This is a classic Joshua reaction to snow:  let's see how many people I can destroy with this powdery goodness.

So I'm not sure we will buy Christmas gifts next year.  My babies spent more time in one of the packaging boxes than they did with the present that came in it.

We went tubing while visiting family.  This picture was taken while they were flying down a hill.  Kid you not when I say Genevra's expression never changed.  It was like, "Hey mom.  I feel like I'm flying down a slow covered hill everyday.  This is no big deal."

This is Olaf the 2nd.  He was created while visiting grandparents over Christmas break.  Olaf the 1st died in our backyard. 

I run slower than Internet Explorer on dial-up, but I do run;)

Our semi-annual family news blip goes something like this:

Around about the time Genevra was 16-months-old, she decided to abandon her primary mode of walking on all fours and evolve to two.  Joshua started walking around 11 months, and so I was a bit concerned that we would forever be tripping on Genevra, but I guess it had to be her choice in her own time.  She is picking up on many phrases from Joshua that leave me wondering if we are reaching the teenage phase 12 years early.  Most commonly used words in our household from both Joshua and Genevra at the moment are "NO!" and "that's MINE" and "go away" and "leave me alone"...punctuated with the occasional, "Oh my heck!".  Yes, my kids adorable.  No, really, they are.  It's just a matter of not laughing when I hear these phrases.  

In case you couldn't tell from Joshua's rhetoric, he turned 3 last month.  With this new found three-ness has come a wide range of surprising new discoveries, such as the ability to connect a facial expression with a mood.  His latest thing has been giving us mood updates like its a weather forecast.  "Today, Gennenna is cry-cry-crying.  She is sad.  Mama is mad.  Angry-face-mama.  And Jah-da is happy.  Smiling Jah-da."  Apparently, I need to work on smiling more to avoid having the Native American name of "angry-face-mama".  

We stay busy in the mornings going to story time at the library, the Prairie Park Nature Center, open gym at the Rec Center, the Toy Store on Mass, and our little music group on Fridays.  Although it still is like pulling teeth to get out the door (will I ever get used to two kids?!), these little activities are our sanity savers during the times when it is WAY too cold to get out.  Side note: It's snowed here about a total of 3 times, none of which has been enough to cover the grass.  BUT it is dang cold.  Like I think we could make a lot of money by renting out Josh's truck bed to people who want to be cryogenically frozen.  

November was a good month for me.  I met the Na(tional No(vel) Wr(iting) Mo(nth)--Nanowrimo-- challenge of writing 50,000 words, which felt great.  I may not be the most skilled at it, but I love writing.  And doing that was like meeting up with a very good friend for the first time since graduating college.  I also ran the Lawrence Thanksgiving 5K.  For most people, this is not a big deal.  But considering that only two years and a half years and one child ago, I was convinced the only reason to run was if you were being chased by the four horsemen of the apocalypse, a 5K is huge.  And now I am training for a 1/2 marathon (13 miles) in April.  The idea is comparable to walking on coals.  It will be painful and boarderline insane, but I'm hoping to come away feeling like a conqueror.  

Josh and I were both let go from the primary.  It was a bitter sweet release from this church assignment.  We both had become pretty attached to the kids we taught, but were ready for change.  Josh is now the ward mission leader.  It's like primary on steroids sometimes.  Josh gets to go out with the missionaries quite a bit, has weekly meetings with them and other ward leaders, and does what he can to help further the work.  We are officially more than halfway done with this circus called Master's school!  And I can't say enough how excited we both are.  Josh does a stellar job at balancing his studio (might as well call that class a full-time job), regular classes, callings, and helping out when he can, but I will be so ready to have my man home before 10 pm again.  I am convinced that after teaching while doing all the normal jazz last semester, he can't get much busier.  

Anyway, we like life.  It is crazy and exhausting.  But you know what?  It's a pretty good one.