This and That

There is so much to love about the kids getting older.  Perhaps #1 is that they can cook!  Alison was craving something sweet, so she got out the cookbook my mom made me and whipped up a batch of Aunt Karen's sugar cookies.

How Eli often hugs daddy goodbye in the morning:

Speaking of mornings, the kids all decided they wanted to work ahead in school so they could have extra time to play, which equaled them bringing books to the breakfast table 7 am!  I appreciated their drive, but it was a little crazy for awhile.

Happiness=running with these two.  

And on a rare overcast day :)

Ben says that Maya has claimed him as her human.  I'm not convinced; I think he just spoils her the most.

When I'm tucking the kids in bed, we'll talk about our favorite, least favorite and interesting parts of the day.  Colin always has the most surprising answers. 

We said goodbye to our trusty old van today.  For how much I grumbled about this car, it still holds so many memories.  I mean, Colin was basically born in this thing.

I wanted to document the kids with this car.  I've been telling them a lot lately that they will never forget this thing.  They'll look back and say, "Remember that van we had that couldn't charge electronics or play music besides Spanish radio or cool air.  Remember how we had to open and close our own doors?!  It was crazy!"

 

We were feeling pretty sentimental about saying goodbye.  In a way, I loved how simple and humble our car was.  But, I was also embarrassed at the thought of trading it in...praise the Lord Ben did it for me.  "Uh, don't mind the cup holder, it doesn't go back into the dash.  And I wouldn't recommend taking the duct tape off the grooves of the floor...there's years of goldfish, juicebox straw wrappers and I don't want to think about what else, but probably somewhere along the lines of puppy grossness, under there. And if you fix the CD player, I'm pretty sure you'll find a KidSongs CD.  That's just our gift to you. :)"

Thank you for your service, mini van.  You served our family well for the last decade.  You kept us safe and took us on many great adventures.  We will miss you and so will all of our friends, as they can always spot us in the parking lot.  

A photograph just wasn't enough for Alison, she had to draw a picture too.

Now it's time to party!  I always said I would have a big party the day I got a new car and Ben is driving home from Phoenix with it right now!  Stay tuned...