"Sleep" Over

See, the "sleep" is in quotes because there was actually very little of it.  Saturday night, Brian and I had a birthday party to go to in New Jersey, so we arranged for the kids to sleep over at the neighbors.  They were so psyched!  And they totally didn't sleep and kept everyone up, and we're probably never going to be able to do that ever again.  But it was fun while it lasted!

Isn't this just adorable?  Lauren read a story to Ellie before bedtime.  If only they had actually gone to bed...

Me, Brian and the birthday girl, blissfully ignorant of the havoc our children were causing at home.

Saturday Morning

The light was lovely this morning so I begged Ellie to let me take some pictures....with varying levels of success.

Daddy's New Toy

Uncle Mike got Brian a great new toy for his 40th birthday.  It's something about artificial intelligence driving cars and tractor beams and shooting things, and really, I don't know, but he loves it.  Gabe likes being the "ball boy" and rescuing the cars whenever they go off the track.  And poor Sophie really doesn't know what to think.

Happy 40th!

That's right.  Someone's old.  And tonight we hit the VFW to celebrate in style.

Adventures in Grilled Cheese

Cold days need warm sandwiches.

Lazy Day

Appreciating their handiwork on a lazy pajama Sunday.

Two Moments

Just two completely unrelated pictures that have been burning a hole in my photo files.

When I was a teenager my boss once infuriated me by telling me to "get a brush."  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

This just cracks me up to no end.

Starting the New Year Off Right

Sometimes daddy is VERY enthusiastic at the prospect of a morning mimosa.

Snow Day!

We had a brief refuge from impending reality on Friday when 8" of snow kept Brian home from the office.  Holidays over?  Pshaw!  Thanks to our friend and neighbor, Amy, for taking these pics of Ellie having fun in the snow.  Gabe was nowhere near as amused.

Family Video

Brian's grandmother, Momom Doris, came north with Popop and Momom, but stayed in Delaware with friends instead of coming all the way to New York.  So, we all went down last Saturday for some serious family reunion time.  Brian's cousin Sienna put together this video and we're all so grateful she did.

Happy New Year!

Well, the kids are still out of school, but Brian's back at work so it feels like the holidays are finally coming to a close.  I'll leave the tree up until the last possible moment, and I'll probably end up making more cookies since we're supposed to get a snowstorm...but still, holidays 2013?  Done.  We had a very low-key New Years, which was just what the doctored ordered.  A few bottles of champagne, some fattening appetizers, and Miley Cyrus confounding us on the TV.  Happy New Year to all!  May 2014 bring peace, joy, football championships, lucrative job opportunities, and Doritos.  Not necessarily in that order.