2016 begins.

We usually are busy... I try not to be busy so people don't think they can't ask things of me, but even focusing on priorities, we still have a lot going on during the week, and between church and family, our Saturdays fill up fast too. (I had to schedule a family work day on the calendar so the things that need to get done around here actually happen.) 

Except for our visits with family this month, the rest is just every day stuff going on. (So we probably look busier than we are.)

Moving on to the pictures!

Seth found something he thought was awesome with his metal detector (handed down from my uncle last year) while we were in the park on new years weekend.

Then, my brother David decided to move in with us, so we rearranged bedrooms to put him and Seth together.

(We have printouts we designed in the computer so we can rearrange rooms visually every time we want to move things around, which is more often than most people. This is Carolyn's and Natalie's room.)

This is Kaitlyn and Alee's room rearranged. I like it better.

This is Carolyn's and Natalie's room. Also the guest room.

I don't have a picture of the boys room, but it's usually not clean, so you're not missing anything! (They have the twin beds.)

Then, we have science fair project time.... I have mixed opinions about projects. It was Carolyn's turn this year.

She did the crystallization of sugar in different liquids (water, colored water, and vinegar). The other 4 to the right are because we made twice what we needed, so we made extra rock candy so we could eat her science fair project when she was done.)

After we dumped them, the jars had sugar crystallized to the entire inside. Soaking them once dropped it all off the sides and soaking again then spraying water in them upside down got out the rest, plus a little vinegar in the soaking since we found sugar does not crystallize in vinegar!)

She got honorable mention, so we did district fair this weekend.

I go up to school to volunteer each week since my kids are all in school. I probably volunteered for a little much this year (I'm just realizing this now as I'm trying to pull together the yearbook and go read/do math with students in 3 classes each week... But that's another subject.)

 
 So in one class, I've been working with a group of kids and we've been working on measurement. It's in Kaitlyn's class and so she sees me, but her teacher doesn't plan to put her in my group since she assumes she gets my attention at home. But the week we did volume, Kaitlyn was really wishing she was in that group, so I promised I'd let them experiment with volume at home. So I followed through with that.
I gave them a bunch of containers and let them have whatever water they wanted, then gave minimal instructions and suggestions. (I didn't really work with them, but I was around getting other things done. But I looked at what they were doing, took pictures, and complimented their findings.)

I thought their charts and pictures showing what they did were cute.

Alee doesn't wear the stethoscope every day anymore. Rob didn't want her wearing it to school in case it became a problem (lost broken, stolen, fought over, etc), but occasionally she will still wear it on the weekend or at home after school. This day she got dressed and thought she looks like a doctor. (She really meant nurse, like she has scrubs on. I think I might make her some scrubs for PJs some day this year...?)

I liked her sentences using her popcorn words.

I agree with you, Alee!

(Rob and I are dieting. I count calories, except I count all fruits and vegetables as zero, so I'm motivated to eat them. The kids are just learning about portion sizes and having more vegetable requirements. Alee doesn't like anything I cook anymore except pizza on Friday night.)

100 day project

(My part in this was mostly helping her count them in a bunch of different ways, partly for practice and partly to make sure she hadn't lost any since she kept playing with the beads! I also helped make sure her letters were roughly the same size and held the glue for her so she didn't glue her fingers together.)

We had a visit from my parents while they were in town getting some car maintenance done.

Alee wears my dad out, but he loves her little wild crazy cuddly self. (She's wearing his glasses; she lost her fashion glasses.)

The twins are practicing skating (Natalie got hers for Christmas, the others are Seth's old skates that all the girls share.)

Finally got curtains in the dining room. (Got them on clearance too.) The echo in the dining room has gotten less.

The girls and Jared put on Cinderella for us. Jared played every male role. What a great uncle!

We visited my family in NC (brother's family, grandparents, and aunt's family.

And it snowed while we were at grandma's house! Just a little but enough for the kids to have a little snow moment this year.

The children's museum in Raleigh called marbles is really cute. I liked it better than the one in SC (Edventure). And it costs less too!

And the final door handle on our 2002 Toyota sienna finally broke off completely, which is kind of inconvenient since it's the drivers door handle and of all the van doors, that is the only one you HAVE to use every time you drive the van. Sigh. We've been shopping for a new van for 6 months and saving up money for several years since we paid this one off. We don't have quite enough for a replacement, but the cost of handle replacement is more than the cost of interest we would pay in one year... So we are shopping still, but with more seriousness now.

Until we find one, I either reach through the back door with my long arm, climb through the passenger side (yea for being flexible), or leave the window down (if we're parked in the garage).

We pass this place often and their blow up is never inflated quite enough. What got me was when Alee asked, "why does the statute of liberty have a gun?" I'll just let you chew on that thought as we all have politics screaming at us this year. ;)

Carolyn was so excited (to the point of giddy tween girl) that she was invited to new beginnings. (The beginning of each year, all the 11 year old girls are invited to new beginnings, an event where we explain what YW is like and what to expect that year when they turn 12 and join the YW program.)  She has been waiting to turn 12 since before she turned 10!

Seth has been growing out his hair for a while and finally got it trimmed to be neat but still has a full head of hair. My teenage son finally has an opinion about his personal appearance and tries to take care of his grooming and hygiene needs without being reminded. Most days.

I knew this day would come. (We are still awaiting the day he remembers everything else. I have hope!)

We had Rob's family visit at the end of the month and went ice skating for the birthdays.

We also celebrated birthdays (Rob, Kaitlyn, Natalie) in our family, but I don't really have any good pictures. I try my best to make birthdays special, but we had too many things going on together, so they were really low key this year at home.

 February...

We've started off February with some sickness, but my prayers to keep us well through the holidays and our nc trip were answered. And then the sickness came a week and a half later.

Alee was first and she wasn't too sickly, but she had to cancel a trip to Memérè's. Natalie is struggling and we had to cancel a yearly birthday trip to Grammy's this weekend for the twins. 

As Carolyn says, "Sad face". Everyone's feeling better tonight (other than coughs), so I hope it keeps going that way!

Hopefully the reschedule and other plans this weekend will happen and not be cancelled by more sickness.