All of January

So, last month we had our 8 year anniversary!  We celebrate by going to Texas Roadhouse to eat (YUM) and we walked around to work off some of those calories!  We celebrated Christmas at least 4 times and were surprised to get presents on our doorstep (especially since we contributed a few of them)!  We headed to Lousiana too!  The kids loved fireworks!  They were able to hold sparklers.  Ben was the only one that didn't do it.  Obviously we have taught him well about fire!  We stayed with Mandy and tried to fix up her house as my children messed it up. All we did was put self-adhesive vinyl squares in her dining room and I painted her chimney white. Dad and Uncle Jeff replaced all of her locks (since we were all able to "break in" pretty easy)! I think the next time we go, we're bringing supplies! So, we're ready! It was great seeing lots of family! We even had a Girls' Night Out while there, where we went out to eat and went bowling. There's a lot of us girls, and not everyone could come, but we had lots of fun! I haven't been bowling in a long time (Scott and I were dating then, not that we're not now...) This month we came back from Louisiana, luckily right before it started snowing again up here!  So, the roads were clear!  It was a great vacation!  It was certainly nice to enjoy warm weather while it was so snowy up here.  Then we came up and snow, snow, and more snow!  We couldn't even go back to school until the next week!  We did manage to go sledding, the first time for the kids to really go down a hill!  It was so cold that it didn't last long!  Ben got a crazy rash (which we later figured out was a Strep Rash) and so he got to go on some Antibiotics.  Which was followed by Scott and I getting Strep Throat and Kira getting an infected tooth!  So she got a couple of teeth pulled, which she really didn't like, so here's hoping she brushes even better now!  Emma got over her everlasting cold!  And Leah picked hers back up!  Leah is growing so fast!  She can stand and go up the stairs (which she only does when I'm upstairs, luckily).  And Emma has started singing songs which is fantastic!  So, yeah, we're moving right along.  We got a new bedroom set, and I am thrilled!  It's the first time we've had a matching bedroom set in our house!  It was a lot of work!  That's some seriously heavy furniture!  And, of course, that was the day I had already done my weight workout (we joined the Gold's Gym and I go with my best friend, Elyse, and my kids at least Monday to Friday)!  So, I got an extra workout that day and the next while we moved stuff out!  The result is beautiful!  We finally got an extra vehicle, and it's mine, all mine!  I love it!  It's a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan and it has an electronic door and lots of cool features (not a DVD player though, SIGH!).  It's green and looks a lot like my parents' van!  My kids love it!  They have not been waiting patiently for us to have 2 cars.  Kira even promised to keep it clean!  Ha!  We'll see!  I even got my hair cut!  I LOVE it!  It helps that Leah can no longer pull it!  Hip Hip Hurray!