I want to first tell you that I’m not as sad any more. I knew I wouldn’t be. I’ve cried some, but we’ll make it.

Overall, it’s been a great week. So busy, but great!

Buddy climbs EVERYTHING! Baby Girl was not a climber, so this has taken me by surprise!

He also likes to get into everything!

So, having boxes everywhere is awesome for him!

I know I shouldn’t encourage this, but I love to see them scrounging through the fridge.

I promise we don’t pose these. She falls asleep in the weirdest positions/places! When I took the blanket off she was sweating!

Not a great picture, but she’s such a good little swimmer! I wish we weren’t moving from her swim teacher!

This is the miniature version of my girls’ night out last weekend.

Yesterday was my man’s birthday. The kids were all too happy to help him open his presents!

In the midst of packing craziness we are still taking time to enjoy fun times!

I was going to post this on Friday for Friday Favorites. Clearly I didn’t make the cut. We are BUSY around here! I’ve started packing. I’m racing to see all of my friends as much as possible. And it’s been warmer and sunny the last few days, so that means we have to be outside!

I’m trying Instagram today. We’ll see how it goes….

I went running yesterday! It was a perfect running day! There was a slight breeze. I wore shorts and long sleeves. Wonderful! As I came to the top of one hill I looked out and saw the gorgeous mountains, covered with snow. And I thought, “I’ll miss this.” Then I reminded myself I will be out running in January, so that helped.

While I’m showing shoes, how cute are these? I got them for $10 at Costco! Baby Girl says, “White is not my favorite, but pink and purple are my favorite.” You win some. You lose some.

A friend of mine came over yesterday. She watched my kids so I could run some errands and then watched them so I could pack. This is my system for this move…colored duct tape to identify which room the box will go in. I hope I stick to it through the whole move, because I think it will be very helpful!

My man knows me so well! This is my Easter basket. Filled with Pop Tarts and Swiss Cake Rolls. Yummy!

Sidewalk chalk! Baby Girl and I enjoy drawing all over our sidewalks. Yesterday we played her version of hopscotch for quite a while. Fun!

Yesterday I took the kids to play with a friend and her daughter. We have a toy store that has a play room, so we met there. As we were leaving I almost stepped on something. I looked down and it was a $20 bill. I kind of got flustered. What should I do with it? My friend said, “Keep it.” A lot of options ran through my head, including the one where people say it’s there money but it really isn’t. The other option was toting my hungry, tired kids around the store and asking every patron if they lost some money. Neither option appealed to me. So I took the money with me. I felt so guilty about it. I think because I pictured the person who lost it running around frantically or crying. Then I realized maybe $20 wouldn’t mean that much to someone else. If I lost $20 I would beat myself up for days. That’s a lot of money in our budget. I even called my mom feeling guilty. She convinced me that I should look at it as a blessing. So I did. I treated my family to a dinner out last night. We had some things to celebrate anyway. (Baby Girl went to the dentist…no tears, no fighting, just a brave, sweet girl!) We enjoyed having a waiter, not doing dishes, and taking home enough food for today. What a blessing!

The extra special things in life are definitely a favorite, so I’m linking up with Rachel today!

Sometimes as a stay-at-home mom I wonder why I get excited about Friday. I change diapers and wipe noses whether it’s Friday, Monday, or Saturday. But on Saturday my man is home. On Saturday we usually take a more relaxed approach to things. So, I do get excited that it’s the weekend! Bring it on!

It’s been a crazy week around here. Lots going on. Lots of changes happening. Just LOTS. And it’s left me in tears, overwhelmed, and yet excited. But today I’m just going to focus on the things that have made me smile this week. (Actually, this is not a total list, because it has been a wonderful week!)

- Last night’s dinner

Yeah? So? What of it? We had ice cream and french fries for supper! My mom used to take me for an ice cream lunch sometimes. Last night my man was working. I had a gift card. It was the perfect opportunity! Buddy ate some supper, but then was content to just play…until the french fries came out. I believe we have another french-fry-lovin’ baby on our hands.
We had such a fun little date. Baby Girl got her favorite…pink and purple ice cream. She made me take this picture “while I’m taking a bite, Mama.”

- Walks to the park, library, and everywhere in between

I’ve mentioned it, but the weather has been amazing this week…in the 80s! Yeah, baby! This picture is when we stopped to watch my friend’s son play basketball. She was into it.

Buddy had his first wagon ride. He loved it! He did well on the seat until he figured out he could stand and look over the edge. Then he fell into the middle and couldn’t get up. That actually worked a lot better.

- Last minute hanging-out with a friend

I had the animal crackers (from a white elephant gift exchange at Christmas); my friend lovingly provided the frosting. Sometimes it’s the simple, last-minute stuff that’s best.

- Running

I don’t have a picture, although I totally meant to. My friend Shannan and I ran together yesterday. I have never run with anyone and wasn’t sure how it would go. I loved it! We ran three miles, chatting the whole time. I can’t wait to go again!

- Family days

Last weekend we spent together doing fun activities. Saturday we went to watch the maple sugaring process (just like Curious George did, of course). Sunday we hit the slopes again. Now that Buddy is a little older, we are able to do more. I’ve enjoyed it!

Yeah. I sure have a lot to be smiling about!

How about you? What made you smile this week?

Several weeks ago, my man took Baby Girl up to the mountain. We’ve been meaning to get her skiing for awhile now. We wanted to take her last year, but I was pregnant, we were moving, life was crazy. We also lived much further from the mountain. Anyway, they went a few weeks ago. Buddy and I stayed home, anxiously waiting to hear how she did. I got a text when they left the mountain.
“We’re just leaving. She did great and had fun!” I was so excited to hear all about it. Baby Girl loved it! She wanted to tell everyone that she went skiing (or skating, as she sometimes calls it). My man took pictures and even video taped them going down the bunny hill. The video wasn’t for the weak of stomach. Imagine trying to video while skiing and holding up a three year old.

I was so happy that she did well but also so disappointed that I didn’t get to see her. Saturday when we found out that the weather would be sunny and in the mid-fifties, we decided it was the perfect day to get back up to the mountain. After church Sunday, we packed everything up, ate dinner, and got in the car. Buddy was asleep before we pulled out of the driveway. Baby Girl talked for the first part of the trip; I think she was trying to stay awake. And of course, she fell asleep about 3 minutes from the  resort.

I enjoyed watching her get her rentals. Those boots are too cute! I loved seeing her with her helmet on. Watching her get on the magic carpet was so special! Just watching her experience this made me smile. She loved it!

And, I’m gonna brag, but she is GOOD! She doesn’t have a whole lot of fear. Dada taught her to laugh when she falls. (She even laughs when others fall, which might not be great. Hey, we don’t want her crying every time she tumbles down.)
I’ll stop talking now, but I’m posting a video. Please ignore my goofy voice (does anyone else hate hearing themselves?) and the sometimes bumpy filming. I was carrying Buddy in the Bjorn while skiing down the mountain. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be.

Baby Girl skiing

Isn’t she good?  (And isn’t that giggle the cutest thing you’ve ever heard?)

What!? Where has this week gone? I’m not happy with how quickly time is flying. I decided yesterday that I am just going to stay here. No need to go back north. I love winter, but I’d gladly give it up forever to live by the ocean. Well, maybe I’d go visit for a week to ski, but that would be enough for me. I might even give up my love  obsession with coats, boots, and sweaters. Am I old enough to be a snowbird?

We are having a wonderful time! Have I said that already? Yes, I think I have. And while I miss my friends and my church, I am seriously wondering if I could just switch my ticket for the end of February.

Yesterday my dad and I went to the Naval Air Museum. Pictures can’t do it justice. There are planes everywhere! Huge planes, tiny planes, jets, helicopters. It is amazing! And we only saw a tiny portion of the museum. Would you believe I’m hoping for a rainy day so that I can go back?

Then I got home and go to witness this:

Such a gorgeous sunset! This morning I took another picture…of an equally gorgeous sunrise! Seriously, this place is like heaven on earth.

Yesterday I did my “day in the life” post for Laura’s link up. You should join in. It’s a blast to document the entire day!

This whole trip is my Friday Favorite. I think it counts for this link-up!

It’s not a big list, but right now, these are my favorites.

Already shared this, but it’s still a favorite. I’m still laughing.

My Buddy and my man watching football and sleeping (well, one of them is sleeping). And can I just mention how well Brady did Sunday…beating Tebow? Yay!

Do you see a pattern here? I love pictures of sleeping kids! Buddy has attached himself to this little blue elephant. He loves hugging him! So sweet.

My next favorite thing, after sleeping children? Well, food, of course! These are my peanut butter balls…finally done! And while I’m listing my favorites, I have to mention our porch. It’s been wonderful! We spent so much time out there this summer and now it acts as an extra refrigerator. It keeps sodas and desserts that need to stay cold. I love it!

So there you have it…my favorites of the week.

I love this time of year! I love the lights, the generosity, the kindness, the food. It’s a warm time of year, even though the temperatures are cold. Although, truthfully, it was 46 today, which is much too warm for the week before Christmas. We need snow!

But I digress. I wanted to share some of my favorite things with you.

Our Christmas decorations. The Nativity set on the mantel. Four stockings by the fireplace. A tree that was carefully decorated as a family.

Baby Girl’s tree and nativity set. The tree was supposed to go in her room. I’ve caught her dragging it out to the living room twice. Apparently she’d rather have it where she can see it most of the day. She decorated it, which explains the lei at the top. She loves her Little People nativity set. I love watching her play with it!

Making traditions with our little family. We have cut down the tree, decorated it, started an advent calendar. It’s been so much fun! I plan to do a post or two on our new traditions.

This is not a great picture, but Baby Girl doesn’t often sit still for me! I love little girls’ Christmas dresses! Last year I got 3 of them at Target in January. They were $5 each! Yay! I’ll try to get pictures of each of them.

Baking. Especially at Christmastime when I have a good reason to give most of it away (and then eat the rest).

Getting amazing family photos! We had a fun time and got great results. I’m still so excited about these pictures!

Buddy loves this song. He giggles every time we sing “Rum, pa, pum, pum”. Baby Girl loves to read the book and sing it to him. I really love the words. The little boy gave the best that he had to Jesus.

What are some of your Christmas favorites?

I wanted to have pictures, but you know…sometimes it just doesn’t happen. I probably have the pictures on my computer, but I only have about 10 minutes before Buddy will wake up ready to eat. So…here are my pictureless favorites.

1. A day of cuddling with Baby Girl
We spent Wednesday on the couch. She would sleep, watch PBS, cuddle, cry, tell me “I need you, Mama.” I don’t like her sick, but I loved cuddling with her!

2. After the cuddling, a happy Baby Girl.
She woke up so happy Thursday. She was still a little worn out, but she was happy, eating, and feeling better. Yay!

3. Listening to my man and Buddy giggling
Buddy has had several steam showers this week, and during last night’s I heard his daddy and him giggling. So sweet.

4. I completed 3.1 miles yesterday!
I just needed to do it once to boost my self-esteem for tomorrow’s race.

5. Taking pictures of my kids in their Halloween costumes
We’ve gotten to wear them twice already. They are cute…if I do say so myself!

What are some of your favorites this morning?