Day 31: Mmmmm...Brownies

January 31

Vicki wanted to make the fancy recipe on the back of the mix - complete with chocolate frosting, peanut butter swirls, and Reese's Pieces - but we didn't have frosting.  So she made the best of a less-than-ideal brownie-making situation and simply dumped an entire movie theater-sized box of Reese's Pieces on top of the plain old boring brownies.  Voila!  Super tasty, non-boring brownies!  They didn't last long.

Day 30: Grilled Chicken

January 30

Did you know it's possible to grill a whole chicken?  Well, it is.  And it's the tastiest chicken we've ever had.  Too bad the grill ran out of gas before the chicken was done this time.

Day 29: Sledding!

January 29

Our friend Daniel (brother to Anna) invited our family to celebrate his birthday at a sledding party on Mt. Hood.  This is Daniel, almost crashing into Vicki, but he managed to steer away at the last possible second.  You can tell from the looks on both their faces that a sled crash would not have been the worst thing to happen to them all day.  In fact, I kind of think they both would have enjoyed having the story to tell.  We had a blast and are excited to learn that Daniel is planning to make this party an annual event!  We have such awesome friends.

Day 28: You Can't Win

January 28

This is Ellie's tree umbrella.  It won't help much if it rains, but it looks pretty cool.  She knew I was taking a picture of her, but she refused to look at me.  She was mad because I made her walk when we took her sisters to school instead of pulling her in the wagon, which I left at home in the garage (in my defense, it's uphill the whole way home, and she's heavier than she used to be!)  Then a friend offered us a ride home, and Ellie was mad at me for accepting, rather than the two of us walking home together.  Truly, with this child, you can't win, no matter how hard you try.  But I love her anyway.

Day 27: Little Fluffy Clouds

January 27

Rare Portland sunshine; see the blue sky peeking through?

Also, see here.

Day 26: Multicultural Night

January 26

Each year the girls' school holds a Multicultural Fair.  Each grade level hosts a different continent, and the kids get "passports" and get to travel around the world in one night.  The 4/5 classes were South America, and each classroom displayed different masks they had made.  Vicki's class did Mexican clay suns.  In each room there was also an activity for the kids.  My favorite was the peace wreath, where the kids traced their hands on colorful paper, cut them out, and pasted them on a large circle.  Our school is very diverse, and families brought in traditional food from their countries, so we got to try egg rolls from a variety of Asian countries, Filipino lumpia, Portuguese "popcorn", English scones, Japanese snack mix, Indian hominy, and Mexican tamales, among other things.  I love our school.

Day 25: Isn't This Why We Have Kids?

January 25

One chore they actually don't complain about!

Day 24: This Little Light of Mine

January 24

I'm gonna let it shine.

Day 23: After

January 23

The bed isn't made, but there's no junk piled on it, and look!  They actually have carpet.  Dirty carpet, but carpet nonetheless.

Day 22: Before

January 22

Today we deep-cleaned the girls' room.  This picture doesn't do any justice at all to how bad it really was.  The closet is to the left, out of the frame, but it was pretty much knee-deep in clothes and junk, and was spilling its contents forth into the room.  We filled four garbage bags, plus a donation bag and a large bin of clothes that no longer fit anyone.  The room is now spotless, and it darn well better stay that way for a long, LONG time.

Day 21: Not On Your Life

January 21

A girl can dream.

Day 20: My Nighttime Companion

January 20

Chris travels to California quite a bit for work, but it's been a really long time since he's had to stay overnight.  Tonight, though, his flight home was canceled and the next one was at 6 in the morning.  I always sleep with the phone on his pillow when he's gone.  You know, just in case.

Day 19: At Piano Lessons

January 19

Vicki's piano lesson is in the kids' Sunday School room at a church.  This works well for us because it's a huge room and there's plenty to keep Lexi and Ellie occupied while Vicki works with her awesome teacher, Brooke.  Sometimes they even remember to stay quiet.

Day 18: Under the Umbrella

January 18

It rains a lot here.

Day 17: Just You and Me

January 17

Lexi was feeling pretty bummed today when both her sisters got to have playdates (even if Ellie's was really just 15 minutes on either side of dance class.)  So instead of a playdate, we had a Mom & Lexi date - a trip to Jamba Juice and some Wii sports.  Here she's demonstrating how the straw fits perfectly in her tooth gap.  I love my Lexi-Lou!

Day 16: Chatting with the Parents

January 16

To go along with our upgrade to high speed internet, we bought a webcam.  Tonight we tried it out by chatting with my parents (and, briefly, their dog - can't forget Uncle Riff!)  It was an overwhelming success.

Day 15: Tea Party!

January 15

Today is our friend Anna's birthday, and she invited Lexi and Ellie (and their dolls) to an English tea party to celebrate, complete with mini cakes, scones with jam and cream, and cucumber sandwiches.  It made me miss England!  I wish the doll cake had been turned the other direction for this shot, because it was amazing, but the little tea cakes are also amazing.  Anna's mom is a fabulous cook and hostess, and we had a lot of fun.

Day 14: Squeezebox

January 14

We finally upgraded to high speed internet (yes, I've been blogging for three and a half years on dial up), and this upgrade has opened up a whole new world of possibilities.  We bought this internet radio and have entertained ourselves by listening to music broadcast from Ghana, as well as setting up stations based on our own preferences (thank you, Pandora.)  We've also discovered the joys of streaming Netflix through the Wii and have introduced the girls to the awesomeness of "Mythbusters".  Six episodes in less than 24 hours, mostly at Lexi's insistence.  What did people do before the internet?

Day 13: Yes, I Called My Kid a Weirdo

January 13

And, as I turns out, I spelled "weirdo" wrong. *sigh*

Vicki was playing with my camera this morning and discovered the "draw" setting.  But she was just drawing on a blank canvas.  So I took this picture to show her how much fun you can really have.  Fortunately, she thinks it's a funny as I do.  In our house, "weirdo" isn't much of an insult; it's more of an inside joke.

Day 12: Ice Storm

January 12

Finally a valid reason for canceling school!  

Day 11: Poor Baby

January 11

And so begins what I hope will be a very short-lived bout of stomach flu in our house.  As in, only one person, please.

Day 10: Not Tae-Kwon-Do

January 10

Lexi has a...unique approach to Wii bowling.  But she also gets more strikes than the rest of us combined, so we really can't make fun of her.

Day 9: Mii!

January 9

My Mii makes me smile every time.

As a side note, do you have any idea how hard it is to get a clear shot of a TV screen?

Day 8: Please Buy Our Cookies

January 8

First day of Girl Scout cookie sales.

Although I took several pictures of them while we were out selling, I chose to post this one because it's the same house as last year.  I love how some things have changed, and some will always be the same.

Day 7: What Daddy Does All Day

January 7

We had to drop something off to Chris, and Ellie commandeered the chair and gave us a demonstration of what she believes Daddy does at work all day.  She was pretty much spot on.

Day 6: Christmas Lights

January 6

The garland on my stair rail, which, sadly, will not be up for much longer.  My house always looks so bare when the Christmas decorations come down.

Day 5: Backseat Drivers

January 5

They're not usually this blurry, and Vicki looks like she's about to fall asleep, but otherwise this is a pretty accurate depiction of the backseat of my car on any given day.

Day 4: A Trip Down Memory Lane

January 4

My parents have been storing a bunch of my old stuff, but they moved and lost a lot of storage space.  So now my old stuff is my new stuff.  This trunk holds scrapbooks of school papers, birthday cards, and newspaper clippings, and artwork from birth through 6th grade, as well as my high school letter jacket (I lettered in drama; yes, I'm a geek) and a real treasure: a ziplock bag full of letters and pictures I'd sent to my grandma over the years.  Oh, yes, and my high school class photo.  That's my entire graduating class there - I think there were 98 of us.  A few of you reading this may be able to find yourselves if you click on the photo to enlarge it.  I'm in the second row, 1st girl on the left.  My massive amount of hair is hard to miss.  Yep, those were the days.

Day 3: Tell Me I'm Not the Only Person Who Sees Something Wrong With This

January 3

Came across this gem while shopping with my daughters.  Seriously?  His t-shirt says "the Ultimate Boyfriend" in several different languages.  What age are they marketing these to?  The box says 5+, but there's no way Ellie would be remotely interested in one of these monstrosities.  Are there 5-year-olds who would?  And what message are they sending here?  That the ultimate boyfriend is one that only says what you make him say?  Oh, I could go on all day.  But instead I'll just mock it on the internet and hope that somehow I've made a difference.

Also, Sweet Talkin' Ken on the right is looking a little trashy compared to Ken on the left.  Just an observation.

Day 2: The Long and Winding Road

January 2

...that leads to my door (as seen through my filthy windshield.)

This part of the drive, though the uglies of southwestern Idaho, is definitely prettier in the winter.  In the summer, it's just dried, empty fields.  Bo-ring.

If I swear I didn't take this picture while I was driving, how many of you would believe me?

Day 1: Nieces

January 1

Uncle Britton is living the lonely life while Aunt Emily tours with her dance group, so the girls thought he could use some extra attention.

I was hoping for some sort of epic photo to begin the new project for a new year, but I never got around to taking a picture of anything epic.  This will have to suffice.  Happy New Year!