Getting caught up . . .

January has always been a tough pill to take.  And so, in the midst of my winter depression, I have neglected my blog.  How do you out-do the holiday posts with all their merriment and wonder?  I don't know, but I'll hop back in the saddle and hope for the best.

  

If you've been wondering but haven't yet called, we did make it home from our month-long stint in Utah.  We arrived to one small flicker of joy - all of our Christmas presents under our Oklahoma tree.  We celebrated Christmas on January 3rd and that did help ease the blow of the month I most despise.  

June and Winnie hit the mother load yet again.  Mom was smart this year and bought a bunch of Halloween costumes on November first at fifty percent off.  Seriously, all these girls do is dress up.  Our favorites were these wearable horses.  The girls went nuts for them!  June named her pink pony "Clarabell" and Silly Winnie named hers after a very special friend she left in Utah, "Uncle Willie."

Here's a shot of June's unicorn and mom looking ever-so-lovely after an astonishingly turbulent flight to Denver, a LONG day spent at the airport, and a couple hours of sleep.  I know, you're asking yourself, "How can I look that ravishing?"

 

In this house, June is NEVER the bridesmaid, ALWAYS the bride.  Winnie usually gets stuck with bridesmaid duty, but she doesn't really mind.  That's what little sisters are for, right Auds?

Tooder got a special chew toy for Christmas.  I'll be honest, he roughed up Squeaky Lizard without remorse, but let him sleep in his bed to make up for it.  There is a real love affair budding here, I can feel it!

We've already broken in our new Bosch mixer.  Kolby got up early on Sunday morning and baked four loaves of bread.  I hope his baking infatuation lasts, because we are definitely reaping the fruits of his labors!

Winnie decided that she loved the Bosch too.  On cookie night.  Guess how many she ate . . .

To be fair, the bleak, frosty winter isn't as hard to bare here in Oklahoma.  We do get the occasional nice day of 60 to 70 degree weather, and we head right for the park.  June is an old pro on the twisty slides.   

And here's Winnie's sliding debut!  For months she has LOVED going to the park.  She plays in the wood chips, climbs the stairs, and catches a breeze on the swings.  But she never slides.  Until today.  She took a major leap of faith - you can almost smell the fear on her in this picture.  But now there is no going back.  I think we spent over 2 hours just sliding.  I guess the trip to Disneyland did the trick and now we just have to make up for lost time!