We took a mini family vacation this past couple of days to Sioux Falls and stayed at a hotel with an indoor water park. It was such a fun time! I have no family pictures to show you because I am terrible at remembering to capture such experiences until it's too late, but I was able to find a couple online so that you can have an idea. We spent most of our time at the pirate ship climbing up and around and sliding down, sometimes we would have to swim and walk very, very fast (you're not allowed to run) away from the shark (Roger). There was a 162 foot water slide there as well and both Cate and Joel went down it several times with Roger waiting at the bottom to catch them. Cate learned to float on her own and Joel decided he liked the hot tub the best- which suited me just fine. We also went to see the movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, which is quite a good movie actually. All in all it was a fun way to celebrate and spend time together and I'm so happy we were able to do it!

So, Joel came up to me today and told me he was exhausted. Yes, his word. I'm sure he is after waking several times through the night, but it came as a surprise that he knew the word. He makes me giggle.

Cate and Joel were creating masterpieces last night. I plan on getting huge canvases for them soon, so they can provide the artwork for our family room. They have such colorful imaginations. There is always a new catastrophe to overcome- some flood waters rushing through the walls, a dinosaur coming to eat them, a leaky ship...their answer is always to put on their rainboots, grab a flashlight and charge! There are quieter games- mostly Joel gets stuck being the dad opposite Cate's bossy mom- she always seems to display my less finer moments. I think God does that to remind us of where we are and who we should become.

This afternoon I am sipping on a hot cup of cappuccino with freshly grated cinnamon on top. It is yummy and refreshing. I just received this fun little gift from my secret sister. It was a new mug, cappuccino mix, cinnamon sticks and a very cute little grater. It was such a great gift idea- especially for addicts like myself.

Ideas, anyone?

I'm so excited! My new furniture was delivered today! It is so beautiful, but it makes me realize just how small this house we're renting is. If any of you have an idea for a better way to arrange, let me know...

Christmas Wreckage

So, we've been busy. We've had Christmas and Christmas and Christmas and then finally New Year's celebrations. We've been to Cherokee, IA; Storm Lake, IA; Rochester, MN. We played Texas Hold 'Em, Hand and Foot, 80's Trivial Pursuit and Etc. - and Roger got in one "quick" game of Risk. We ate ham, turkey, parmesan chicken, spinach dip, pickels with corned beef, the yummiest chocolate cake and pesto pizza, while sipping on a cup full of wassail. It was such a wonderfully fun time to spend with family and friends.