Well, uh huh, I know...

Yeah, so things have been pretty boring around the old blog of late. No more than pictures and the occasional "We're all just fine" blurb. It's true, things are good. I really have no complaints. Life trucks along in the most normal fashion. I guess that's how things are meant to be.


The girls are growing up before my very eyes. Nat is changing a little everyday. She's starting to really thin out and look more like a toddler than a baby. She's still my little peanut, but she's less so than before. She doesn't talk as much as Grace did at this age, but she's so mechanical. She gets into things, she takes things apart, she puts things back, she fiddles with this and that and she is just generally more sneaky and mischievous than Grace ever was. Grace was a snugly, sweet girl who wanted to hug and kiss and nap on my chest. Nat wants to sleep by herself (and does, that's a huge switch), she's so independent it scares me and she is just so much more forceful. I guess he's rotten like me. Hehe.


Gracie continues to amaze me with everything she's learning in school and in the world. She's reading (which blows me away because it seems like it happened overnight). She's doing awesome in her riding lessons and with swimming. She's about to start cantering and then will come jumping (yikes!). She has some great friendships and we bring to various places to meet up with them. She loves to snuggle and hug and be close. She's into coloring and crafty stuff. It's so neat to watch her figure out her likes and dislikes and discover new things. She loves seafood, which is a really bizarre twist because neither Jim or I like it at all. She loves a good bowl of clam chowder and boiled shrimp.


The winter here seems like it has gone on forever. Usually I don't mind the change of seasons and what winter brings. Usually. This year we've seen a lot more of it than we normally do. We've had a few warm days here and there, but I'm so ready for some spring. I noticed that the robins are back the other day and our pussy willows have gotten their little fuzzy bits already. All good signs.



My aunt and her girlfriend have been staying with us since they moved here in September and it has been wonderful to have some company while Jim works his crazy hours. We've had the chance to go on dates and see movies, which we've never really been able to do before. It's wonderful to have them, but it looks like they may not be with us much longer. They may have found an opportunity that will take them back to the Pacific Northwest. It will be a sad day when they go, but we want what's best for them and their future...even though we'd really rather be selfish and keep them here with us.


We have trips planned for spring and summer! We're going to Beaches Boscobel (Jamaica Mon!) in April. I'm so excited because we haven't had a vacation like that since we went on our honeymoon. We've done trips here and there, but they've all been trips that involved family things. I am over the moon about it.


We're also going to my mom's in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia this summer. The girls and I are leaving when Grace gets out of school the first week of June and then we'll stay through August first. Jim is coming the last two weeks of July. I guess we're going to be "summering" in Asia this year. Ha! We have plans to see lots of places while we are there...including, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Bali and some cool resorts in the jungles in Malaysia. I'm way excited. The plane tickets cost a small fortune, but I intend on making my loving daddy pick up the bills for some nice dinners to make up for it ;). I'm excited to see what their life there is like and see the awesome places. I figure it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip, so we intend on making the best of our time there.


Hey, maybe this blog will get interesting then! Wouldn't that be a switch.

The lady down the street who lost her baby girl invited us to the wake. We went. It was beyond awful. We did it to show our support for her and her family, but it was so hard for us. We chose not to have a memorial because we just decided that we're not people who can be openly emotional without feeling awkward about it, so we had our private thoughts and still have our yearly rituals. Seeing such a public display of grief was really tough. I had intentions of telling her all kinds of things when I saw her but all I did was sob on her shoulder. I still feel terrible about that. They are coming here for dinner on Saturday, so here's hoping I can do a better job.

I have about a thousand projects in my head and no real motivation to do them. Not the least of which is a surprise 50th birthday party for Jim. The problem is that his birthday is August 24th and with school starting that week and us coming back from KL two weeks prior, I don't know how I'll pull that one together. No one has every thrown him a big party and he looooves to have people over. He's the greatest host ever. I have to figure out a way to do it. I'm just not there yet. I need to do save the date cards to people from out of town so they can plan to buy plane tickets now. I guess I need to make some decisions...

So, that's the news. You are all up to date. You know, if you cared... ha!