OurLittleMcFamily.com

Highlights:

1st annual talent show

complete with video crew, spotlight guy, and MC

Hiking

Yummy Food

 Lots of Cool Messes

And good all around fun

We love our tradition we have created for our family. We look forward to many more Zion trips in our future. Here are more pics!

Whenever I get a little homesick for my nephews, all I have to do is steal little Zackary! I am so glad his mother doesn’t mind how dirty he gets when he comes over. He had a blast this last time playing in Uncle Adam’s truck, running after the jump rope in the back yard, and chasing after the big boys.

This tia loves me some Nephew Zackary time!

Things I suck at lately:

daily workouts

filing bills

putting the laundry away

posting on our family blog

clipping coupons

calling mom and dad just for fun

keeping up on the kids’ adoption life books

removing dishes out of my bedroom

having more faith during the current political climate

making a firm decision about becoming a foster parent

 Things I rock at lately:

going to bed earlier

making Adam smile

meal planning

daily calorie counting

posting on the adoption blog

paying closer attention to friendship

capturing more quiet moments

daily scripture study and meditation

loving my children more, on purpose

finding killer deals at Target, three weeks running

So it’s not exactly like home, but I’ll take what I can get. Our Las Vegas skies have been gloriously cloudy for a couple of weeks now. Every morning I wake up to a window full of gloominess with temperatures hovering between 45 and 60. Oh, early February, how I wish you could linger a little longer. :)

Our favorite family activity during this time of year is to go walking in the dark. The kids take their flashlights and get soaking wet in the puddles. Adam and I follow just enough behind to not get completely drenched. We just enjoying wearing our rain jackets…hoods and everything!

Denver, Finally!!! This friend trip seemed extra-long in the making (due to my canceling the summer). Here are our lovely hosts:

(yeah, we keep him around; great entertainment value!)

A mountain retreat with girlfriends is exactly what this girl needed after the holidays. The massive amount of talking, drinking (purely diet coke), and scrapping was enough to push any husband over the edge–good thing the boys didn’t come along this time. I only finished six scrapbook layouts, but I napped, ate, and lounged in between each layout. It was perfect. I think Jes’s numbers were in the 20′s and Amy’s were in the 30′s. They kick my trash every time–and I am totally okay with that.We also hottubbed in the snow, ate loads of sweet chewy Chex Mix, and walked around Breckenridge. A huge thanks to Grandma Carlson for letting us use the Mountain House.

Other highlights
Amy’s local day spa–I haven’t had a massage in so long. Thanks for the treat, Ames.
Downtown dinner and walking with Steffan–The chicken fajitas were also a treat.
Shopping for scrap supplies–Archivers and Hobby Lobby.
Talking until midnight in the basement–wish we could do it more often.
Spending time with Mya and Peyton–I miss them already. They are growing faster than any auntie would want.

Resolutions Made
Join Weight Watchers
Scrap more often
Drink less diet coke
Plan next girlfriend getaway

And could my friends be any cuter? I think our thirties suit us well. :)

Here’s some awesome sledding video from our trip to Washington. Where it gets really interesting is at about 1:50. Adam’s true colors shine through. I love being married to this guy!!!

Adam uploaded all of our sledding videos here.

Tio Brian and I took Danny, Ezzy, and Brooklynn up to White Pass on our Christmas vacation. It was the first time for the whole McFamily. It was Brooky’s 2nd time and about the 10,000th time for Brian :) We had a blast. Danny was a natural – he went with Brian and Brooky on a longer, higher run, while Ezzy and I got lots of practice on the lower slope.

Brian got some pictures also that can be seen on the Hirschi’s blog. Stay tuned for more Christmas adventures!

kid #1–Daddy, I like two things: naps and hiking.

 kid #2–Mom, we need to sell the Wii so we can buy a baby.

Felt. Felt. Felt. That is what I am up to these days. I don’t have a cool picture of felt like Jaime, but I did buy 28 yards of it. At half off, I walked out of the store only spending $60. Why felt you ask? We are making felt playhouses for Christmas. See Here

I don’t sew, but my girlfriends do. They are determined to teach me. So far, I have kept myself busy with cutting, stuffing, and pinning the pieces. Jaime and Jena have helped me with the sewing. Adam also sews so we borrowed a machine from a wonderfully generous someone. We are excited to finish the project together for the kids.

My kids are a little too big, and our space is a little too small, to make use of our kitchen table. So I came up with the idea of making panels that will hook onto the kids’ bunkbeds. Two for the girls and two for the boys. My panel themes are: Cupcakery, Grocery Store, Stargate, and Buried Treasure. The ninos are great at imaginative play, and playing together in general. So this is the perfect gift. They can pretend to walk through the stargate–ready to conquer another world one day, and then go shopping pastries and tea at the cupcakery the next. So Cool. I am planning a beauty parlor for Nikki’s birthday in February. So many ideas. So little time. I will definitely post pictures of the finished project.

The best part about this project is that I have been super productive while spending wonderfully abnormal amounts of time with my girlfriends the past few weeks. We could quite possibly never stop crafting for that reason alone.

The three oldest are really getting the “hang” of it. Danny and Ezzy can go over the edge and down the wall on their own now. Nikki is just two steps behind. Juan has yet to step over the edge. He pumps himself up, and then chickens out. We are going to a find a place where the edge isn’t so high for him.

Thanks, Unlce Dave, for always being willing to go out and help.