Hiking again!

We went back to Devil's Hopyard to hike again. This time we did about 2.5 miles. It was a little too much for all of us. Little John just isn't quite focused enough to go that far and it wears the rest of us down. Jared and I seem to have a really big problem with destination events. We can't turn around. This weekend it was just a hike that went too far. In the past, it was a 38-mile bike ride. I can't decide if this is a problem or a personality strength. I guess only time will tell.

We do really enjoy these long excursions -- after they are over and we're in the car driving home -- we always talk about what a great time was had by all.

Yet again I've added a bunch of photos. Mostly just because I like looking at them. Hope you enjoy too -- I've put them in rough chronological order. After 3 hours of hiking, it's a little hard to remember.

John the comedian

Little John has started trying to make us laugh. Who knows what is going on in that mind? Here he is working on arts and crafts, trying to get my attention.

Devil's Hopyard Hike

We had a great time hiking at Devil's Hopyard State Park yesterday for our President's Day adventure as a family. I'm not generally a fan of cold, snow or all things winter. But we had such a great time together. I didn't mind the cold one bit. The kids had a blast -- our only trouble is that John refuses to wear mittens. He wants my nice leather gloves instead.
I took about a thousand pictures, and I love looking at pictures of my family, so I hope you enjoy them too --

Of course, this winter wonderland led to a pretty fierce snowball fight--

Weather Week

We had a fun weather week last week. Jared had a couple of days off work due to high winds and Maddie missed one day for snow. The kids had a good time playing outside, and I enjoyed working on sewing projects like this Whirlygiggle quilt:

Superbowl 2010

We love the Superbowl. We may not watch another football game all year, but our little family settles in to watch this one game. Why? It might have something to do with the food, I can't deny it. Also, we really like the commercials. But, as far as football goes, last night's game was absolutely fun to watch!
For snacks this year we had soft buttery pretzels, popcorn, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate cream cheese brownies, root beer and pink sugar cookies. We had nachos, grapes and burritos on hand, but we were too full to eat those so they'll just have to wait until another day.

John made us sing into the wii rock band microphone all through the game. Old MacDonald is his favorite rockin' tune at the moment.

Not so happy feet...

I've been battling sore feet for the last two years. The pictures above are my most recent x-rays -- you can see the extra bone sticking out on my heel that is causing so much pain. Now I have an extra piece of bone growing at the top of my right foot. Both problems are leading to tarsal tunnel. Yes, it's like carpel tunnel, but for the feet. UGH!

I've been to see the doctor twice this year, and the first visit I was lucky enough to take home and air-cast. Today I got giant pink inserts for my shoes. These babies go all the way up the sides of my feet, almost to the top of the tennis shoe.

Hopefully these beautiful pink things work, or the next step is plaster casts!

What's the up side? I'm only allowed to wear tennis shoes. Nothing else. Not until I finish physical therapy, a neurological study and have doctor clearance. Wearing tennis shoes makes my feet so much more happy at church!

Growing up

I can't believe that I had to buy Maddie two size 14 swimming suits this year. Seriously! She's seven-years-old. UGH! We're going to need to start our own clothing line for tall children soon!

OK, so I'll admit that it's a tiny bit big, but it is January and I'm hoping to make it last through the summer. And, if you look closely at the picture, it's not all that big.

We all had a good chuckle this weekend when we noticed that Maddie's head was taller than one of Jared's co-worker's shoulder. It was pretty funny to most of us anyway.

Office party

We had a great time at Jared's office party last weekend. People hung out at our house for about 6 1/2 hours. We talked, we ate, we played Rock Band, we talked and ate. It's always fun to get to know the people from the office better.

Girl Scout cookies

It's that time again! Maddie is selling Girl scout cookies for $4 a box. Let me know if you are interested, and I'll email you all the details.

New Snow

We are having snowy day after snowy day. On New Year's Eve, the snow almost caused an end to our party, but my wonderful friends came over anyway. Saturday, it snowed again, ruining our planned trip to Costco and other errands.

Now, it's started snowing for the third time this week and they've cancelled church. We've been home for almost two weeks -- a long time now, but today is the first day I've had cabin fever.

On Saturday, John tried to help take the lights off the tree -- he kept getting told not to touch them, so he'd just use a toe rather than his fingers.John-John loves Cookie monster! His uncle Brandon gave him this new beloved toy:

New Year's Eve

We had a great party last night with lots of food and friends. The kids had a great time, and the parents got to sit and chat.

We made Maddie go to sleep around 10 PM, but then woke her up to see the ball drop in Time Square.

Bedtime Rituals

In our house, bedtime rituals are a big thing. It is important to understand that when attempting anything new just before bed. Jared offered to take the kids to bed one night on his back. It's now a nightly occurrence. I have to admit, they are pretty cute!