It's about time!

I know, I know. I am a horrible blogger. I mean, c'mon...Thanksgiving?! And so much has happened since then!

First, let's talk about Christmas. Fun. I love Christmas with teenagers, especially the ones that really and truly love each other. I happen to have 5 of them. Christmas morning is such a joy. We sleep in, we lally-gag around, we eventually mosey downstairs for some calm and mellow present-ing. This year, the kids took better care of each other (and their parents) than we did of them! (shhhh...don't tell anyone, but I kinda like that they all have jobs and can spend some of their money...except Stu... He's still jobless...)

We did some simple gifts, and some travel gifts, since we were taking the train to Sacramento again for SuperGrands, the World Karate Championships, with Kelle and Jess. Stu was going to stay here and work with his cousin Alec, and take care of the animals. (He did a great job, too. Very responsible 16 year old. Yay for his parents!)

Speaking of SuperGrands...we have a newly crowned, 14-year old blackbelt world title holder at our house. Yep, Kelle is the bo master, officially. She won for her creative, non-musical bo kata, and won a certificate, a mini-superbowl-looking ring, and an embroidered NBL 2010 1st place black belt. She can wear that belt with pride all around the tournament circuit this year, and it will give her a little more clout with the judges. They will know they are looking at a world champ! We were SOOO proud of her! Jess also did well, taking 3 2nd place awards, and a 3rd. Last minute (like the night before), Shiree decided to wild card a traditional kata division, and placed 2nd. What a kid! It was a great trip, and fun to see them all do so well.

January brought more of the same old, same old. School, laundry, dishes, work. Bright spot: Babies! Aiden and Tate come every morning, bright and smily, and we have a great time. They hug and kiss when they first come, and love to snuggle with and talk to Uncle Dave. They are a joy to have in my home. Also in January, Jessica gave a solo voice recital, and did fantastic. She has been training her voice since she was 10 years old, and the girl has some PIPES! A very nice evening.

Winter means sledding for the boys, and they have been out once or twice. One trip, Stu and his friend Josh went without dad. It was probably -20 with the wind chill. But true to form, Stu forgets everything when on a sled, and forgot to let his face warm up. He came home with frostbite all over his face. It was black. Nose, cheeks, chin, neck. He said he would stop sometimes and try to pull his jacket up to protect his neck and face, but then the snaps would freeze to his neck, so he just rode without. I bet he will think twice before he rides without a face shield again! Well, we will hope, anyway.

Valentine's Day was nice with my sweetheart. We had a house makeover on the Saturday before, kind of on purpose, but kinda by chance. You see, we had the carpets cleaned, and they had a little mishap that involved having my subfloors replaced in both upstairs bedrooms. While we had the carpet up, we decided to replace the bedroom carpet with something new and a little less stainable. Then we decided to replace it through the living room and hall. And, gee, while that room is all torn apart and no furniture in it, let's take down the wallpaper and repaint! So we did. All on Saturday. Whew! It looks fantastic, but we had a very low-key Sunday, recovering from a big day. We even had the pictures hung and all the furniture back in the room by 11:30 Saturday night. Then for Valentine's, even though I technically got a new upstairs, Dave and I took a ride in his Vette and went to dinner. We went early so we could avoid the long waits, and then went up to sit at the temple and talk. It was very nice to spend the evening together remembering why we love each other, and to be sitting at the temple.

Now, since it may be another 3 months til you hear from me again, enjoy the last days of winter and we hope the summer finds you well! (And Iwill try to repent and get some pics up and a blog sooner than later...) (: