February 22 2008 - A WHOLE WEEK OFF & IT'S OVER ALREADY?!

Honestly, I'm pretty controlling but there's one thing that I can't control lately and that's how fast time flies. The kids were off all week and Kendall had all week except for 2 days off as well. Heaven! We had a good week. It began with my sister Crystal visiting with her little guy Chaim. He's such a cutie and is a great little walker and was so sweet to Dane (which is good cause his new baby brother (maybe) is about to arrive in a few months!). We don't see enough of Crystal and Jeremy...so you better come back soon to visit before this baby of yours arrives! Thanks for coming Crystal!!!

We also got a visit from cousins on the other side of our fam...and had fun getting Dane together with his newest little cousin Aubrey. We had fun having everyone over for a quick visit!

Then later in the week we had a surprise visit from Chad and Heather and their kids. Always fun to get the cousins together! I wish I had pictures to share but I just can't bear the thought of pulling out my dinky camera while Chad has his around! He wins in that department! We had a great time as always! We LOVED watching the Eclipse this week. We began watching it at Tanis and Johns (while attending Jessica's birthday bash) and then quickly drove home to continue watching it turn barely red. Glad I snagged a quick picture before Brookie and Dane were too cold to continue.

Kendall had a fun program he had downloaded on his computer so after Brookie and Dane and I came in, he and the girls continued to search the sky for more sparkling stars to look up and learn about. It was amazing how much they apparently learned after coming in for hot chocolate! They were astronomy genius's compared to my knowledge. I LOVED how clear it was that night and how really tiny I felt as I gazed up there. Truly mind boggling to consider the universe and the millions and trillions of stars we can't even see!!!!! Star gazing is on my list of things we MUST do more often. It was also fun to consider other family members all over who were enjoying the same eclipse we were...only from different cities/countries. Sometimes I mock my camera...and well, here's proof of why. This is my zoomed shot of what we saw that night. Pretty impressive hey? I can see the street lights better than the moon but we really did have a wonderful view of the moon that night! Kendall had a fun program he had downloaded on his computer so after Brookie and Dane and I came in, he and the girls continued to search the sky for more sparkling stars to look up and learn about. It was amazing how much they apparently learned after coming in for hot chocolate! They were astronomy genius's compared to my knowledge. I LOVED how clear it was that night and how really tiny I felt as I gazed up there. Truly mind boggling to consider the universe and the millions and trillions of stars we can't even see!!!!! Star gazing is on my list of things we MUST do more often. It was also fun to consider other family members all over who were enjoying the same eclipse we were...only from different cities/countries.

And for the best news of all.....Brooklyn is well on her way to being potty trained. I hate to sound the drums so soon, but this is DAY 2 of no diapers (except of course at night as a precaution). I am so thrilled. She literally woke up the other morning and it clicked in her head. She told me...we went, she did it...and it continued throughout the day. Today, she even came to ME to tell me she had to go (vs. me prompting her to go the day before). I cannot even begin to explain how excited we all are...including Brooklyn herself. She loves it. I was feeding Dane this afternoon and I heard her say she had to go and all I could do was encourage her and tell her to run and sit down and I'd be there in a minute. I could hear her playing "5 little monkeys" only when I got there I saw this and had to run back and get a picture. Her little toes were monkeys this time, and she was sitting backwards...but whatever. That's Brooklyn for ya. She definitely marches to a beat of her own but either way she wants to do it is fine with me as long as the end result is no more diapers!!!!

Our kids have loved their time off. Between family visits this week and scavenger hunts and "winter Olympics" with the friends in the neighborhood....they've loved every minute of this awesome weather we've had!!!! Can't wait till spring. And this drooly boy looks like he has a reason for all his drool. I see a tiny tooth trying to pop up. I'm hoping this was just a silly figment of my imagination. He's way too little for a tooth already!