Random things from 2013

I just wanted to add a few things from the end of 2013. I found most of these pictures on a different camera, which is why I didn't post them before. (I think)

Jenna was taking pictures outside a few months back, and she got some cute ones.

We went out for frozen yogurt a couple month ago, and I thought the kids looked cute with their yogurt. Will and Jenna liked that they had a couch to sit on while they watched TV.

William did Jr. Jazz basketball and I never did post any pictures of it. He did well, and I think he learned a lot.

2013 was a great year for us, and I'm sure that 2014 will be just as wonderful. It turns out that life is pretty great- no matter what's happening- when you get to be with the people you love most.

Adam's arm

Since Adam's arm was still hurting after Christmas, we decided we'd better take him in for an x-ray. We thought there was a good chance it wasn't broken, but better safe than sorry. Well, it's a good thing we did because it turns out that Adam broke both bones in his right arm. He had a green stick fracture in his radius, and a buckle fracture in his ulna. 

On New Years Eve day he got his cast on. He was hoping for a black cast, but they didn't have that color. But he did get a waterproof cast, which is a first for us! It's great, especially come bath time. He hasn't complained of it hurting, and he's only injured a few of us with it. ;) He will have this on for four weeks, and at that time they'll x-ray it and decide if he needs another cast/brace, etc.

Christmas 2013

I'm going to be honest, I didn't sleep very well on Christmas Eve. I guess I was just too excited! So I was kind of relieved when the kids came in at 6:30 to get us. We told them not to come in any earlier than that, because we didn't want to wake Audrey up too early.

So after we were all awake and had family prayer, we got to tear into our stockings and all those presents! Santa brought the older three kids their own soft blankets, and the kids loved them. We all got a lot of fun stuff this year. I didn't take too many pictures; I was less concerned with the camera and more concerned with just enjoying it!

So to sum up our morning I'll give a quick list of what everyone got:

Joel- a new ring (wedding ring; I wanted him to have options), bullets, hot chocolate variety pack, two new mugs, Chicago Bears shirt, "Man of Steel", and a back scratcher.

Sarah- Steam mop, handheld steamer, new attachment for my kichenaid, pedometer, Les Miserables piano book, "Sound of Music", dice game.

Jenna- Necklaces, slippers, shopping day with Mom, music stand, blanket

William- Scooter, mug, clothes, watch, blanket

Adam- Soccer ball, clothes, watch, multicolor pen, blanket

Audrey- Book, toy phone, magna doodle, bucket sorting toy thing

For Everyone- Harry Potter 8 disc blu-ray set, Mastermind, Quelf card game, Headbanz game, ISpy Wii game (which has been many hours of family fun already), Despicable Me 2, Tenzi dice game.

After presents were opened we watched Despicable Me 2 and ate treats. We had a great time trying out all our new games and playing the new Wii game. I tried out my handheld steamer and was very pleased. Imagine that, cleaning on Christmas! It was really a very relaxed day: absolutely perfect. We all ate way too  much sugar, and had a great time doing it! It's always a little sad for me when Christmas is over, it really is my favorite holiday, and probably my favorite day of the year. It's great for so many reasons. I felt very blessed to have such a great Christmas this year.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is almost as good as Christmas, right?! Well, it's pretty close in my opinion. Joel didn't have to work Christmas Eve, so we really got to have a lot of good family time. We watched some movies, played games, and went sledding in the afternoon. Joel had taken the older three kids sledding a few days before, but apparently the snow was a little fresher at that time. When we went it was pretty icy, so those sleds really flew! I got a bit hurt on my first run after I landed. Just a bit. Ha! Actually, it was pretty ugly and it left me very sore. Audrey was not loving the cold. It actually wasn't very cold, but the wind was frigid. So after my 'small hurt' and her one time down with Dad, she and I hung out in the car.

Adam also got hurt. His sled turned sideways and his arm ended up under the sled. He put up a pretty big stink, and he joined Audrey and I in the car while Jenna, Will and Joel kept sledding. 

They thought it was fun to go down on their stomachs, no sled. They called it 'penguin style'.

Even though sledding was a bit of a bust, the day was still great! Later that afternoon we watched the Robertson family home videos. We thought it would be fitting, since many of them were taken on Christmas. After dinner we drove around to look at Christmas lights. When we got home we watched some Christmas videos, then it was off to bed!  But we had to take our traditional picture of the kids in front of the tree first. Adam had a bandage around his arm because it was still hurting, so we were trying to make it a little more stable. And William's eyes are closed in the first picture, but I had to post this one because Audrey's face is great!

Audrey's Look

So about a month or two ago Audrey started giving us this look where she raises her eyebrows and tilts her head down. It's a very "What do you think you're doing?" kind of look. She does it a lot, mostly just for fun when she's being silly. It's pretty hilarious! 

This isn't the look, this was just her being cute with her blanket and doll. I think Adam might have taken some of these.

I can't get over this smile!

And THIS is 'the look'!

Man, she's cute!!

And for the record, the binky went away two days before Christmas and hasn't been seen since. We were a little worried about how she would do, because she was getting more and more attached to it. She wasn't just using it at nap time and bedtime; she would go find it in the middle of the day and walk around with it. We figured we'd better get rid of it because it would only get harder the longer we waited. She's done really well without it, and it's gone for good. She's getting so big.