What a New Year!

Yikes. . . since Christmas break has been over, I feel like I have been constantly on the go!  No time to relax!  I guess I did too much of that while I was home for the break :)

So, here's what we have been up to lately. . . .

We got out a couple of times and played some basketball.  We had fun and played on the smaller court for Dad so he didn't get too tired!  No we just played 3 v 3 so it was perfect.  Dad can definitely still keep up with us!   

Luke was lucky enough to get some lessons from all of us!  He sometimes forgets to find the basket before he shoots :)  We were all giving him tips and tricks and I am pretty sure we did a really good job confusing him!

David pulled out his rhino moves once again.  Look at that eyebrow!  He was ready to play!

Maggie is getting so big.  Mom and Dad are easy on her and let her hang out inside all the time. Dad is worried that all the manly dogs are going to sneak into our backyard and get her pregnant so she had to be “supervised” a lot.  We gave dad a hard time about it, but he was really nervous for Maggie.  She is such a good dog though and she loves to come cuddle up with you.  She’s funny and knows exactly where the tile ends and the carpet begins and will wait at the edge for you to come pet her.  She's a cuddly cutie!  

Abby is cute too!

Nick and Christine were able to spend some time with both sides of the family. . . too bad we have to share!

Brooks and John got caught kissin’ again.

We all gathered as Dad read the Christmas story.  He teared up again and was cute as he always is.

John got matching Snuggies for him and his dog Gus!  He was a little excited!

Mom's birthday was great for her!  We went out to IHOP and then took a little trip to Lowe's.  She picked out the paint she wanted so we could paint the basement and put up some pegboard so she can hang her tools.  Brooks and John got the pool table, so her room is open for her now!  She is so excited.

Dad made her a steak dinner and we got to have some too!  We finished off her special day with cake and ice cream.  She was wearing her painting clothe so that’s why she wasn’t all dressed up for pictures!  We didn’t see Mom for the next few days as she was putting together her craft room just how she wanted it.  We only got to see her when we would bring some food down to her because she was probably having too much fun down there to even think about taking a break to eat!  

It snowed for a couple days so I got a crew together and we all went tubing!  It was a lot of fun! 

Abby brought two neighbor boys that she babysits.  They loved it and lasted a long time.  I was surprised that they were able to climb that hill so many times. We all enjoyed some hot cocoa with marshmallows when we got home too!  mmmmm. . . perfect!

I was able to catch up with a best friend of mine that I grew up with.  It was great to see Brooke and play like a kid again!  We are still goofy as ever!

Happy New Year!  This is how our great party went!  We sort of missed the celebration at midnight.  We were all scrambling to throw a party together for Luke and his friends after the dance that they were planning on going to was cancelled.  Mom worked hard to make her goodies!  They came and ate lots of food and played a lot of games.  Well they started a lot of games and once someone had a new idea of another game, they would switch.  I don’t know if they finished any of the games they started.  He said it was fun, so oh well!

We came back to Boise on the 2^nd and came back to all of our boxes and stuff all piled up for us to sort through.  We have been cruising ever since.  David has had a handful of clients already that he is doing taxes for.  He also just got a job at Wells Fargo that starts up February.  He might be really really busy come February as that is when he expects the majority of people coming in to get their taxes done.  He will be working full time as well, so he will do taxes in the evenings and weekends.  We aren’t quite sure how this will all work out, but we think we are excited about it.

I started my student teaching.  I am in a 1^st grade class in Caldwell which is about 30 minute commute each way.  Luckily I am going the opposite way of most traffic.  It gets foggy in the mornings, but it has stayed very nice weather wise. 

The weather has been great compared to Rexburg!  It snowed once and melted by noon.  The kids were told to stay inside for recess one day because it was raining.  I had to laugh about that one. . . 45 degrees and raining!  In Rexburg, it has to be below 0 degrees!  It is hard to believe that Rexburg and Boise are in the same state sometimes.

My class is adorable.  Everything from the self-performed haircuts, tears over not getting their good-behavior sticker at the end of the day, and plenty of sneezing, coughing and nose picking.  Let’s just say that we stop and wash hands or use hand-sanitizer about 10 times a day. . . my teacher and I also participate in the routine.  I hope I don’t get sick with all the disinfecting I have been doing!

I was on my way home one day and decided to get my hair cut. Sorry Dad, I had to wait until I left so you wouldn’t make us leave early or something! I came home to surprise David with my new haircut, and he had a bouquet of roses for me!  We were both delightfully surprised and had a good laugh about it!  The roses were beautiful and he liked my striking new cut!