it smelled like camping

How nice would it be if adults got Spring Break? While Britt has been enjoying this week and sleeping late, my poor Justin is still getting up at 5:45 for work. Yesterday was the exception. Justin had a day off. Monday night, we went on a movie date and the kids went to have a sleepover/party at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Tuesday morning, with no kids to wake us up, we slept until almost 9:00AM! It was glorious. Now I know why Marnie has so much energy all the time. 10 solid hours of sleep feels amazing. We picked up the kids and took our newfound vigor to a nearby lake. Picnic lunch, skipping rocks, looking for lizards, feeding geese...it was a fun break-from-the-ordinary.

Beyond Behind

It's funny to me when I look back at my first years with this blog. 2008 is the first full year that I blogged, and I had 139 posts during that year. 2009, Marnie came along and my posts dropped to 88. Then 53 in 2010 and 42 in 2011. Now look at me. Almost 3 months into 2012, and I'm writing post #2. Naptime was once my blogging time, but (sadly) our kids are sooo over napping. Combine that with the fact that it takes me a solid 30 minutes to get "going" on the computer (i.e. figure out what I want to say, what pictures I want to post, make sure the kids are engaged in whatever busywork I gave them, etc.). That being said, I'm always glad when I do post something. I love looking back at the old posts and reminiscing about the funny stages they went through and how much they've grown. I reeeeeally need to get back on board with the blog. They only grow up once. I only have the chance to record things for a short time. With all that jumbles around in my mommy head, I need to try harder to make a hard copy of these days before they fade.
This post will be a hodge-podge, so be prepared.

Last month we took a day trip to hike and check out the ruins at Walnut Canyon. 

For her third birthday,  Ms. Marnie requested, "a ballerina cake that's pink and fluffy and lovely."

We had a great visit from cousins Haylee and Brynn recently.

He loves to try on new hats.

I love how sweet Griz is. This pictures was taken on Christmas morning, when he laid right down in front of Beck and invited him to pat his head and pull his ears. He's such a gentle dog.

Marnie has been obsessed with The Wizard of Oz for months. I made her a Dorothy dress (out of the curtains I made for Britt's room a few years ago) and she was in heaven.

I can't wait to watch this little lady run around Granny's house in a few weeks...

 and Britt and Marnie can't wait to play with cousins Emelyn and Ellee again.

And we're counting down the days till we get to snuggle our handsome little Beck again.

I love how these two are best buddies. 

Britt got another best buddy from Santa too... Isn't he gorgeous?! Both of them, really. I better introduce the scaly guy, Tesla, the corn snake. He's awesome. We all LOVE him.

Tonto Natural Bridge

If you asked me to come up with a list of our family's favorite activities, hiking would definitely be at the top of the list. It gets tough in winter, since we have to drive a while to find somewhere warm enough to hike (plus Marnie still hates riding in the car), but on days when we do go, I always end up telling myself, "we should do this EVERY weekend!" 

Last weekend's hike took us a measly hour and a half from our house. Embarrassing as it is, we've driven within 10 miles of this place a million times, but we've never been able to stop there. 

We had the best time getting up close with this wonder of nature. 

Sweet Six

This year Britt's birthday celebration lasted twice as long as usual. His last day of the semester was Friday, so we made snake cookies to take to his class. After school I took him and his buddy Maxx (and Marnie) bowling, then we went out for ice cream. Friday night was the family party; complete with an ice cream cake, lots of adorably geeky presents, and fireworks.

Saturday morning (Britt's sixth birthday), we packed up and headed to Phoenix to finish our Christmas shopping and have some fun. We went to pet stores so Britt could get a closer look and decide exactly which kind of snake to ask Santa for, spent time with Jordan, Kait, Beck, and Abbi, and did some shopping. Britt's restaurant choice for his birthday dinner was Pei Wei. We decided it would be fun to take our dinner to Papago Park for a picnic. It worked out perfectly, because there was a pond full of ducks (that were almost as excited as Britt was that we had brought half a box of crackers), and it meant we were right next to the Phoenix Zoo. During our dinner, we surprised Britt and Marnie with Britt's last birthday present- tickets to go to Zoolights as soon as we were done eating. Britt couldn't have been more excited. Well... he may have been a little more excited when he realized that he had a wallet full of birthday money to spend on whatever he wanted from the zoo gift shop. He ended up with a rattlesnake that sprays water and a stuffed blue jay. :) 

We sure love our Britter Critter!

^Beck tried to eat my lens cover! And it was precious.  :)

They may not be all smiles in these next pictures, but trust me, we had fun.  :) 

End of the Year Answers

At least once a year, I like to fill out a list of "favorites" and random questions for Britt and Marnie. It's fun to look back at the things they were into at different ages, and how their tastes change. These are their answers, word for word.

Britt

favorite...

color:    green

food:    chicken

song:   Mah Na Mah Na (from The Muppets) or the meh-meh-meh song on the record with the people in the animal costumes {he means Midnight City, by M83} 

TV show:    Phineas & Ferb...or Wild Kratts

movie:    How to Train Your Dragon

snack:    popcorn

game:    Zelda, on the Wii

drink:    caramel milk

dessert:    popsicles

animal:    armadillo, bat, tiger, snake, cardinal, and...lion

restaurant:    Pei Wei

sport:    I can't say. I haven't tried them all yet.

holiday:    Halloween

day of the week:   Friday

toy:   my big Toothless

season:   Winter

book:   Dolphin Tale  {we've never read that book...}

Favorite thing to do:   It depends. In the daytime, my favorite thing is drawing, but at night I like to watch movies and snuggle with Dad.

I can't sleep without...  my armadillo

When I grow up, I want to be...   a zoologist

What makes me happiest is...   playing in white fluffy snow, pizza night, looking at nature, hiking with my family and discovering what things are in the wild

side note: I can. not. believe. that this boy will be 6 next week!

Marnie

favorite...
color:    yellow, and purple, and pink, and white

food:    macaroni and cheese
song:   If I Only Had a Brain...and Life's a Happy Song {from The Muppets}
TV show:   Team Umizoomi
movie:   The Wizard of Oz
snack:   goldfish and happy face fruit snacks and pretzels
game:   Zingo
drink:   hot cocoa
dessert:   popsicles
animal:   dolphins and sea horses
restaurant:   Pizza Hut  {we've been there once}
sport:   T-Ball
holiday:   Fourth of July
day of the week:   Friday {pretty sure she's just copying Britt on this one...}
toy:   princess little people
season:   sunshine {how cute is that?}
book:   Fancy Nancy or Junie B. Jones
Favorite thing to do:   read
I can't sleep without...   my fuzzy red blankie
When I grow up, I want to be...   a big girl wolf...or a daddy  {oookay...}
What makes me happiest is...  hugs, hot cocoa, food, when daddy dances with me, when puppy stands up like people do

{Those two -and their handsome daddy- are my favorite.}

:.`.:.`.:snow:.`.:.`.:

This past Thursday, the forecast predicted 1-2 inches of snow accumulation overnight. We were awakened around midnight by the sounds of branches breaking and falling all over town. Justin and I hardly slept that night, because the breaking branches were so loud. I got up to let the dog out (he was having trouble sleeping too) at 2:30am, and we had about 6 inches of wet, heavy snow. It fell straight down and piled up quickly. We were glad that the branches right outside our bedroom window held strong and didn't come crashing through in the middle of the night. I measured 13 inches of snow at 8:00 Friday morning, and later in the day my dad measured 18 inches at their house (1/4 mile away). Britt had his first no-school Snow Day, and loved every minute of it.

We took a little drive on Friday, and found lots of trees like this around town. Some crashing down on power lines, some pulverizing fences, and even some on cars and rooftops.

There were breathtakingly beautiful sights too...

My dad shoveled the driveway at my parents' house and piled the snow to make the Matterhorn 2.0 in their yard. It settled overnight, and in these pictures it's a few feet shorter than it originally was. It was still a BLAST though. :) My dad's goal this year was to get someone all the way across the yard, and he did it! Marnie slid from their driveway aaaaaallllll the way to the short brick wall at the end of their yard.

Best picture of the entire day...