Various stuff

Thank you, Hilary and Hannah, for giving up your bed for us when we were down there.
Thank you, Hailie, for giving up your room for us.
I don't think we ever properly thanked you girls, but we really appreciate your giving up those things for us!

It's good to be back home. We came home to fairly fresh snow. I need to go to the store today to get coffee, salad stuff, and milk (pretty much the only things we need right now, which is nice) and also to the post office to pick up our mail. The kids really want to play outside and I'm kind of holding off until after we run errands because of how frigid it is outside right now (21 degrees!). Maybe it'll "warm up" to like upper 20's by the time we're back home. Anyway, I am gonna let them play out there, even if it is ridiculously cold. Thankfully Noelle and David both have snow boots (Noelle's are boy hand-me-downs, which is fine for just playing) and Timothy can use muddy boots until we get him real snow boots.

We gave in and got a fake tree, because we won't be able to have a real one this year (or, if we did, it would have to come down before we left for our Christmas vacation--too much of a fire hazard). So we got one for $30 at Wal-mart, a 6.5 foot one, it's about 3-4 feet wide at the bottom so it's a small one, but definitely good enough. I'm going to try to do some decorating with the kids after naptime and have some kind of yummy snack we can have while (or maybe after) doing that.

Oh, I drove over the Blue Mountains pass yesterday in pretty snowy conditions. It was stressful but I felt so good that I was able to do it without losing control at any point. It was nerve-racking to pass the big semis. There were tons of them, lined up at various points, having to put chains on, or pulling off for whatever other reasons.

Pictures will come, but I'm not sure when. I've got a full day planned for today. Maybe tomorrow. We almost filled up our memory card (which holds like 250 snaps). Got a couple of videos. OK, I really need to go, breakfast is ready and the kids are still trying to get me to let them play outside before we go. Bye!

P.S. Hathaways and Sleimans, we miss you guys and want to get together!!! And sorry, Taneisha, that I didn't give you that apple pie recipe--I had it all ready when we went over there last week and didn't bring my purse in (where it was) so totally forgot. Anyway, hope to see y'all soon!!