Mother/Daughter Date

A friend in the ward organized a "princess lunch & a movie" to go and see The Princess and the Frog on opening weekend. We weren't able to make it to the lunch, but we went and saw the movie with the other girls. I liked it, but it's pretty scary for a four-year-old. I'm glad that Kara and I could go on this fun little date.



Kara HAD to get a picture with Alvin and the Chipmunks (even though she has no idea who they are!) in the theater lobby.

Children's Christmas Party

Brian's work had a party for the employees' families. Joshua and Kara got to go sit on Santa's lap (but we didn't buy the expensive pictures, and we couldn't take our own), and we went to a show: "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." Later, they played a few carnival games before we went home (so that Brian could finally sleep-- he'd been at work all night!).

Joshua let me know that he was mad that Daddy stepped out for a minute.


trying not to smile while mad


Kara sat up front with the other kids.


Yay, Daddy came back!

PetSmart Visit

Now, I love animals. I think they're really cute and fun. But I don't love them enough to own and take care of them. Kara has let me know several times that she would LOVE to have a cat, but she knows that the soonest she can have one is after she moves out of the house. We might someday have something low-maintenance, i.e., fish, hamster, etc., but that's not happening right now. So to somewhat ease the kids' animal-longing, we go to the pet store a couple times a year. They love it.

"Oh, Christmas Tree..."

Kara and Joshua really had fun decorating the tree. Nada had fun pulling at the tinsel garland.

Skipping Thanksgiving, i.e., The Master Cleanse

Brian and I did this detox diet (that you can read more about here, here, and here) to cleanse our insides and to feel better. At first it was difficult not eating any solid food, especially not being able to eat the kids' food that I prepared for them, but after a couple days it wasn't so bad. I loved the energy this diet gave me and the simplicity of the drink. It was great not having to come up with meals: just drink a lemonade! Not intending to, I lost about 13 pounds (5 of which I gained right back after eating again). It so happened that Thanksgiving came and went this year while we were on the diet, so we just skipped it. The kids didn't know any better, and I sure didn't miss cooking all day. (Brian missed eating, though.) I'll probably do the cleanse again in six months or so, and Brian even said that he might do it again, too. I highly recommend trying this to resolve any health problem as an alternative to medications or surgery. I love it!

Last Sea World Trip

We had to take one more trip to Sea World before our season passes expire at the end of the year. It was Thanksgiving afternoon, and hardly anyone was there! We liked seeing all their Christmas decorations, watching the shows and animals, and enjoying the mild weather.

Standing

Nada pulls herself up to stand all the time now. She thinks she's good.

USAA 5K

We continued our tradition this year of walking the 5K at Brian's work. The first time we did this (in 2006), we only had Kara, and I was preggo with Joshua. We've grown a bit since then!

waiting for the race to begin




And we're off!


Nada conked out after about 20 minutes.



family shot with our matching T-shirts

My Little Helpers

Big brother and sister like to help. So sometimes I'll let them do this while I make dinner. It keeps all of them occupied. :)

Laughter