More Random Stuff

We got Cosmo about a month ago.  He's been a good dog and loves us.  The kids really love him, except when Andrew decides he likes cats better (hahaha...he doesn't like cats at all).  He mostly just gets annoyed with Cosmo when he comes over to check out what is happening when Andrew is getting dressed or having his diaper changed.  It's actually really funny :)

I love cuddling with this kid

We have had incredible weather this week.  One of the best parts of the week was eating popsicles and watching as everyone's tongues turned different colors.  Of course we had to document it!

Poor sleepy Andrew

I taught the letter T in preschool a couple weeks ago and the kids had a blast making a train with cardboard boxes.  And Cosmo was right there in the mix with them

Roy was gone in China for Valentine's Day so I get to take complete credit for a pretty great day for the kids.  We had pink chocolate chip pancakes, new nerf guns bullets, treats, and a pink dinner.  The kids totally spoiled me with some amazing Valentine cards and lots of extra love that day.  I sure love my little Valetines!

Sam the Birthday Boy

We got to celebrate Sam's 7th birthday a couple weeks ago.  I can hardly believe he is 7!  He was so happy that day and thrilled to be the kid in the spotlight.

Since we live in NC, it felt like we should probably develop some basketball knowledge and skill.  Also, Abby and Sam both wanted to play.  Sam had a game first thing in the morning on his birthday and he did a pretty good job.  He is certainly not the best guy out there, but he genuinely enjoys being out there.  The best part of the game was when he blocked the ball as it was being passed and it ended up in his arms.  With a deer in the headlights look on his face, he started dribbling and quickly passed it to a teammate.  In a moment of triumph, he sprinted across to his position and did full body trip and splat on the 3-point line.  He jumped up, totally unphased, and kept on playing.  That is how cool and confident Sam is and I love it!

One of the best parts of Sam's day was building with Baba Z.

We also got to do a little shopping for Roy's birthday.  He wanted rocking chairs for our screened porch.  The kids enjoyed driving Grandma Z around Home Depot :)

This and That

We have had a fast-paced February.  It has been a lot of fun, thank goodness.  Abby and Sam got to participate in the school art show.  It was fun to see the future selves of all the 3rd graders and the 1st graders with their dream playground.

I finally fulfilled Lydia's dream of giving her a nightstand of her very own (seriously, it was her request a year ago).  We also scored big on Target clearance and found a purple lamp.  We also got Abby a matching nightstand with an awesome blue bird lamp (also a Target clearance steal).

Abby got a late birthday gift from my mom (Mor Mor), who made her a cute book bag with giraffe fabric.  It's the perfect size to carry multiple big, fat books so Abby is thrilled.

When Roy was gone in China a couple weeks ago, Lydia had me take a couple of silly pictures to make him laugh.  This is my favorite :)

We were up in the high 70s this week so Lydia convinced me that we should bust out the sprinkler.  It was so much fun to be sitting on our rocking chair, half reading a book and half watching as the kids braved the 8 different settings of the sprinkler and chased each other with squirt guns.  It was a great preview of summer!

This is how Andrew entertains himself during scriptures.  He just goes around the room and gathers things to wear or putter around with.  He was cracking me up with this splendid ensemble.

We took the big plunge and got Andrew a twin bed.  He has happily transitioned to a big kid bed.  It's mostly exciting, but it is a little sad to see my baby getting so big.

Little Moments

There are these golden moments where I can see how blessed we are and I have to take a picture just so I can look back later and remember those tender feelings.  These people are in my everyday moments and I'm so grateful.  We aren't perfect and things don't always go perfectly, but I'm glad to have them with me each day.

Once upon a time

Once upon a time we got a dog.  We named him Rex (short for Sam-o-saurus Rex).  He loved Roy best of all.  Unfortunately for all of us, Rex wasn't the best match for our family.  He's a sweet dog and was filled with so much love for Roy.  As much fun as he had with the kids, he had a hard time remembering that they are people and not litter mates.  He was nipping at them and all our tricks weren't helping so we had to take him back to his foster mom.  We also felt like he would be happier in a home with less kids and a yard with more places to dig and explore.  Abby misses him a lot, but the other kids seem relieved.  We did get some sweet pictures of Rex and we are grateful for what we learned during the 11 days we got to have him in our home.

Christmas Eve

The excitement in our home was palpable as Christmas Even crept forward.  We were definitely busy and had a lot of fun, but I thought the kids were going to burst with joy and excitement.  Seeing them all dressed in their new Christmas Eve pajamas and seeing how happy they were feeling brought back lots of memories of when I was growing up.  It's so fun to be a parent around Christmastime!

We had Grandma, Baba, and our friends over for Christmas Eve.  We started out the night by playing some silly Christmas games.

Earlier in the day we went to this funny little thrift store where we found all sorts of silly things.  We had to pose with a Justin Bieber poster for my dad who loves to laugh at "the Biebs".  And you must admire Sam's awesome style.  This kid is so funny

Lydia took it upon herself to organize the Christmas gifts.  She needed to be sure we were prepared for Christmas morning :)

Snow Weekend

Saturday 

5:57 am: Abby comes in asking if it finally started snowing

6:04 am: Abby and Sam, "Is it snowing now?"

     Lots of noise, giggling, and excitement

6:30 am: Abby, Sam, and Lydia, "What about now?"

Then they go and read in the other room while I try to convince myself that I will be able to go back to sleep.  When I am finally unsuccessful, I look outside to see the snow has just started to fall and cover the several inches of ice that had fallen all night long.  After getting dressed and eating breakfast they were outside for round 1 in the snow by 7:15.  Over the 5 days we had snow and ice on the ground, we were outside for at least 12 rounds of sledding, ice ball launching, and shaky attempts to climb up hills of ice.

Abby made cinnamon rolls for us for snack one day :)

One of my favorite moments of the whole weekend was watching my girls walk back up the hill after sledding together and put their arms around each other.

This is the view from our front door.  If you look carefully you can see a string of Zwahlens climbing the hill

Andrew enjoyed sledding, but he had an equal amount of fun just watching the kids slip and slide all over the ice while he watched from the toasty warm house.

The best way to spend post-sledding: in front of a fire watching a movie.  We watched several Harry Potter movies this week.  Abby is almost done reading the series and she and Sam especially enjoyed the movies.  Andrew and Lydia disappeared and watched much tamer shows :)