When Florida Freezes Over

So, last week it was my turn to do preschool and I did it on different kinds of weather.  A couple of the kids had never seen snow, which I thought was sad.  It turned out to be perfect timing though, because this morning when they looked out their window, they would have been able to catch their first glimpse of the white stuff.

Who knew that when we moved to "the Sunshine State" my kids would get 3 days off of school for a snow/ice storm?!?  It was mainly a sleet/freezing rain storm, the snow was just a dusting, but regardless, it made the roads extremely hazardous and it was nice to have a few bonus days off.  I'm just glad I never said, "It'll be a snow day in Florida before I  . . . ", otherwise I would have spent the past couple days doing a lot of things I really didn't want to do.  Luckily, instead I've been able to catch up on a few things I never have time for because I'm always running around.  Like catching up on my mending,  organizing my bathroom, drinking hot chocolate while having a 6 hour Anne of Green Gables marathon with my girls, making chicken noodle soup, and writing this blog, to name a few.  

 The girls have also made the most of the time off and the "snow".  Besides playing, reading, and watching movies, the girls decided to "go sledding" on the golf course.  They tried the tube first and that worked out okay until it popped on the ice.  Then they got the great idea of the boogie boards . . . They had fun, but when they came in they were freezing!  It never got above the 20's today.  And with the humidity, it felt much colder than that.  We found out that school is also cancelled tomorrow, so we'll have to see what else they come up with . . .

In addition to snow, January has been a month of many more firsts for our family.  I wouldn't say they were New Year's resolutions, just firsts.

Analise got a rip-stick for Christmas and Aly taught her how to ride it.  She was a natural!  Her gymnastics really helped out with balance and core strength.

Kate gave up baton (she said it made her arm heavy) and has decided to try out ballet instead.  We'll see where this train takes us . . . 

Here is Kate with her "Santa Beard" napkin to protect her clothes while eating spaghetti.  I thought it was very ingenuitive to think to rip slots for the napkin to hang on her ears.  

Kate's other new tactic she's tried recently was hair-spraying her hair to make it look wet so she could get out of taking a bath.  Everyone I've told this to has laughed, and in retrospect I can chuckle as well.  However, at the time I was not happy with her in the slightest.

I was able to have breakfast at school with Kate and read to her class for their "Day of Reading". Her breakfast of choice from the school cafeteria?  Lucky Charms with chocolate milk.  Breakfast of Champions, I'm tellin' ya.

Kylie decided to try her hand  at hair cutting.  It's a rite of passage I suppose.  Those pig tails were just too long and too tempting.

She loved getting her hair cut though and loves her short hair, so I'm not sure if she learned her lesson or not.

And here are a couple of pictures of Lise and Kylie doing some sort of super hero wrestling or something . . . I'm not quite sure what exactly was going on.  Lise got a quote of the week when we were looking at houses to rent in Kentucky FHE -  "Let's get a smaller house, because I got lost a couple of times in this house."

Aly has had her first couple of swim meets and has done AWESOME!  She has never competed in swim before, but has placed 5th in the 25 free stroke and 25 back stroke, 6th in the 50 back stroke, and 9th in the 200 medley relay (she swims the breast stroke portion).  Go Aly, Go!!

Aly got a quote of the week of her own when she couldn't find something.
Me - You lost it?
Aly (totally serious) - No, I didn't lose it; I just put it somewhere I couldn't find it.
Me - That's the definition of losing something.

The other thing that cracks me up is that Aly has gotten into watching "Saved By the Bell" on Netflix.  One of her friends recommended it to her and I think she's already in season 2.  So the theme song that I had in my head for a decade is now stuck there again, "By the time I grab my books, and give myself a look, I hit the corner just in time to see the BUS FLY BY!  It's alright, 'cuz I'm Saved By The Bell!"  (Yes, I wanted it stuck in your head as well.  You're welcome.)

As for me, I have been frantically organizing and cleaning my house to get it ready to start showing to possible renters.  I kind of have this control freak thing going that when I feel my life is out of control I deal with it by cleaning and organizing (aka controlling the only thing I have control over - my house).  I have friends tell me that my house always looks really clean and organized though, so I must feel like my life is out of control a lot! ;)  But with getting ready to move while Chris is still deployed I think it's put my organizing on steroids.  Oh well, at least I get a nice clean house out of it! Plus, I think it's helping me to get rid of stuff before the move, which is always good.

And finally, My Grandma Webb (my mom's mom) passed away this last week.  She had been going downhill for awhile and so it wasn't a big shock and it was probably for the best, but it hit me a lot harder than I expected.  I think it brought a lot of what I'm dealing with from the summer back to the surface.  For one thing, it made me feel jealous that my Grandma gets to go be with my Mom, Jess, and my Grandpa, while I still have to wait.   For another thing, it made me feel that the people I love are being picked away from me one at a time, which left me feeling very alone.  I distinctly remember 2 summers ago (when this picture was taken) receiving a distinct impression while visiting my Grandma that I had been blessed with such a wonderful heritage of love and faith, and that it was now my responsibility to be strong and pass that on to my own children.  I did not realize at the time, of course, that that would mean I would be losing my Mom and sister, in addition to my Grandma.  However, as I've dealt with this additional loss, my children have been my saving grace.  They give me purpose and direction.  When Kylie comes running down the stairs in her PJ's and says, "I love you Mommy," I pick her up in a big hug and know I am where I am supposed to be.  My children need me and I must not fail them.  

I love this poem that my sister, Laura, posted on Facebook for my Grandma's passing.  I love it because she really did live a good life and lived it to the fullest - she was waterskiing at 84 years old!!  The Webb side had a family tradition for just about every holiday (including Halloween and 4th of July!)  My grandma made everything a party -  going to Pace's after the dentist for burgers, "popcorn parties" while watching the news, getting together on Sunday just to hang out, playing volleyball in the backyard and eating watermelon in the summer, or just playing cards at the kitchen table.  It was special just because we were together; and that's how she made you feel.  I am so, so blessed to have grown up with so many people who always made me feel so loved.  So I will therefore do my best to pass this spirit of  love and faith on to my own posterity - as long as I am on the earth.

Home for the Holidays

It was Christmas #2 (in a row) without Chris home, so we decided to make the trek out to Utah again for the holidays.  This time we arrived with sickies (me included), and passed it around.  (See Kate below with her "TV eyes" as she calls them.  The cold settled into her eyes and she looked miserable.)  I was seriously sick from a couple weeks before Thanksgiving until Christmas.  The kids would each be sick for like 3 days and that's it, but they were able to rest and sleep it off whereas I had to keep chugging.  I think while I was in Utah I was finally able to get enough rest to get better!

Of course, this Christmas was going to be different than previous ones at my parent's house, with Jess and my Mom not there.  I was nervous that when I arrived there would be a gaping hole and loneliness to the whole thing.  And we did miss them a ton - more than I can describe, but despite that, I could feel their presence in a very real way while I was there.   It was still my family and it still felt like "coming home."  The house was just so my mom; it's like she and Jess were still there.  I was very grateful for that.  Also, I want to say a huge "THANK YOU" to Matt for putting up all the Christmas decorations!

So, despite the sickness and missing those who weren't there, we still were able to have a lot of fun being together.  Matt and Kate went out in the back to make snow angels and, since the snow was too crusty to make a big snowman, they made a miniature one instead.  Love the leaf hat and tie.

We had our traditional Christmas eve dinner in front of the Christmas tree with all the traditional dishes - thanks to my Sister-in-law Tiffany and all the months of hard work she put in to making these awesome cookbooks of all my mom's recipes for everybody (even bean things & spaghetti were included! ;)>).  I love how she included pictures to go along with the recipes and quotes from the family.  (Spence & Tiff, we sure missed having you there!)

Christmas morning was fun and the kiddos seemed pretty happy with their loot.  Notice how everybody loves their new jammies.  Also, -  HOORAY FOR MODERN TECHNOLOGY! - we were able to Skype with Chris on Christmas (and a few other times as well.)  This helped to complete Christmas for me, having him be a part of it and gaining strength from his love and support.  I'm grateful for the sacrifice he gives.  I can only imagine how hard it is to see everyone celebrating Christmas while he has to work that day - and every day, for 6 months straight.  I am married to a truly amazing man.

In addition to the cookbook, there were a few other special gifts given this Christmas.  When my mom died my dad helped me create a charm bracelet from some of her jewelry to remind me of her, such as a tennis racket, the doorknob from the Salt Lake temple, and the booties for my four children from her grandmother's necklace.  For Christmas I got a few charms added to it - a waterski, a ski boat, and a U of U pennant.  Also, someone anonymously left on our doorstep a gift bag for my Dad and each of my siblings (one was even sent to Arizona for Spencer.)  Inside we each found a fleece U of U blanket and a letter addressed to us from my Mom and Jess telling us that they loved us, missed us, and were thinking about us this Christmas.  I am very grateful for such thoughtful guardian angels who bless our family.

After Christmas, we were able to go see Chris' family by going out to dinner and heading up to the mountains for a few days.

The kids loved sledding behind the snowmobile and Aly actually learned how to drive the snowmobile this year and LOVED IT (with adult supervision, of course).

Kylie and I had a fun sledding turn as well.  However, we fell off and so we were done after that.

When we got back to my parent's house, we went from frozen water to a swimming pool!  The South Jordan community center pool was amazing.  It had everything from slides (including a large water slide) to a lazy river to a whirl pool, which my kids called a toilet bowl (see below).

Princess and the Frog??

"The Toilet Bowl".  Brings a new meaning to "Dropping the Kids off at the Pool". . .

We still were able to go out for our Sibling dinner, which was an awesome time for us just to get together and laugh and talk.  Luckily the restaurant wasn't crowded, because I think we stayed there for like 2-3 hours!  And since the kiddos were sleeping over at Laura's, afterwards Matt and I decided to go see a movie.  It was a lot of fun.

For another night of fun we took the kids to the nickelcade.  It was my kids' first time going to one and I don't think I'd been to once since high school.  They loved it.

And then, there was New Year's.  Laura (the fun, party aunt) didn't disappoint with her New Year's activities.  There was something to do in each balloon and they would take turns popping a balloon every hour or so.  

There were hula hoop contests, bubble gum blowing contests, movies and popcorn parties, resolutions and decorating of hats.

And don't forget the ever popular candy bar game!!

 . . . getting ready to run outside and bang our pots and pans and do fireworks!

During this trip I was also able to attend the temple with my Dad, which was really nice.  It almost didn't happen, since the day we went to go (New Year's Eve) it was closed so we went to breakfast instead.  Thankfully we were able to go the morning of the day we flew home.

Here are some snapshots of us at the airport waiting for the plane.  Kate came home looking pretty beat up.  While running on Grammy's treadmill, one of her cousins (who shall remain unnamed) changed the speed and she scraped up her chin.  Then, while helping take down the Christmas decorations, she hit herself in the eye with some garland.  Add to that her cracked lips and she just looked rough.

Lise was busy frantically reading to make up for all the lack of reading she had done on the trip . . .

 . . . Kylie was playing (very seriously) with her ponies . . .

. . . and Aly and I were playing cards.

As far as flying goes, this was probably one of the best flying experiences I've had with children.  It could be because we were flying at normal hours and not arriving at midnight or leaving at the crack of dawn.  I'm also hoping that I've finally gotten to the point where my kids are old enough to handle themselves while flying.  I did have the girls do jumping jacks during layovers, but I was able to sit with different kids for each flight (Kylie was actually willing to sit with Aly and Lise for a leg of it!) and it went pretty well.  So, despite the things I dislike about flying home for Christmas (packing all the cold weather gear, getting sick, and figuring out how to do the presents back and forth, to name a few), it turned out to be a good trip and I was grateful to be with family and "home for the holidays."