Fancy Beverage???

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka Mormon, we don't drink coffee or tea really or any fancy drink beverages.  But with the extra cold and extra long winter my kids have decided to take their hot chocolate obsession to a whole new level.

Spray whip cream, dairy creamers, and fancy add ins have become the norm.  Whatever helps us get through these cold, dark, winter months.

Sunday, Sabbath and Fasting

Sundays are awesome!

My kids look beautiful in their nice clothes.

Even when not at church, the kids love more mellow activities like reading.

Dinner can run the gamut but is always delicious, usually after fasting we do huge like a roast, but this particular one, we did breakfast for dinner in a big way (eggs, waffles, hash browns, sausage, bacon, smoothies, etc...)  Yum!!!

It's a Girl Thing...

Isn't it crazy to get presents for kids from age 11-14.  I call it the black hole of gift shopping.  They are too old for toys, but don't have clear ideas of what they want for Christmas, birthdays, etc...They think they want huge electronics with bills through the roof and at our house it's just not an option not only because of cost, but my child that age doesn't need a cell phone, their own laptop, e-reader and everything else.  Go play outside!!! 

This year for Christmas I feel like we nailed it with Bella.  Two of her best buds' parents and I planned to get the girls a Day Trip to NYC.  They love Wicked and the city and so that's what we did.  So on January 31st, in the midst of the bitter cold of east coast winters, we braved the city with three girls and three moms.  It really was a great time.

 

Winter Blahs and the Food That Comforts Me

 

 The winter blahs have officially kicked in.  What to do?  What to do?

Start power-lifting again.  Set new goals.

Get my hair dyed red!

And eat myself into a food coma.  No wonder I gain weight in the winter. 

Some new and old favorites.

Snow Days or Not

This year we've had some snow.  Not a ton, and none that made our school district have a snow day yet.  Just early dismissals and delays. 

 

I love it, but I do need one good storm.  Let's hope it comes some Friday and then we won't miss any school still.

I love watching the kids play outside. 

Notables and Landmarks of the Dominican Republic

So being a bit of a nerd and my love of learning, we picked the DR for our vacation this year because it was the last major place I wanted to visit in the Caribbean (I may reconsider Barbados - it's up in the air) and it is the hotbed of the whole "New World".  It's where Christopher Colombus landed, the beginning of the Americas, and hosts a slew of firsts and by far the oldests of this part of the world. 

 

In closing, our vacation was amazing, I love to travel, and my hubster is still my best friend in the whole world.

 

Land and Sea...

...and bird and butterfly and tree and nature in general.