See Jan Run. Jan Ran(domness) (January 2018)

The cold weather followed us down from Tennessee and I LOVED it.  Hooray for winter and wearing boots and sweaters and coats and cozying up with a blanket on the couch.  We even got a "snow" day off of school.  The snow never actually materialized,  but we enjoyed it, just the same.  I Just loving having seasons all around.

So, January was just back to the old grind with a few new plot twists and a lot of random craziness.

"Mr. Merry Cat Hiss"

Before we put the Christmas Decor away the girls decided to have a little fun with the block lettering . . . 

"Hulk is Always Fat"

"Always Be Math Fans"

. . . Kylie decided to turn herself into a fox . . .

I especially love the tail she made out of foam sheets!

. . . Kate turned her Bo Staff into a "Bow" Staff . . . 

. . . and I discovered this delicious Greek version of 7 layer dip.  Hummus, Greek Yogurt, Greek Seasoning, Spinach, Tomatoes, Cucumber, & Feta all eaten with some Pita Chips.  Mmm, Mmm, Mmm!

In January we also had a youth temple trip, so our family headed up the night before so Chris and I could attend a session together before helping out the youth.  They had more than enough women, so I stayed out with the kids.  Since a pipe had burst in the church from the arctic blast that was hitting the South, we first went to Fantastic Sams to get a much needed haircut.  Next, we found this playground, but it was only in the teens outside so we didn't last more than 5 minutes.  So yeah, movie in the car it was.  

And here's a few fun quotes from the temple road trip:

(While Driving in the Car) 

Me - Kate, I want you to finish your science worksheet while it's still light outside.

Kate - But I only have one question left.

Me - What's the question?

Kate - Number 5.

(After passing the Panera Exit)

Kylie - Are we going the right way?

(After seeing the licence plate of the car in front of us: BLT TUF)

Chris - That probably means that you slap him once and he crumbles like a crappy potato chip!

(Hahaha!)

 Speaking of bursting pipes, the cosmos musta known that Chris was heading to Afghanistan for a month because seriously, as I was driving him to the airport Kate calls us on the phone to tell us that there is a waterfall spewing from the side of our house because a sprinkler pipe broke.  Nice.  Here is a picture of Kate and I, soaking wet, after trying to turn it off.  Thankfully our awesome neighbor came by and helped us out. 

On another note, I had told the kids that we would try out the fro-yo in the gas station a few months back and they had been hounding me relentlessly ever since.  January seemed like the perfect time to try it out - right?

Something fun I got to do in January was attend the play "Charlotte's Web" with Kylie and her class.  I love going on class field trips!

 And finally, at the end of December I was released from Young Women's and put into the Primary Presidency.  I will definitely miss hanging out with the awesome Young Women in our Ward, but I am also excited to be back in with my two younger girls and the amazing primary children.  Kids are just awesome!

"Great to be 8" Baptism Preview.  What a great group of kiddos!

When You and Your Daughter Start Imitating Each Other . . . (Flashback Sept 2017)

Found these gems the other day and couldn't pass them up.  So Lise has got a flair for being overly dramatic (why do you think she does so well in Drama kids?)  So anyway, sometimes I will imitate what she is doing and then she will ALWAYS say, "I didn't do it like that! This is how you were doing it" and then do an over-dramatization of my imitation of her dramatization and on and on it goes. So one day we decided to video it to see who was more accurate. And here are the results . . .  

When Your Kids Ask to Borrow Your Phone . . . (January 2018)

Seriously, Analise doesn't even have a smart phone, but she sure knows how to use mine - better than I do!  She has taken it upon herself to add a picture for all the contacts in my phone and often asks to borrow my phone so she can mess around with my camera/video features.  She's a creative genius you know. ;p.  Here is some of her  genius in action.

Meanwhile Kylie one day randomly appeared in this getup (full on with way too big bicycle gloves, bike pump with no pin, and bike helmet on backwards) to "shoot Lise's multiple personalities."  Nice.

As the (O'Gwin) World Turns (Family Newsletter 2017)

 Here’s what’s been going on in our (crazy) world for 2017:

Chris – 2^nd Counselor in the Bishopric, Battalion Commander in 7^th Group, Special Forces, Avid reader and history buff, Workout Enthusiast, and World Traveler (Puerto Rico, Colombia, Brazil, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago.)  Pretty much saving the free world as we know it.

Stacy – Young Women’s 1^st Counselor, Elementary Library Volunteer, Lunch Bunch Planner, Social Exerciser, Parade Dancer, Homework Tutor to 4 daughters, Chauffeur, Chef, and Maid.  Pretty much keeping the world spinning (at least at the O’Gwin residence.)

  

Aly (16) – XC/Track Runner, Physical Therapy Attender, Driver’s License Holder, First Date Experiencer, Academic Letterer, AP Exam Passer, Avid Reader, Social Coordinator, EFY Lover, Mini Triathlon Finisher. Pretty much planning to travel and take on the world.

Lise (13) -  Dancer, Drama Kids Thespian, Face Metal Collector (braces & pierced ears), National Junior Honor Society Member, Washington DC traveler, Fashionista, Baker, imaginary YouTube video maker, Pinterest Expert, Teenager.  Pretty much (thinks) she has the world figured out.

Kate (10) – Parade Dancer, Book Club Attendee, Robotics Engineer, Academic Team Member, Tallahassee Traveler, Blue Belt/weapons training Karate Student, Legos expert, Investigation Master.  Pretty much wants to experiment and figure out how the world works.

Kylie (7) – Dancer, Baton Twirler, Swimmer, Tooth Fairy Favorite, Netflix Addict, Trampoline Bouncer, Candy Fanatic, Friend Lover, and Emotional Extremist.  Pretty much is on top of the world or thinks hers is going to end at any given moment.

Well, we hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of “As the (O’Gwin) World Turns.” As always, some of the best times of the year were spent visiting family, having family visit us, and spending time together camping, hiking, boating, running, swimming, dancing, and just enjoying each other and the beautiful world we live in.  We hope that you had a wonderful year in 2017 and that 2018 brings many more blessings and cherished memories. 

Love, The O’Gwin Family

Oh Take Me to the Mountains! (Gatlinburg, TN December 2017)

So, I really wanted to have some real winter for Christmas, so we decided to go rent a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN in between Christmas and New Years.  No snow :(, but we did get to wear coats and hats.  That counts for something, right?

The Cabin was cute and fun.  We watched movies, played games, and enjoyed a hot tub in the freezing mountain air! 

Family Game Time Quote of the Week:

(While Playing Clue) Kate - Scarlet, Living Room, Pistol

Lise (pretending to shoot the pistol) - Pew, Pew, Pew 

Kate - That's a laser gun sound, not a pistol.

(Chris is always telling us that 'pew, pew, pew' is such a girly way to make a sound effect for a gun - no gunshot sounds like that!  Yes, we have a household of girls.)

In addition to having fun at the cabin, we also ventured into Gatlinburg for a couple of days.  We did an escape room as a family, which was a fun, crazy adventure.  It also came with a bunch of other games for us to try including a laser maze, neon mini golf, and bumper cars.

Aly and Lise navigating the laser maze.

Look at those Pearly Whites!

I love how in the video below Aly is just spinning in circles.

We did a little shopping (okay, more than a little) and had some photo ops while walking around.  

Chris by the Big "Agents of Shield" Truck and Kate by the Teeny "Herbie the Love Bug" car.

Johnny Rockets - Burgers and Fries never tasted so good!

Another Day we took the tram ride up to Ober, Gatlinburg's ski resort.  The line for the tram was RIDICULOUS (as in hours).  Not sure I'd do that again.  But we did get to go ice skating up there, which I absolutely loved.  Everybody did really well - not too many falls, (except for Kylie, but she just popped back up every time) and Kate took to it like a fish to water.  The weirdest thing was that while I was listening to Christmas music out on the rink it finally, FINALLY felt like Christmas to me.  (3 days after the fact, but I was grateful for it anyway.)  

I have to say though, as much fun as downtown Gatlinburg was, Carnival style rides and trendy tourist shopping are not really our favorite things.  It was time to hit the mountains.  I was not sure if the family would be up to hiking in 40 degree weather, but we decided to give it a go and it turned out to be probably my favorite part of the trip.

It was a nice easy hike (about 3 miles round trip) up to this cool waterfall.  Gorgeous.

Aly decided to get a closer look

So, all in all, it was a fun escape up to the mountains.  If I had to do it again I'd probably want to come in the summer, do some ziplining, horsebackriding, and a whole lot more hiking.  But I'm so grateful for this time I got to spend with my hubby and kiddos.  I absolutely love making memories with my family!

P.S.  LISE IS BEING DISCOVERED!! 

So Lise was in this mode of posing crazy for pictures for the entire trip. When asked what she was up to she said, "I'm being discovered."  So, for all you talent scouts out there, I give you . . . ANALISE! 

Lise Catch Phrases:

"Cheese, Lewis!"  (Instead of Geez, Louise!)

"Would you STOP?!?"

Fun fact about Lise:

Lise - When I laugh, my belly button bulges.