Rare Moment

I sure love it when they love each other.

Beach Day

 The girls got it in their heads on Saturday that they wanted to pretend to be at the beach...beach towels, bathing suits and all. (Or "babing soups," as we fondly call them at our house.) And what better day to visit the beach than when it's cold and rainy and you can't play outside?

soaking up the sun...er... the light bulb

the girls have been besties all weekend. a welcome change.

cute as ever

love those freckles

Vanna has bona fide beach hair, whether she's there or not.

um...just ignore the fact that this bathing suit is a smidge too small

And what is a day at the beach without inspirational beach sounds from our white noise machines?

It's merely a day in your living room wearing a bathing suit, that's what.

(Thank goodness for authenticity.)

Gone Fishing

That's right, friends. Sometimes I hang up the mop, and I shove the vacuum into the corner, and I ignore the crumbs covering every surface of the kitchen, and I take Alexa fishing. That is, until she decides it's time to play Perfection, which I like a little bit better anyway. Either way, she is a fun little chica to hang out with, and  even though I have to put stuff off to do it, I''m never sad that I did.

gross...it's not even cooked yet!

when the fishing rods just won't cooperate

and when they do!

she's a catch and release kinda girl...

...but since I'm not, I plan on keeping her forever!

Two Peas in A Monson Pod

Check it. Julia One and Julia Two. 

And check out Julia One's fabulous new (short!) haircut. Suddenly, post-bath-time hair brushing is not the exercise in patience it used to be. Just wish we had done it months ago.

Love them these girls.

Year in Review...January Through June

Okay peeps, I am shamelessly copying this idea from a friend of mine. She did an awesome year in review post for 2012, and since I am out of original ideas, I am high-jacking hers for the moment. Plus, when I started looking at all of our 2012 pictures, I realized just HOW MUCH I failed to post about last year, on account of its general craziness, so I thought this would be a good way to get some of that missed stuff on here. The problem is, there was so much that I think I need to do this in two posts...so buckle your seat belts for January to June...those of you who skip over the text to look at the pictures are in for a real treat!

January:

Savanna rocks it in her dance class

(Can anyone spot bored Amelia in the background??)

Family trip to the zoo sans moi

so I could work on a Robert Frost paper :(

Craig starts work on a kick-trash desk for himself; 

my desk envy has carried over into 2013...

February:

Lexa turns 2 and proves herself to be the cutest 2-year-old ever

Quick trip to California

Desk envy reaches new heights

March:

A Blissful trip to Hawaii

Daddy takes friends to the zoo and earns his stripes

 Lincoln gets his hair straightened

Our biggest girl turns 7!

April:

Easter

La builds a zoo with the girls

Disney on Ice with my mom

Crunch

(Sad face)

I start taking pictures of our cute house so we can start packing

(Double sad face)

May:

My mom is a closet exerciser

Getting ready to say goodbye to best friends

Vanna turns the big 0-5

Audrina's baptism

I hate my life a little bit

We move into my mom and dad's house,

but at least there's a pool!

June:

We say goodbye to a favorite teacher

Another trip to Utah(!)

Lex hijacks the string cheese
(and the Wii remotes)

We see the house that we'll eventually buy (but don't know it yet)

Happy Father's Day to the Handsomest Daddy

The girls fold laundry for me...

...and show their cuteness in more adorable ways

July to December is on its way, 'cause there's PLENTY more where that came from!

One From the Archives

Just stumbled upon this one from about five years ago. Wow. Time sure flies when your kids are adorable. That's for dang sure.

(Savanna in the stroller and J hiding ever so sneakily behind the sign.)

Ode to Ampersand*

Oh ampersand, my ampersand, how do I love thee so...
You fit so well 'twixt Juliet & handsome Romeo.

 I look for you in signs & ads that feature things quite dumb,
 Ever reassured to see your pointy toes and curvy bum.

 (Though In-N-Out refuses your sweet curvature and grace,
 I'm sure your presence would improve the burgers of that place.)

And for a girl like me whose writing borders on atrocious,
Your lasting style gives print like mine a much improved prognosis.

So ampersand, dear ampersand, please try to never leave me
For grace & style & perfect shape is naught but "and" without thee.

*Perhaps you are a smarty boombalarty, and already knew that "ampersand" is the awesome name for this symbol with which I have had a love affair for many years...my own delighted discovery of its name, however,  is much more recent, hence my excitement. My awe with ampersand dates back to the early 90s, when I would sit with pen and paper trying over and over to perfect this curvy wonder in my own handwriting. Little did I know what a cool name accompanies its awesome shape. Now that I am acquainted with its melodious title, I am pretty sure the baby's middle name will be Ampersand. If nothing else, I might have to at least name an ampersandwich after it...

Some Toilet Humor

Oh, that awkward moment when you step into a child-size toilet seat for laughs and then can't get it back off...

P.S. Lex is totally ready to be potty-trained. (I can tell because she vehemently demands her privacy while pooping in her pants.) Mommy? Not so ready. This will be one to work on next month when she turns 3, if I'm feeling energetic. Stay tuned.

The Sheer Shock and Other Updates

Okay, is anyone else shocking themselves like a mad person every time they touch anything (and anyone) in this wintry weather? Not only am I am hearing from the kids, at least five times a day, "Hey, you shocked me!" but I have also taken to turning on light switches with my elbow so as to protect my fried finger tips from any further damage. (Shuffling around in slippers while I am at home does not appear to be helping the situation, but how can I resist when they keep my feet so toastie warm?) (As opposed to the unwelcome warmth of electric shock any time that I walk more than two feet and then touch any surface, of course.)

In other news, Craig has been sick on and off since right after Thanksgiving. My poor guy sleeps pretty well at night with the help of the humidifier and then wakes up and sounds like he is coughing up a lung or two all day long. He is taking it like a trouper, though, and I am realizing just how much he helps me since he hasn't been feeling well enough to do all the normal Daddy stuff. (He has also been freezing cold, which is slightly amusing, since I am always the one that's cold, and he's always the one that says things like, "Okay, you have to stop touching me...your hand is too hot.") Hope he gets back to normal soon. It's hard when your baby is sick. :)

I am craving Top Ramen like a mad woman lately. I must attribute it to the fact that I am having a boy...with all the girls all I ever wanted was chocolate chip cookies and Skittles. The nice thing is, all I have to do is eat a package or two, and I've already met my sodium requirements for the week! Other things are weird/different as well, like the fact that my normally raging heartburn isn't actually that bad, probably because (I'm pretty sure) I am carrying a lot lower this time. Also, I'm as hungry as a bear. Usually by this time in a pregnancy I have almost no appetite, due to the fact that my stomach is squished to the size of an empty grape peel. But such has not been the case, and the crumbs of something delicious frequently dot the front of my shirt. I've heard that boys are very hungry little creatures, and this seems to be confirming it.

Looks like it's time for my pre-dinner smackerel. I'll catch up with you more as soon as I can!

Graduating from Babyhood

It's official! She is a big girl. (Despite the still peeing in a diaper part. But all in good time, friends.)

Lexa Boom has been doing just swimmingly in her new big girl bed. (The fact that she could--and did--get out of her crib any time that she wanted made this transition a relatively simple one. Except for the last two Sunday nights, she has been great about both going to bed at night and taking naps. Sunday nights are another story, but I blame late church and very late naps for that.)

I still think of her as a baby most of the time, but a real baby around here should cure me of that pretty soon.

Proof positive: lounging on her new 

cupcake bedding from Grandma Linda

Oh, and did I mention that she got her driver's license?

She really is growing up before my eyes.

And speaking of things that are cute, 

is this not the cutest little chair you've ever seen?

A little big chair for my little big girl.

(At least one of those things won't be getting 

any bigger and going to college some day...)