What January Looks Like

The (appropriately named) Great Smoky Mountains

Playdates

Snow Day!  Fun!

Power outage! Not so fun!

OK, it was kinda fun getting by on flashlights.

And candles.

Although the camera flash eliminates the look 

of complete darkness we were experiencing.

The girls snuggled up together to keep each other warm.

Look at this picture taken around 11 pm!

It looks like the middle of an overcast day out there.

Crazy.

 

The beautiful blue sky the next morning.

Brandon and Andrew stayed bundled up inside.

The girls and I ventured out...

with boogie boards in hand.

Temple trip with Dawn and Carrie.

Trip to Charlotte on MLK Day.

Farewell dinner for Nicolle.

We'll sure miss her and her family.  :(

Our little gymnasts

Both girls have been BEGGING to take gymnastics for the last several months.  Unfortunately, every other little girl in the area has been begging her parents, too, because all of the classes were full!  After waiting not-so-patiently since October, we finally got both of them in to classes.  And it has not disappointed.  They both love it and look forward to it every week.  I have become the mom taxi and am trying to come to terms with that.

CAROLINE

Working the bar

Catching some air

Practicing the rings

Walking on a crayon

Gingerly trying out the balance beam

Climbing the rope

(she's strong!)

WHITNEY

Handstand

Assisted back handspring

Figuring out how to use the barrel to help with back handspring

She can do it on her own now!

So fun to watch them having fun, learning new skills, and working hard.

Spotlight 2013: Andrea

 Andrea, also still in her 30's
(contrary to what Andrew wrote in our family Christmas card!)

Notable changes/events in 2012: 

*Lots of trips: Disneyworld/Legoland in Feb, beach trip with both sets of grandparents in Apr, anniversary cruise to the Bahamas in May, annual month-long summer road trip, Labor Day weekend in Denmark with Jayne, two trips to KY to celebrate time with family there, TOFW in Atlanta with Shelley.
*Whitney's baptism
*Biggest remodel on our house so far--filling in the two-story entryway

*New calling at church: counselor in the Relief Society presidency.

Follow-up from last year's hopes:

*Finish my Motivation class as well as two others![Nope.  Did finish Motivation.  And I'm 3/4 of the way through Sports Psych.]

*Take a trip to Disneyworld with my family. [Yes!  Loved it!  The kids want to go back ASAP.]

*Visit Jayne in Denmark. [Yes! Unforgettable long weekend.]

*Go to TOFW in Denver with my in-laws. [Nope. And I think Tony's done doing TOFW.  I never got the chance to hear him.  Boo.]

*Plan a getaway with Drew for our 15th anniversary. [Yes! Fabulous!]

*Take our 5th annual summer road trip. [Yes! Met new nephew (for 5 minutes) and new niece (a week later than expected) and had a fun (other than the stomach bug) reunion with Andrew's side of the fam.]

Hopes for 2013:  Spring break trip to NYC to visit Mandi and Christian and their kiddios. Finish better than .500 in my tennis matches. Annual summer road trip and reunion with my parents and siblings and Grandma Cuca.  Finish Sports Psych and two other classes toward my degree---seriously, we're getting into crunch time here. 

Favorite sport: Tennis to play.  Football to watch.

Is really good at:  Being happy.

Wish you were better at:  Being organizing and prioritizing my time wisely.

Best part about your job: Taking a few minutes when each kid gets home from school to focus only on them and hear about their day. Love that.

Favorite pastimes: Reading. Playing the piano. Tennis. Going out to eat with my girlfriends. Taking photos. Listening to programs on the Mormon Channel while I work out here at home.  Board games. Family movie night.

Favorite recent reads: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson, Calico Joe by John Grisham, How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christensen

Favorite restaurant:  Bonsai

Dessert of choice: Cheesecake

What kind of car would you like to drive?  If we lived in a small town, I would LOVE to drive a Ford F-150 with an extended cab.  Since we don't, I'd be happy with a minivan with fewer than 50k miles on it.  If we're talking just completely impractical dream car, I'd take this Lotus:

Five things that make you happy: Looking through the photos on my camera before I upload them to my computer, especially after an event or gathering. Clearance tags at Target. Watching my kids work at something and succeed. Andrew's compliments. Sunsets.

Spotlight 2013: Andrew

 Andrew, still in his 30's

Notable changes/events in 2012: Released as bishop, partially tore my ACL playing basketball.

Follow-up from last year's hopes:

That I can dunk again. [Yes.]

Finish writing a book.  [No. Not even close.]

Awesome 15th anniversary getaway.  [Ding. Ding. Ding.]

Hopes for 2013:  Have my knee recover so I can start dunking again.  Become almost fluent again in Spanish as I work with the Gate City branch on the high council. That the Panthers make the playoffs.

Favorite sport: Basketball.

Is really good at:  Writing about sports

Wish you were better at:  Exercising

Best part about your job:  The freedom to focus on the things that are most important.

Favorite pastimes:  watching Monday Night Football with Brandon, tennis with Andrea, watching multiple NBA games on my league pass, reading a good book, and snuggling with my girls.

Favorite recent reads:  Driven (Larry H. Miller's autobiography), Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card

Favorite restaurant:  The Deck House

Dessert of choice:  Ice Cream

What kind of car would you like to drive? Silver Nissan 370 Z

Five things that make you happy: Playing flag football, playing stake basketball, going on dates with Andrea, watching the kids learn and grow and succeed, the gospel.

Spotlight 2013: Brandon

Brandon, age 11

Do you have a hobby?  Yes. Playing sports, running around, and reading.  And using video time.

What do you like about school?  Social studies.

What don’t you like about school?  Everything else.  Except PE.

Five things that make you happy:  Winning, seeing my family, going on our road trip, watching movies, and finishing a goal.

If you could meet any character from a book, who would it be?  I don’t know if it would be Harry Potter or Aang.

What is the silliest thing you’ve ever done?  Live.  I’m always silly.

Would you like to play a musical instrument?  Yes.  Drums, violin, or didgeridoo

What kind of job would you like to have?  Making a lot of money at Disney World somehow.

If you could have a pet, what would it be?  Unicorn.

What’s the most important thing that you do?  Get good grades

What’s the best dessert in the whole world?  Something new that has chocolate, whipped cream, and oreos in it.

Nickname?  B Sweet

What kind of car would you like to drive?  Lamborghini Gallardo LPS 70-4 Super Leggera

What’s the coolest place you’ve ever visited?  Disney World

What’s the most exciting adventure you’ve ever had?  Camping trips where something has gone terribly wrong.

Have you ever won anything?  No.

One thing you’re really good at:  Playing video games

One thing you wish you were better at:  Having good behavior

What scares you most?  Something colliding with the earth from space

If you had a million dollars, what would you buy first?  My Lamborghini

Favorite animal?  Flying bison

Favorite snack?  Ice cream

Favorite TV show?  Avatar: The Last Air Bender

Favorite place:  Disney World

Favorite vegetable?  Asparagus

Favorite place to eat out?  Golden Corral

favorite meal?  Spaghetti when I’m starving, Country dinner on Sundays. [Country dinner = chicken, rolls, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and another veggie]

favorite season?  Summer

favorite song?  Girl on Fire

favorite game?  Monopoly

Favorite sport?  Basketball

Favorite book?  Harry Potter #1

Favorite candy?  Hershey’s Milk Chocolate or Cookies n Cream

Favorite color?  White

Favorite movie?  Tron

Spotlight 2013: Whitney

Whitney, age 8

Do you have a hobby?  Yes.  Art. I also enjoy playing with Noami.

What do you like about school?  Art.  I also like lunch and recess and math.

What don’t you like about school?  How long and sometimes boring it is.  How many reviews we do.

Five things that make you happy:  Lollipops, pie, cake, cookies, and Caroline.

If you could meet any character from a book, who would it be?  Hermione Granger because she’s so smart.

What is the silliest thing you’ve ever done?  Get in a tickle fight with Ria and Landyn when they were at my house playing.

Would you like to play a musical instrument?  Yes.  The trumpet and violin.

What kind of job would you like to have?  Professional gymnast or professional artist.

If you could have a pet, what would it be?  A chinchilla or a gentle, relaxing dog.

What’s the most important thing that you do?  Go to church.

What’s the best dessert in the whole world?  Three-layer brownies.

Nickname?  Whitster. Brandon used to call me Boo.

What kind of car would you like to drive?  A red Ferrari.

What’s the coolest place you’ve ever visited?  Mount Rushmore

What’s the most exciting adventure you’ve ever had?  Exploring huge playgrounds I’ve never been to.

Have you ever won anything?  A warhead from Ria’s fake carnival.  And I’ve won a ribbon from the Reflections Contest two times.

One thing you’re really good at:  Art and gymnastics.

One thing you wish you were better at:  Sewing.

What scares you most?  Big grandpa caterpillars that dance.

If you had a million dollars, what would you buy first?  The collectible snow queen Lalaloopsy.

Favorite animal?  Chinchilla

Favorite snack?  Fruit roll-ups

Favorite TV show?  Gravity Falls

Favorite place:  The Clay Center

Favorite vegetable?  Celery?  I don’t really have a favorite vegetable, but I kind of like celery.

Favorite place to eat out?  Golden Corral

favorite meal?  Navajo tacos

favorite season?  Winter because it’s so snowy sometimes and I love the snow.

favorite song?  "Girl on Fire" by Alicia Keys

favorite game?  Zooreeka

Favorite sport?  Gymnastics

Favorite book?  Harry Potter 3

Favorite candy?  Butterscotch candies

Favorite color?  Magenta

Favorite movie?  Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure