischief. 

We converted to LED lights this year! It was so nice to not have to worry about the lights constantly turning off or random strands going out. Now we just need to stock up on other LED decorations. 

We started a new tradition this year. The 25 Books of Christmas. The girls loved opening a new book every night to sit by the tree and read. It can definitely get costly but I bought a bunch of the books in the dollar spot at Target, Dollar Tree and cheap books from Scholastic.

 

The girls love our Christmas Countdown. In addition to a piece of candy, I added a fun activity. The girls raced downstairs every morning to see what Fred did and check the countdown.

The girls wrote Santa a letter letting him know what they wanted and to bring it to the cabin! 

We went to the Celebration of Christmas this year and got to see Santa! We always love going to that show and our favorite part is when they tell the story of Jesus' birth complete with the wisemen on camels.

Since we were spending Christmas at the cabin, I felt "woodsy" ornaments would be appropriate for this years ornaments. Natalee got a fox and Haylee got an owl.

We had our annual Mother-Daughter baking day and made all of our yummy favorites. My favorites are lemon bars and peanut butter fudge!

Last Day of School till 2016! The girls were excited for Christmas break (and dress down day)!

Every year we go to Chris's house first before going to look at other Christmas lights. This year was no different. Except this year, I mapped out a new route to see lights. Some were awesome and some were lame. Lesson learned.

I took the girls to see the Nutcracker ballet. It would have helped if I had remembered it was a silent show. I thought it was more like a stage show. The girls were upset there was no talking.

Both girls marched in the QC Holiday Parade with Girl Scouts, my Mom and I made a bunch of doTERRA gifts again this year (soap, body butter and sugar scrub) and we went to Merry Main St for the first time which was a total waste of time!

And then we went to the cabin... We seriously had the best Christmas. We went up Christmas Eve and set up the tree and a few decorations. 

We let the girls open their Christmas Eve gifts, we put reindeer food outside so Santa could find our cabin, they said goodbye to Fred and went to bed.

Santa came!

Christmas morning we opened presents...

And saved the best (main gifts) for last. Haylee & Hannah got keyboards and Natalee got a desk. This is what they asked Santa for.

 Stocking time!

And then the snow started. It snowed the rest of the day and made for the perfect white Christmas like we had hoped for. Danielle, Hector and Nevaeh came up later that day and we had dinner and played games. 

The next day it snowed the entire day as well and I couldn't get over the beauty of it all. And the dogs liked it too! 

We took some pictures, made snow angels and even had a snowball fight!

BEST CHRISTMAS EVER! I think this will definitely be a yearly tradition.