There's Still a Snowman Head in Our Freezer.

I had to squeeze in a quick post this morning to put up some recent pictures before things get crazy.  Our closing on the new (old) house is this afternoon, so after that it will be a sprint to the finish line while we take 3 weeks to get work done before move-in.  I'll try to post some before and after pics of the house, since I'm very excited to try some DIY projects from various blogs to freshen it up!  

I can't believe we're this close to saying goodbye to our time at Countryside Court. Charis turned 5 and 6 here; Hannah turned 3 and 4; Bethany turned 2 and 3; Bubby James (his new preferred name) turned 1 and is about to be 2 in a couple of weeks.  It's been a sweet time here as we've watched the kids grow up even more, and we've been blessed with wonderful neighbors, who we'll miss SO much!

Rosy cheeks from playing in our big snow a few weeks ago.

Bethy had to have the old-fashioned plastic bags over her feet to keep them dry, since I didn't have snow boots ready for her!

Cozy long johns kept them extra warm.

They built cute snowmen.  Unfortunately, this snowperson's head still stares at me every time I open the freezer...

Them's big shoes, Bubby.

The girls' best bud and my best Mommy's helper, Hailey, happens to also live next door.  We will miss this girl so much! Her name was one of Nathanael's first words.

Well hello, snowman. Thanks for guarding the frozen food goods.

Aunt Sally brought Susannah and John for a day, and Pop made it down too, so it was lots of fun! I can't believe how big Sus and John are getting.  She's such a little lady.

Sus and Uncle Mike bonded over some donuts.  He's in the circle of trust now.

The outfit she chose to walk Bogey in + the expression = hilarious.

Now this outfit is serious.  The sparkle, the animal print, the polka dots and hair bow... and her new name is, in her own words, "Emma Hailey Laura Rachel Rose Sally. And that's all."

Weirdo sticker lips

Our second field trip was to the pizza shop!  You will notice in this pic we're at McDonald's.  That's because we showed up a day early for the pizza shop field trip, and the cashier informed me, "Ma'am, we're closed."  Well, I had built it up so much that the kids were very disappointed and just had to go to a restaurant, so we went to Micky D's.  The girls were awesome!  They're getting to be such little ladies when we go out. Anyway, the next day we went on our actual field trip, and it was definitely more on par with their age level than the airplane museum.  They loved the tour of the kitchen, and we all loved the buffet and free soda refills. However, I'm finding that from a metabolic standpoint, when one is in one's thirties, this frequency of eating out is no longer as forgiving as it used to be...

Hannah inherited jigsaw skills from Pop.  I told her to smile but she said, "I can't. I have to do some investigation."

We got so tired of him wearing Bethy's pink fuzzy boots that I ordered him some manly Walmart boots.  He still prefers the fuzzy ones!

On Monday we were playing in the snow, and by Wednesday it was warm again!  I know Moms are required to tell their kids, "I am your Mom. I am not your friend." But truly, they are my best little friends.We see all of each others' failures and flaws, and we love each other anyway.