Another Year

So yesterday I turned 30 something.  I celebrated by holding a 4-H meeting about records books.  Those are not the most fun meetings.  But one of my kids told me I must be turning 19.  And they insisted that they sing happy birthday.  And after that, the boys and I had cake.  The cutest little cake ever.

And today we've just had a great relaxing family day.  It's rained and snowed so we weren't outside much.  Today our little baby goat was born.  The mama got had quads.  I totally feel for her.  And besides that, not much.  The boys had a nerf gun target range for target practice.  We made homemade pizza.  Some all natural, caffeine free soda.  And ice cream for dessert.

Now I'm waiting for midnight so I can go to sleep.  90 minutes to go.  The boys however, are still up and running.

So here's to another year.  A year for normal.  A year of comfort.  A year for the family.

The Christmas Letter

It's been busy here.  And we've all passed around a couple colds.  So I didn't pictures taken for Christmas cards.  And I didn't letters written for our store bought box set cards.  So I figured the next best thing is to put our letter on the blog.

So here's our recap of 2016.  Not the best year.  But it wasn't bad either.  Hubs is still working and commuting at the same car dealership.  He's been there over 5 years now.

Rionn is in 6th grade and nearing the end of elementary school.  I know it shouldn't be a big deal.  But it seems like it's the end of the "kid" era for him.  Especially since middle school is in a few months.   He's doing great as always.  Still doing karate.  And went on a big trip this summer with my parents.  He still doing 4-H.  He's taken on a lot this year doing goats, dogs, arts/crafts, sewing, camping, robotics, and cooking.  He's also the recreation officer for his club.  And him and a fellow member are going for their emerald star this year.

Jet.  There was a lot going on with Jet this year.  We continued with mygym.  He's now in their preschool prep class.  And he loves it.   In April, we found out he couldn't hear.  And we went to several specialists and speech evaluators.  No one could find an answer for his hearing loss.  So at a walk for hearing event for his friend's sister, we ran into some people.  And they referred us to the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles.  They determined he has ears that over produce wax.  So he gets trips to L.A. every 4-6 months from now on.  I can always tell when he needs it done.  It really affects more than his hearing.  He doesn't jump or climb or ride his bike. Pretty much anything that involves balance.   So he now has preschool prep twice a week, speech therapy once a week.  Then he loves going to story time at the library every week.

As for me.  I feel like we're never home.  I'm always shuffling kids to and from places.  All of Rionn's activities are after school.  All of Jet's are while Rionn is in school.  I'm also sewing more.  Although it doesn't seem like I get much done.  I'm also the co-community leader of our 4-H.  And somehow landed a position of the county 4-H management board.  Since Jet has graduated from mommy and me classes, I use that 2 hour block to go the gym.  Or run errands uninterrupted.  Or sometimes if I need to, I sit at Starbucks with some coffee and a book.  I also got to meet some amazing friends in Las Vegas for a reunion/meetup/introduction of sorts.

I won't lie.  It was a rough year.  I lost my grandma.  She was like a second mother to me. Jet's ear problems that lead to us finding major insurance problems.  Hubs had a paycut.  And well, life is hard sometimes.  But that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy it.  We went up to northern California for a family wedding.  The boys and I ran the annual city 5-k.  And then some that day.  Hubs and I went on a couple over night getaways.  We were able to buy hubs a new car.  And the good memories definitely outweighed the bad memories.

Man Is It Cold Outside

We live in the desert in Southern California.  And it usually doesn't get really cold till January/February.  This week has been super cold.  Well super cold for us.  No higher than 54.  And so, so, so windy.  Now for us.  That's cold.  I mean, we only get snow for maybe half a day a year.

So last night was our 4-H arts and crafts meeting.  And trying to find a craft for Christmas that isn't just Christmas, but still holiday, and kid friendly for all ages, is hard.  But I found it.

We made wooden snowman ornaments.  I scoured pinterest and found the perfect way to use our firewood pile since we can't use our fireplace.  So I found this tutorial that takes sliced wood pieces and makes snowmen.

The kids had fun.  And I'm thinking that maybe they can make a bunch more to sell as a fundraiser.  I'm definitely keeping this in our fun to do file.

I think they turned out cute.  And shows every one's personalities.