January is two thirds over.  I guess it's time to stop using the "November and December were so full and busy I need to just relax for a while" excuse and start being productive again.  My first project?  Finishing up with posts that should have been on here a long time ago, because thanks to a wonderful gift I received for Christmas, I realize how priceless this little piece of the internet is for me and my family.  Matt's sister Jill spent hours and Matt's mom paid to turn my blog (as well as three others) into a beautiful book, preserving these memories of our family in print.  Reading through it there are so many stories and pictures that I had forgotten about and I was so grateful that I had blogged about them.  So I'll do some catching up for a while.  I have no excuses to not, especially since my kids have been wonderful about keeping themselves entertained lately.  Like this for example:
 

 Last week, while Ethan was at school and Ginny napped, Joanna stayed busy giving all her stuffed animals collars.  They were all decorated differently and came complete with a jingle bell and a penny (the name tag).

Ethan is 8

 My baby boy is 8 years old now. 

 We celebrated with cupcakes and presents.

 Ethan asked for a big Lego set for his birthday.  We spent Halloween evening after trick or treating "helping" him put it together.

 I love Han's smirk.

 Of course, it only took a day for it to return to it's original state.

 And, with turning 8 came Ethan's choice to be baptized.

   

A Ninja, a Butterfly, and the Cat in the Hat

 Joanna asked to be a pink and black ninja with a polka dot belt for Halloween.  I was happy to oblige.  This year I actually got the costumes made without having to stay up til three in the morning to finish.  Joanna tried it on and decided, um, no.  I'm going to be a butterfly like I was last year.  The ninja costume apparently made her feel "crumply".  Oh well.   Ethan liked the idea and happily wore his blue version. 

 

I used freezer paper stencils to paint a dragon on the back (Joanna's had a pretty cool panther) and Matt folded a few paper throwing stars to tuck in his belt.

 I made Ginny's hat out of felt and after round one of sewing it was taller than her.  So, a little bit of shrinking was needed.  She was a really good sport about wearing it but decided to up the cute factor by using it for her candy bag.

We went up to the old neighborhood to see friends and trick or treat.   Joanna was happy to see that butterfly was the "it" costume this year.

The Pumpkins:

Joanna's was very reminiscent of last years:

Ethan's looked like all the robot/alien/monster creatures he draws:

And Matt went with everyone's favorite action hero with a chainsaw for a hand:

 It amazes me how much I can get done when the girls play nicely together for a morning.

Crazy Hair Day

 Another school year, another red ribbon week.  Which of course means crazy hair day. 

 

Yes, Ethan is still missing that front tooth he lost last Thanksgiving.  I just have to keep believing the dentist when he says it will come in.  Someday.

Vernal

 For the longest time, Ethan had it in his mind that Vernal was the greatest place on Earth.  That tells you how much we travel as a family.  We went there when he was four and it was his first experience with a hotel that he could remember.  Not only did he get to sleep in the same room as us,  the hotel had a pool and he got to swim to his little heart's content.  Ever since then he would ask over and over "when are we going to Vernal again?"  I think what he was really asking was "when do we get to stay in a hotel with a pool again?"
Things worked out that Matt was in Vernal for work over a school holiday so we joined him.  While Matt was out in the desert looking for cactus, I took the kids to the Field Museum.  For those of you unfamiliar with Vernal, UT, it's right in the heart of dinosaur country.  Joanna's love of dinosaurs was just budding, and she was soooo excited.

 And seriously.  I challenge anyone to get these kids to keep a straight face when a camera is pointed at them.

Ice Skating

 Another round of skating lessons.  Ginny is counting down until she gets to join in.

 Ethan does the hockey skating.  He learns hockey stops (where he sprays people with ice) and skating on one leg (because they're always doing that, those hockey players).

There's a funny duality to Ethan.  He has plenty of fears.  He's nervous about monsters and hates to be alone and likes a light on when he sleeps and every noise makes him jump and shout "what was that!?"  But he has no fear of bodily harm.  The kind of fear that, as his mother, I wish he had.  He doesn't think twice about jumping from somewhere high up, he rides his bike like a crazy man, and when he skates, it's as fast as he possibly can.  Which is frighteningly fast.  When he gets close to the wall, does he slow down?  No.  He gives himself an extra push and braces for impact. 

 It was Joanna's first time on skates.   She thought she should be able to skate like an Olympian from the get go, and bravely slid out onto the ice.  She promptly landed on her rump.  Hard.  After the tears abated, she decided to take it a little more carefully.  She slowly migrated from clutching to wall

 to clutching her teacher

 to almost skating by herself.

 By the end she was able to go it alone.  Very slowly.  And she got used to the inevitable fall.

 Good thing she has an awesome older brother who saw it as his personal duty to cheer his sister up and get her back on her feet.