This weekend on a spur of the moment whim we went up to Gatlinburg. Andy and I usually go up for our anniversary because it always falls on the MLK holiday, but this year we decided we needed a family get-away, so I called Friday about 4:00 and got a reservation, and we left by 6:00. I've never packed so fast in my life, especially with so little laundry done! Andy had to take wet jeans with him and dry them when we got there. At least they were clean. Of course, as it seems to be this time every year, they were calling for snow up there this weekend, so when we were about 30 miles away at the bottom of the last bit of mountains we had to cross to get there, we were turned away because the mountain was closed. We ended up going about an hour out of our way around the world to get there. But, the kids slept the whole time, so it wasn't too bad. We got there about midnight and crashed. Our place was really nice. We got this 2-bedroom condo, because there were no 1-bedrooms available, so the kids got to sleep in their own king size bed. The next day we took the kids to the aquarium up there, which was awesome. It's kind of expensive (not as expensive as Atlanta's new aquarium), but it's definitely worth the money. The kids loved it. They have this moving sidewalk that you ride a pretty good way through a glass tunnel with fish swimming all around. I've never seen the under side of so many fish before. It was weird because there were different kids of sharks right in our faces and freaky looking eels and some other really strange looking fish that I don't know the names of. It was neat, though. We also got to watch a diver feed some fish, which made me shiver because as soon as she got in there they completely swarmed her. You couldn't even see her. It was like the old Hitchcock movie, The Birds, except with fish. Of course they had the area where you could pet some of them, but all the kids would do was touch the water. They're completely fine with never touching a ray or a shark or a crab at this point. Frankly, I am too. The next day we went and saw The Chronicles of Narnia, which was great. I read the book to Drew, being the super-mom that I am :), so the movie was really exciting for her. Alli and Evan slept through most of it. They're at the perfect age to go to the movies, because they sit still and watch for the most part, and they're still free. Of course, we spent the rest of the time eating too much and laying around, which we all needed desperately - I mean the laying around part. On the way home we did get to cross the mountain and see why it was closed Friday night. There was probably 2 feet of snow at the top, and since the kids rarely see snow, we had to stop and let them play for a while. Alli wasn't crazy about it because she kept falling and freezing her hands since nobody had gloves, but Drew and Evan enjoyed getting to throw snowballs at each other and me and Andy. It's not very often that we actually allow them to throw things at each other. We're home now, and I'm spending my time doing this instead of the mountains of laundry that are nagging at me. Plus, the house is a wreck as usual, which is ridiculous since we've only been home for a day!

This week we went to Discover Mills Mall, which is an outlet mall about 45 minutes from where we live. They had some pretty neat things hanging from the ceilings, so my mom and I sat in the floor of the mall all for the sake of taking cute pictures. Evan loves posing for pictures, but he hasn't quite mastered the art of the fake smile. They also have a place where you can go race these mini electric cars complete with a mini track, so we had to stop and watch that for a while. While we were there, we happened to see the infamous Runaway Bride! It was a pretty funny event. I saw her first, and I recognized her, but couldn't remember where from. Then I thought maybe she knew us because she looked surprised to see us. Then I realized that it wasn't surprise - it was just her naturally bulging eyes - and that she was the runaway bride. She lives somewhere around here. Andy actually knows her family because her mom was part owner at a sporting goods store in Gainesville, and she (the runaway bride) worked at the OBGYN that my mom and I go to. Anyways, as for the kids, they're as wild and crazy as ever. I've been slowly and casually working on potty training for the past couple of months, and, as I suspected, it's been less than enjoyable, which is why it's been slow and casual. I refuse to stress over it. Alli has actually done pretty well. She tells me when she needs to go and only wears a diaper to bed now. Evan is another story. At first we thought he was gonna do great, because he always wanted to go, but the excitement wore off, and now he doesn't care at all. So, since they're using the toilet, we decided that we should take the door knob cover off the bathroom door to give them access to the bathroom whenever they need it. We soon regretted that decision. The toilet mysteriously started getting really sluggish. It would flush, but not really well. It finally got to the point where it was a complete disaster and it would overflow and it was just unusable. Andy plunged as much as he could and nothing helped. He decided to borrow one of those snake things from his dad and give it one more try before we caved and called a plumber. He finally pulled a washcloth, of all things, out of the toilet, which irritated and relieved us at the same time. But it still wouldn't flush. So, he started again with the snake, and this time he pulled out a zip-loc bag and a spring about an inch in diameter and about 2 inches long. We laughed in between our rants about our children's reasoning (why would flushing be the best option for getting rid of a metal spring!? - No, they didn't swallow it for anyone who might be considering that), and now the toilet works like new. However, the door knob cover has been replaced and there's no more sneaking in the bathroom. My mom says the only bad things about having kids are potty training and teaching them to drive. So far I agree.
The other pictures here are of Drew with her Barbie mansion that is completely furnished with a bathtub, bed, kitchen & somewhat working appliances (a light, a ticking timer, and a ding when the timer's finished), and a fireplace and couch. I love Barbies. This is a picture of Evan with a knot on his head that wass so big it looked like he was trying to grow a horn. It's gone down a lot. I don't know what he did. All we heard was a thump and a scream from the playroom and when we got in there it was instantly welped up. The only explanation from him or Alli was that he fell. And, here is Alli with a Happy Birthday hat on. It's a big birthday cake with candles, which are hard to see in the picture, but every time we go to my parents' house

she wears it. She spent about 30 minutes outside helping my dad gather sticks for a fire with the hat on. It's funny because she wears it around as if it were a serious fashion statement. The seriousness with which she wears it is what makes it so cute.

We made it through Christmas and it was a lot of fun. The older the kids get the more fun it becomes. This was Evan and Alli's first year to understand what was going on, so all three of them had a great time. I think today for the first time all week I feel like my house is back to normal. Toys are all out of boxes, tags are all off of clothes, and wrapping paper and tape are back where they belong. We made a trip to the Potter's House (similar to Salvation Army) yesterday to get rid of all the clothes that were too small and the toys that they've outgrown. I think because my mom was such a yard sale person when I was a kid, I have a really hard time letting things go for free, but I've decided that the time and energy it takes to put on a yard sale aren't worth the small amount of money we make. I did have one to get rid of all the big stuff (car seats, play pen, swing, etc.) but now that it's just clothes and worn out toys, it's not really worth it. So, we're still on sugar rushes from the left over stocking candy, and the kids are staying pretty sticky from candy canes and sweet tarts, but other than that Christmas is over. I mentioned before that I thought I would be sad, but I have to say that with 3 full days and 4 parties, I had my fill and I'm glad it's over. I can't wait till next year, though. Yes I can. Hope everyone has a great new year. My resolutions are the typical get in shape, eat right, be a kinder, more patient person. I never make new year's resolutions because I generally make them every Monday and they last until about lunch time, but I've decided with the year I've had, it's a good year to give it a try. By the way, these are all pictures from my mom's house. We only took video of Christmas morning at our house. Alli is showing off a new shirt, Evan is sitting next to The Thing (from Fantastic 4) and King Kong, who are hugging, and Drew is holding Sarah's baby, Colin, who is gaining all his weight in his cheeks from what I can tell. Mom also greeted us at the door with the camera, so I thought I'd include these pictures since I never put pictures of me and Andy on here.

So, this is what the holidays have done to me. I guess since I’m in school and Drew’s in school, I thought Christmas break would be a time to relax and enjoy life and get ready for Christmas. I was right about the getting ready for Christmas part, and while I am enjoying life, there is nothing relaxing about it. I actually didn’t even know this picture was on here until I went to put the pictures on the computer. Anyways, I figured since we’re the only non-Jewish people in the world who celebrate several days of Christmas, I need to start posting gradually to fit it all in. This first picture of Drew and Alli is actually at home playing dress-up. Drew is wearing her Chinese dress that Erin got her from her study-abroad thing last year, and Alli is in some sort of flapper dress that someone in the family got her. Alli thinks whenever she puts a dress on she’s Cinderella. So, here are the kids at Andy’s mom’s house on Christmas Eve Eve (the 23rd) in front of her tree. It was the first present-opening of the year, so, as you can tell from the pictures, the kids were quite wound up. They had a blast. Drew and Alli got the Cinderella talking kitchen, which you can sort of see in this picture taken this morning. This is Andy putting it together with them waiting not so patiently. Evan got a big truck full of blocks as his big gift, which he is now pushing around the house at top speed, terrorizing every one and enjoying every minute of it. This morning he got himself dressed, which I had to get a picture of since he put all his clothes on backwards. He was pretty proud, and I hated to burst his bubble and fix it. Andy said we should just let him go like that, but my OCD was screaming “It’s not right!,” so I had to fix it. By the way, I don’t really have OCD for those of you who don’t know that I self-diagnose constantly with whatever latest disease trend is out there. Well, I guess that’s it for now. We have the Clarks and Andy's dad tonight, which will definitely be a late night for us, and then tomorrow Santa comes, we have church, and then we do my family. It's funny how it's sooo busy and exhausting, but when it's over I'm kinda sad. Plus, it means I have to go back to cooking real meals. Ugh! Oh well, I need to go get my dessert made and all my pigs wrapped in blankets for the big Clark party tonight. Merry Christmas!!!

This week, we finally got in the Christmas mood. We've all been so busy that we haven't had a whole lot of time for it, but it finally happened. Wednesday we traumatized the kids by forcing them to sit with Santa and get their picture made. Drew was fine and really wanted to tell him what she wanted, but Evan and Alli were much less than thrilled. We took them to the Santa at Andy's mom's bank with all kinds of bribes. Santa had stickers, Glenda (Andy's mom) brought cookies, and I had Reece's cups. Thank goodness nobody else was in line at the time because bribes weren't cutting it. Somehow, after about 10 minutes, Andy somehow talked them both into it and the pictures turned out really good. He's just got a knack for talking people into things they don't really want to do. The Clarks are born salesmen. After Santa, we went to the Magical Nights of Lights, which is a big park that you drive through full of Christmas lights. It takes about an hour to drive through the whole thing. I think it was more fun for me and Andy to watch the kids than for the kids to watch the lights. They loved it. This is them in front of SpongeBob with Gary (his pet snail) pulling the sleigh. Immediately after the lights we went to church where Alli and Evan's teacher reported to me that they were unusually wound up during class. I guess all the excitement hadn't worn off yet! These pictures of Evan and Alli are just ones that I thought were funny. Andy keeps saying that Evan looks like a punk, and Alli just looks goofy. They're so cute, though!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Being in school and dealing with end of the semester projects and finals has kept me pretty busy. Plus, there were the holidays and all the craziness that goes along with them. So, a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. First, we had to take Evan to get a hair cut so he could look nice and groomed for all of our out-of-town company that was coming, and he looks so cute sitting in that barber chair. The place where I take him is so funny. There's nobody in there under 60 years old, but they're the sweetest old men, and they're so good at doing just a regular old boy haircut. So, after the haircut, Thanksgiving came. On Tuesday Drew had a little program at school. It was really cute. They made their own costumes and sang some songs and did a little play thing. She was an indian woman. You can see from the pictures how much smaller she is than everyone else. It was a really cute program, and I never thought I could be so proud. Anyways, we spent Thursday with the Clark's and then Friday with the Kinzel's. I love having Thanksgiving dinner twice. Especially since we don't have it at our house and don't get to enjoy all the leftovers. The kids did really good. These are just some pictures from my parents' house. Here's Erin reading to Alli (yes, she actually sat still for more than 30 seconds), and Evan drinking something. I don't know who's cup that is. They don't discriminate between germs. If it's drinkable, it's fine with them. This picture of Alli on the counter is her attempting to dry dishes. That was pretty cute. And, here's Alli holding the newest addition to the family, Colin. She was so excited, and once she got to sit and hold him, she decided that next she needed to stand and hold him. It was pretty funny. And, I have to add that Colin is sooo precious. He's so calm and sweet and he smells so good. In this last picture, Drew finally lost some teeth. She lost the first one the day before Thanksgiving, and then lost the other one about a week later. It was somewhat traumatic, though, because she tends to be a bit of a drama queen, which, I have to admit, she inherited from me. I remember doing the same thing. She was excited, though, and the tooth fairy brought her a 2-dollar bill for each tooth. It was fun playing the tooth fairy on the first one. The second one was fun, but Andy and I were so tired that it was a big decision deciding who would stay up till she fell asleep. We finally agreed that the fair thing would be for both of us to do it together, but I'm pretty sure Andy didn't hold out. Anyways, that's the update for now. Now that school is ending for the semester, hopefully I can keep things a little more updated.

This weekend we went out to the country (yes, even more country than where we live) to the place where Andy and his dad hunt. This is a typical picture of Alli in the car, and this is a typical picture of Evan. It wasn't really that cold, but for some reason if they're wearing their jackets, they think they have to have their hoods on. The house on the hunting land is a bit rustic for me, even though it is a house (probably 100 years old) with indoor plumbing and a satellite TV and various eating establishments. The kids love it, though. They get to run around in the woods with sticks and ride the 4-wheeler and roast marshmallows. I actually haven’t been there in a couple of years because I refused after the last time I was there. But, Andy spent an entire weekend fixing it up just for me, so I felt like I needed to give it another chance and it was pretty nice. I think the most relaxing part of the weekend was the 2 hour nap I took on Saturday. We got down there on Friday night and ordered pizza (rustic, huh?) and ate it in front of the fire place. The kids LOVED throwing their leftovers, the pizza boxes, anything else they could find that wasn’t toxic, in the fire. We finally had to put an end to that because Evan wanted to throw coke cans and plastic bottles in there. I know all you grandparents are probably about to have a stroke. Don’t worry. It was all completely supervised. Everybody woke up earlier than I wanted them to (hence my 2-hour nap) and we had a big country breakfast and discussed the artery clogging possibilities of the meal. I was glad to get back home, but first thing this morning as we were leaving to take Drew to school, Evan said he wanted to go hunting again.

Stephanie brought me a bunch of pictures from a night when she came over and got my kids all wound up. I guess that’s an aunt’s job. This pile of my kids is actually somewhat typical, whether Steph’s there or not. Drew’s in there on the bottom, even though all you can see of her is legs. It’s funny how in these situations I find myself saying the exact same things my mom always said. When we were at the peak of fun, mom would inevitably say, “Stop before somebody gets hurt.” At the time I would wonder why she would always interrupt, but now I understand. No good can come from two 2-year-olds and a 5-year-old in a pile on the floor, even though I laughed when it happened. That’s another thing. It stinks when you’re trying your hardest to correct your child and they make you laugh. I don’t know how many times Andy’s gotten on to them for one of the millions of goofy things they do and I’ve had to hide my face in a pillow to keep them from seeing me laugh. I have to say, in defense of my wild kids, they come by it honestly. When Andy got home today I asked him how his day was and he leaned over and asked me if I saw any dried blood on his head, which is funny because he’s supposed to wear a hard hat all day. Back to the pictures. After the kids got worn out, they finally zoned out on TV. This is great when I need to get something done, and then the commercials come on. Commercials can really ruin a nice, calm moment. Everybody goes wild again. I also included Drew’s school picture in here. She’s just so grown up.