Flood of 2011

This year couldn't begin without incident...and in this household incident usually means a pipe bursting and a flood of some sort. We are jinxed in that way for some reason! This is our 4th official flooding since living in Texas...official meaning we were actually wading in water. We've also had unofficial floods caused by rain storms, where the carpets get wet and ruined, and our life gets turned upside down, but there's no swimming involved. This time the water spigot outside froze, and the pipe in the kids closet burst, and we all had a fun slip sliding time! HA! I guess the kids would call it fun, but Bryce and I call it something else entirely!!  I like to say this flood was "less bad than it could have been." And I guess that could mean many things, but for us it meant only half the house was flooded. We opened the front door and let the water rush out, so it didn't seep all the way through the living room and into the kitchen and master bedroom. But the kids room, bathroom, half the living room, and Bryce's studio all were sitting in a couple inches of water.

We're now in recovery mode, which means the carpets are drying out, and we're waiting for the carpet guys to come replace the pads so we can get our house put back together! It's an awful limbo. We are functioning, but barely. And people are doing their best to help us out however possible, so we'll make it through! (Plus I get to do some early spring cleaning....joy!)

As you can imagine I didn't get to snap many pics while
the flood was happening, but here's one, that sticker
is floating in the kids room

This used to be a bathroom...now it's Bryce's studio ;)
Maybe we should keep it this way!

The dry half of the house bears the burden of everything
from the wet half. And we're left with very few feet of space to maneuver and live! But Diamond Baby doesn't seem to mind!

Christmas 2010

Snacker was more excited to give 
than to receive...he insisted mama open first!

"Just one hug and you'll fall in love!"

Batman made a quick appearance Christmas morning

New books always bring a smile to Bryce's face!

Diamond baby got a little gift opening help 
from her 80's rockstar/princess sister.
(She gets a little help playing with the toys as well!)

Snacker loves the new Wii game (and his new camo boxers).

The big ONE

Diamond baby is ONE!

 

let's try this mushy stuff

I LIKE it!

more pleeeeease!

rip it rip it rip it!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Turkey for me...turkey for you

  I like to eat turkey in a big brown shoe...

Master Chef Bryce (he did all the cooking!)
and his magnificent turkey friend

THE BEAST has been hunted. Let THE FEAST begin!

Our friends Oscar & Maria joined us
(in a Monet-esque photo??)

Auntie Brit & Uncle Ben brought the fun

Snacker and his buddy Didi enjoyed
pre-feast Power Ranger action

Our two cuties watch the floats
go by in the Parade of Lights

The turkey has been gobbled, the cold weather has set in,
we're feeling festive holiday feelings..so bring on Christmas!

Halloween....comes before Thanksgiving!

Diamond baby takes a ride at the pumpkin patch

Auntie Brit & Little O pick out pumpkins

Our chariot...and slave

Snackie pulls a wagon load

Green Power Ranger

Marshmallow S'more baby

Cat, monkey, mouse - girl?

A tasty witches potion 
at our friends party

 A delicious pumpkin stew

We had a happy Halloween, 
and we hope you did too

BOO!

Hello Kindergarten...here I come.

The day's of play and freedom are gone...forever. Our boy is a school boy, and...he LOVES it!! We were, hmmm, terrified for him to start school, worried about his young age, worried about the full day away from us, worried about him making friends, worried about him following instructions, worried about him being brave enough to ask to use the bathroom, or get a drink of water. Worried about him opening his juice box at lunch, worried about him  remembering to bring home his lunch bag, worried about...well...everything obviously!! But he's proven our fears unwarranted He's made terrific friends, he loves his teacher, he's learning wonderful things and each new day is a happy day.

Let's go!!

Laina this group shot is for you...somehow we got the same family blueprint ;)

oUR SuMmer...PART 2 - Utah

After weeks of fun in CT we took a 10 day hiatus back at home before growing restless for more summer adventures, so we hopped in the car and headed out to visit Bryce's family in the West. Our adventures in Utah included a camping trip to Bryce Canyon, a hike to Stewart falls, a day at Snowbird summer resort, swimming and canoeing at the rope swing, a day on the town with Grandma Dorothy, a joint birthday celebration for Grandma Lilon and the Snack, hanging out with family, visiting old friends, pool parties, BBQ's, picnics, museums, Ghost town exploring, rock climbing, eating out, eating in, eating too much!  And so much more. We spent lot's of time with Auntie Jessica and our newest cousin cute Baby J, and we even got to see Auntie Brynn & cousin Har, and Auntie Chrissy for a day or two on their trip out from the east. Grammy and Grampy took lots of time off work to party with us, even my sister Heather popped in now and then. So it was a full trip!  And it completed our "family fix" for a while...until we grow restless for more adventures.

Summer Adventures Part II - Utah

Thanks everyone for a 
super fantastic fun Summer!

oUR SuMmer...PART 1 - Connecticut

It's been a while since we've been able to get away on any Summer adventures - since Bryce is generally teaching Summer classes, but we fell through an unexpected window of freedom this Summer...so we took full advantage of it!

It's hard to sort through and select pictures from our many, many adventures, but for the sake of holding onto the memories I will try to briefly relive our some of those moments here.

Summer adventures Part I - Connecticut

We did it all; pool, parks, family get-togethers, hiking, boating, fireworks, a trip to The City, a night at the circus, a day in Newport, a weekend in Vermont.  The kids had more fun than they could dream of. We loved every minute with everyone, and we can't wait 'til next time!!

School's in

My beautiful boy is growing up...so we figured it was about time to throw him to the pre-school wolves!  Mr. Snack began his 20+/- year journey as a school boy a couple weeks ago.  And although neither he ("I wanna play!") nor I ("7:45am already?!") are yet jumping for joy each school day, we both seem to be benefiting from this decision.  As reluctant as I was to start him on this journey so soon (he's my baby!), I realized after Little Lady was born that Snacker needs more structure and direction than I am able to give him each day! So I love that he's learning and retaining things, I love that he's meeting new people, and having to follow instructions...from someone other than just mama!  And he loves playtime and snacktime! I can't say enough how proud we are of this boy or how much we love him!

Newness

A new year brings a renewed resolve to return to blogging...a return to documenting the moments of importance in the lives of this little family!  This means, as well, that I must resolve to procrastinate less, and simply enjoy life more.

The end of 2009 brought many enjoyable moments. The birth of our 3rd child at the November was certainly one of those "moments" - rather literally. She came in what they call a "rapid delivery" - less than 20 minutes from when I signed in at the hospital. And she has been welcomed well by The Snack and O-girl - as well as a few other family members. Bryce's mother joined us two days after delivery to help us ease into life with three children. She took great care of us and we literally could not have functioned without her!! My sister Heather arrived in time for Christmas lunch (after getting stuck overnight in a freak snowstorm while driving down from Utah). And my sister Britney and her husband Ben came just in time for some New Years eve fun.

Bryce says this Christmas was our best one yet...we had the gift of a beautiful healthy baby girl, we had the joy of watching two happy little kids on Christmas morning, and we enjoyed the first white Christmas in Texas in over 80 years! Who could ask for more?