Blessings

One of the greatest things

about Doug's work

is when he

doesn't have to hurry

in to the office.

He takes the kids to school

in the morning.

He can curl up in his favorite chair

with London for awhile

and watch Wonder Pets with her.

Like this morning.

It's hard to beat those kind of mornings.

de Blob

This is what I let London do

once in awhile.

Like today.

It's a cute game

where you pick what color you want to be,

and then go around

painting the town that color.

It's a hit with her.

I know some of you are probably thinking,

I can't believe she puts her 3-year-old

in front of the tv to play a video game.

But we have fun playing it together.

And it beats drawing with crayon

on the walls, which she mustered

at the dentist's office

not so long ago.

I call it a creative outlet.

And entertainment, all at the same time.

It's that time again

Today,

I decided to do

an apple fast.

After eating so many

good (but not-so-good-for-me) things

over the holidays,

I felt like I needed a new start.

I tried this last year, and it was amazing

how different it made me feel.

You can do it for 1 to 3 days.

1 day is about all I can hack.

But afterward, it makes you

really conscious about

what kinds of food you're putting

into your body.

So,

this is what I had

for breakfast.

And this is lunch.

And you drink lots and lots of this:

For dinner, I eat a regular meal,

with half being green vegetables.

It's not a lifestyle change, per se,

but it makes me feel lots better,

so I want to eat healthier.

So, maybe, it is.

Try it if you want,

and see what it does for you.

Good times in the kitchen

Sydney helped cook dinner last night.

It's never boring with her around.

First thing, she cranked up the tunes.

Then she started showing us her moves.

What a blast!

Syd, you can help cook anytime.

Transformed

We've driven the stretch of road

between western Colorado

and eastern Utah

many times.

Usually I'm just ready

to get where we're going

and don't think much of the

barren landscape there.

However, we found that

under a blanket of snow,

the scenery was

pretty spectacular.

Kangaroo Zoo

It's New Year's Day.

It's cold and snowy outside.

You have a house full of kids.

What do you do?

Take them to Kangaroo Zoo!

Kids can run free

and jump to their

hearts' content

while parents sit around

and play card games.

Sounds great to me!

The kids were in kangaroo heaven.

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

Us? We had

Thanksgiving Part II.

A delicious turkey dinner

complete with sweet potatoes,

mashed potatoes, stuffing,

and pumpkin pie.

Mmmm, it doesn't get much better.

All our kids got re-acquainted

with their cousins.

And my siblings and I

(all of them!)

got re-acquainted, too.

It was wonderful!

Then, we got to have

Christmas Part II.

We exchanged gifts

that we had for each other,

since we weren't together

at Christmas.

New Year's Eve

wouldn't be complete

without some

good old-fashioned

rocking out.

So, that's what we did.

It was a blast.

Some hidden talent was discovered.

We toasted the New Year with some bubbly,

then hit the hay around 12:30.

You?