31/365

Brynn bundled up on our back deck.

30/365

Nyah taking a shower. What two year old prefers to shower over taking a bath?  That would be Nyah. She keeps things lively around here!

29/365

Brynn looking cute. Brynn trying to look tough with a sword.

28/365

Nyah's favorite things... noodles, apple juice, and Dora.

27/365

My pictures today were all noisy and dark.  The only way to salvage them was to put a "fun" spin on them so here is Nyah's picture edited to look like an older picture - I think - I tried so many ways to make it decent I can't remember the final process.

26/365

Behind a slow bus.  On our rural roads.  Always when I am late.  Ugh.  Taken through a very dirty window to boot!

25/365

Price and one of his 2nd grade friends, both younger siblings of kids on the OM team I help coach.  They were giggling and having such a good time and were resting after running from the playground to the track to say hi to one of their teachers.

24/365

Brynn and her new horse, Star.  Brynn spent her own money to buy her.  She LOVES horses and thinks we should have one in our yard.  I see riding lessons in the future, but not a pet horse.

23/365

Nyah, eating an apple.  Thrilling isn't it?  I am ready for warm, sunny weather.  I picked a bad month to focus on taking pictures without a flash since we have not had a lot of outdoor time.

22/365

One of the local GS troops hosted a Sock Hop for the other troops.  Brynn had a good time though notice she is the only one facing to the right during the Ch* Ch* Slide.  I can also confirm she is the only one with a slinky on her nose.

21/365

This is Evan's second back-pack of the year.  The strap broke so I was cleaning it out to throw away. Guess the weight of books and a full lunchbox isn't enough for Ev.

20/365

Nyah on her way to a "princess" party.  The first time an S child has worn a princess dress I think.  Since then she has worn the dress, worn the crown, carried the shoes, or held the wand every day since.  Of course there has frequently been a sword or a train in the other hand.

19/365

We, well I, resisted have a dvd player in any of our vehicles until recently, when we bought our new-to-us van that had one in it already.  It has made riding with our most-challenging-on-a-car-ride-over-an-hour child soooo much more enjoyable.

18/365

We took the kids ice-skating at an indoor rink with a game room.  Brynn loved the skating.  Caleb liked it.  Evan didn't try it until before we were leaving but ended up liking it.  Price didn't try.  Brynn and Evan have very different styles; Brynn is cautious and hardly falls but we move slowly while Evan wipes out regularly because he tries to skate above his current ability.  He thought he was ready for the middle, where they were doing tricks, a few minutes into buckling his skates on. LOL!

17/365

We were over my parents watching football when the boys took a break to check their email.  We let them each get a well-monitored one this week and they love to check it. A LOT!  Puts a lot of pressure on the 1/2 dozen of us that they have permission to email.

16/365

Brynn decided around dinner time, after cheerleading and running around with her friends, to practice her letters.  Guess it wasn't all that much fun!  Not sure the patch is doing her eye much good here. Later we all ate dinner around her while she slept.

15/365

Hope your plans for the day were more exciting than mine!

14/365

It is very hard around here to find a quiet spot to read or do homework.  Seconds later Nyah was jumping on the bed just to add to the distractions.

13/365

Brynn is a Daisy Girl Scout this year and gets so excited to wear her vest and to get new patches. I pulled my old sash out from my scouting years... she was impressed! ;-)

12/365

Missing your phone? Chances are good that Nyah is either 1) using it to make a call, 2) using it to take a picture, or 3) has hidden it so she can use it later.

11/365

Price asked us if he could have an email account the other day so we let him have access to a very well-monitored one.  He loves getting and sending messages and if he had his way, would check it 100 times a day. He is such a social butterfly!

10/365

Nyah in the bath tonight. She refused to look at me knowing I had the camera, the little stinker!

9/365

Here is Brynn cheering as the basketball players' names are called before Evan's game.  She did cheer for all the players but she definitely cheered louder and longer for her brother... and she was giddy with excitement when she knew he would be the next player introduced.  Love it!

8/365

Nyah still and peaceful. A rare moment!

7/365

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These are just some of the deer that like to hang out in the grassy area between our house and the neighbors. We have seen as many as 14 at one time.  They barely move when we pull in the driveway now.  Nyah likes to talk to them; maybe they understand what she is saying because we do not!

6/365

Brynn LOVES the new camera she got for Christmas. It is a little freaky hearing her talk the same way and with the same words I know I must use when I am trying to coax a decent picture out of her or her siblings. LOL.

5/365

With three playing basketball and one cheering for basketball right now, we spend a lot of time in the poorly lit gym.  As if that isn't enough, I typically am holding Nyah while trying to take a shot. Someday I may get a clear picture, maybe!

4/365

We were all happy when Doug returned from Dallas, though we are glad he had a good time there. Evan loved his new hat. Daddy knew better than to bring Price and I similar items.  Go Giants!

3/365

I think vacation has caught up with Evan. He didn't even make it to 8pm tonight, falling asleep while we were watching a movie. Two more days until it is back to school and back to a routine... well, as much of one as a family of 7 can have!

2/365

Today we went to pick up Brynn's glasses.  Though this picture from the parking lot doesn't really show it, she was very excited.  She had been wanting them since her first trip to the eye doctor two years ago. She has this blue pair and her favorite, a pink pair.

1/365

Tomorrow the rest of the Christmas decorations come down and I am actually sad about it.  I love our living room this time of year... the lights, the tree with so many ornaments with stories, the stockings, etc.  This year four of the kids got new stockings; I ordered ones with Chinese details for the girls knowing Brynn would love that and Price and Evan got to pick out their own so we have a basketball one (that plays that "Hey now, you're an allstar..." song) and a UVA one respectively.  Caleb's got a new one when he was 5 I think and while it has a train on it and he is past that stage, it is the largest so he hasn't mentioned getting a new one! ~ This picture was taken at 11:55pm so I didn't quite wait until the last minute, though I did discover my camera time was incorrect so really it looked like I was much more efficient than I was!