December is getting away

Every single day I think about blogging. And every day I seem to be too darn busy! Geez, it isn't like we are moving across the world or something, right? Oh, wait. Maybe we are! So, what is the latest news, you ask? Well, we decided not to ship our household goods. We get a nice little cash out for not shipping it all. I love going through everything and ridding ourselves of the "stuff" we don't need. We still don't have a firm date yet, but all of my paperwork is in. It is just time to hurry up and wait...

We have had a couple of snow storms. Emmett couldn't care less if the temperature reaches the teens. He wants to be outside ALL the time. He loves to help daddy shovel snow.

Augi enjoys a little outdoor time herself. As long as she isn't required to wear socks! We made our first snowman of the season. He is still hanging out, but he has melted quite a bit.

We ventured out last week to see the lights at the park. We had already driven through, so we decided to try walking this night. I have to say, sitting in a cozy warm car is a much nicer way to do it!

Zion and India will set up camp at our place as soon as we move. In the meantime, they came by for a little play date while auntie Lester got some shopping done.

We had our annual big family Christmas party this weekend. It was really the best one yet. Auntie Luanna and Auntie Lisa organized a fun gingerbread house decorating contest. It was great fun and we won 2nd place!

It felt strange to think that we will be gone for at least 2 years. I actually have in my mind that we will be gone for at least 4. Shhhh. Don't tell Chris.

Speaking of Chris, we will be celebrating his big 4-0 day after tomorrow. I thought of planning a big surprise bash, but he isn't really that kind of guy. So, we will just have a quiet dinner at home. I scanned a bunch of his childhood pics. Here are a few for fun:

I love this video of Emmett. He was trying to take a little nap in Augi's little doll bed. Her elf has been sleeping here this month. Em thought it looked pretty comfortable.

Well, that is all I have for now. I'll try not to wait so long next time!

Gobble gobble. I mean Ho ho ho.

I can't believe November is over and December is already here.  Phase II of our move to England is also over: Lester has stored her belongings into half of our family room. I didn't ever realize how much stuff we had down there until I had to start dragging it upstairs. Ug. It is a big project! I am s-l-o-w-l-y working on my credentialing for the new job. They need to know everything about me for the last 10 years. I'm sure most of you were listed as references--so you had better say nice things if they come knocking on your door!

We have all been a bit under the weather, to say the least. I had strep. I haven't had strep since I was a teenager. It was hell. I had the worst head ache in the world, and just a little sore throat. My temperature reached nearly 104 while I was taking Tylenol. It took several days for the antibiotic to kick in, and now I am just tired. Chris caught a similar bug, but he stuck it out until yesterday when he finally gave in to an antibiotic. Augi had a stuffy nose, but otherwise she sailed through ok. Emmett has been on and off sick for 2 weeks. He has a horrible hacking cough. I never know when to go to the doctor and when to just ride it out.

Augi mailed her letter to Santa, requesting a few toys and she asked him to send the elves back again. Well guess what, they arrived two nights ago! They must be a little under the weather too, because their mischief has been minimal. The first night they were caught trying to make calls on the cell phones. Last night they left a little surprise for Em and Augi on the table--teeny weeny russian nesting dolls. They decorated the tree with Augi's unders again--she handled it better this year. They were also caught trying to go joy-riding in Chris' car this morning. They didn't get far.

What have we done for fun lately, you ask? Well, we went on a mini-vacation with the Baldwins to Park City. The kids loved it. We stayed in a great condo with 6 hot tubs and a heated outdoor pool. The skiers were coming down the mountain on lovely man-made snow. The greatest ever is seeing the little Em Man in his full length swimming suit.

The new vacation tradition for these kids is getting to have Lucky Charms for breakfast. Emmett just picks out all the marshmallows.

The condo had a little rec room and they had activities for the kids all day.

We had so much fun that we headed back up with Chris a few days later.

OK. I actually like decorating for Christmas now that I have children. Getting the ornaments out and letting them look through them is priceless.

Thanksgiving was a great day. We had dinner at Meme's with all the cousins. Augi, Dayton, Kaedyn, and Caisy locked themselves in the bathroom to play with glow sticks. I am afraid it was a mini-rave. Augi brought her camera in and snapped some great shots. I can't see the X, but I did look.

While the big kids were raving, Em was innocently reading book after book after book with Grandma V.

I always like to add a few other shots of our lives with these crazy kids.

Augi came running out of the bathroom the other day to tell me she is an Indian. Interesting. Must be from Peter Pan. Princess Tiger Lilly?

I am getting nervous about leaving our good friends. We went to the zoo with Chiana, Julia, their mommy, and their yummy 6 month old brother James. He is seriously the sweetest baby I have ever seen. I didn't get a picture, though. We promised to have one more play date before the big move, so I will get one then.

Chris caught this shot of Em doing "Wee-Haw" as he likes to call it.

I previously posted a list of "Augish" vocabulary words. I thought I had better get a list of Emmish as well. So, here goes. If you ever visit Emmland, keep this guide handy.

• "Nur, sye": Mother, I am finished nursing on this side and I would like to move to the other side. Yes, I am still nursing him. You just be quiet.
• "Wee-Haw": Hey, I am riding a rocking moose with dad's gardening hat
• "Choo-choo": I want to play with the trains.
• "Awe" or "Gawg": Augi
• "Par-ee, Daddy, Noe, Scare?": Remember when we went to that Halloween party and Daddy was dressed as a scary werewolf?
• "Doooowwwwn.": please pick me up, or please put me down.
• "Weebee":  any one of 3 light blue favorite blankies.
• "Beebee.": baby elephant
• "Wah-ee": I would like a drink of water please.
• "Nah-Nye": Good night
• "Booooooo!": I would like you to read me a book, please.
• Well, that's all for now. It is way past my bedtime.

November is flying by

I can't believe it is mid-November. So much to do, so little time!
Phase one of the move overseas is complete: the Garage Sale. It was a flop, but I got everything out the door and donated. Augi made more money on her hot chocolate stand than I did at the sale. Oh well. It was freezing and the goal was to slim down our junk.

What is the next phase you ask?

Clearing out our family room so Celeste can move her stuff in down there. One step at a time.

So, the first real snow of the season hit this weekend. Perfect timing for a garage sale! Duh.

Augi and Em were singing away in Augi's room today. I tried to sneak in to catch it on video, but they caught me. Em's "Oooooo" is from the Snuggle Puppy song. If my job in England doesn't work out, we might get them to travel Europe and sing on the streets for money.

Tomorrow Em and I will spend the day together for his 6 month hearing test follow up and doctor visit. It looks like one of the tubes is gone or clogged. Hopefully he will pass the hearing test and he won't need more tubes! Ug. Keep your fingers crossed.
Augi saved her allowance and cocoa-money to buy these fabulous shoes today...

She has been begging me for them for at least 6 months. For some reason I actually stuck with my "no" because she is so damn picky about shoes. She bought them and she wore them all day long. Whatever works! She is getting some super cute Harajuku-Lovers canvas sneakers for Christmas. I can't wait! On that note, I am pretty much FINISHED with all of my shopping for the kids. Whoo-hoo!

18 months and growing!

Em had his 18 month check up yesterday. We were hoping to get his last vaccination (Hep A) until he is 5, but he has been a little under the weather with a low fever, so we decided to wait. It was also a bummer because they happened to have some seasonal flu vaccine (mercury-free) and we couldn't get that either because of the fever. DARN! We are hoping he is fever free in the morning because he is scheduled for the H1N1 vaccine. If not, I think we can get some good money for the ticket on the black market!
Anyway, here are the stats:

• Height: 50th percentile
• Weight: 50th percentile

In other words, he is absolutely perfect! However, I glanced at the computer as the Dr. was typing away and noticed "macrocephaly" on his record. He is officially a big melon head.
Head: "somewhere above the 95th percentile."
Oh well. Big heads=big smarts, right?

Happy Halloween 2009!

This was a fun Halloween. Augi designed her own costumes this year. She was a butterfly for the most fabulous Halloween Party ever at Dayton's pad. Em was a very cute monkey.

Just before the party, Em decided to try his hand at Drag Queen. He looked pretty good, don't you think?

Life is always more fun with cousins. We will miss these kids when we are gone for 2 years!

Not sure if this is Thing 1 or Thing 2.

The night Em wore his monkey suit and made mischief of one kind...and another...

My little butterfly

The witchy Mama...

And the wolfy daddy...

So, don't forget to check out Munch's blog for more pics from the party.

Halloween started with the annual trek to Dave's place for a baggy with a candy and a dollar! We will miss our neighbors!

 Em made a costume change to become the great Pumpkin and Augi decided to be Little Red Riding Hood. I would like to point out that I MADE her cape.

We stopped at the Baldwin house for a quick Trick-or-Treat.

We always go to grandma Meme's for Trick or Treating because their neighbors give out the best candy!

Lil' Red Riding Hood and BumbleBee

Today's costumes are a wee bit better than the costumes of the 70's, right?

I'm certain I had one with wonder woman on it.

Here's my pumpkin begging for candy.

The Motley Crew getting ready to hit the streets in search of treats

Ohhhhhh....the anticipation of the first treat!

Em trying to go incognito--to get more candy.

It was a great and memorable night!