I’ve been suckered into the world of Pinterest….so many great ideas there!

I can’t wait to try this one…
Orange Julius Smoothies

My dear friend, Jenn is on an incredible journey with her son, Jack.  Jack is being “road schooled” and in a perfect world, I would be able to hit the road and do this with our guys.  But alas, this is not our journey and no “sugar daddy” has stepped up to pay our bills and expenses for a year and buy us an RV to travel in.
So I am living vicariously through Jenn and Jack.  Very inspiring.

Check out their blogs if you are interested in a hands on type of schooling or just reading an interesting blog about a cross country trip.  (oh, and leave a comment if you are so kind…it gets lonely on the road)

Jenn’s Blog – Wayward Winnebago

Jack’s Blog – Charter Trip

Found this sign in Seattle today – LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Happy New Year!
We had a wonderful celebration with friends last night to ring in the new year.  Lots of Just Dance and Guitar Hero so we all made fools out of ourselves and enjoyed singing at the top of our lungs.  Fairly surprised the police weren’t called out for our disturbance of the peace.  Anyhow, good times were had.
Got up this morning and met a bunch of folks from the boy’s dojo for the annual New Year’s Misogi.  We meet at Point No Point, get warmed up and start the year with a walk into the Puget Sound.  Thought behind it is that if you can conquer that, you can pretty much do anything the year throws at you. 
Last year there were lots of tears from our boys, they were freezing cold and their feet were so cold they really hurt.  We were better prepared this year with boots and hand warmers, hot chocolate and blankets.  Mary and Alice joined in and all went in (except for Levi and Trey who only made it to their thighs).  Carlos came out beaming and so proud of his accomplishment.  Such a change from last year!

We had a wonderful, family filled (and focused) Christmas celebration this year.  It was mellow, despite the excitement levels being high.  Dee and I even had time to get a cup of coffee before the chaos started.  Favorite gift of the year for the boys was most certainly the Wii game Skylanders.  Now, if only we could find more figures to buy…they are sold out everywhere!
Hope your Christmas was wondrous.  Here’s to all the best for 2012.

 Levi had a chance to meet up with his biological brother, Devin, and grandmother on Christmas Eve.  I’m always amazed at how much they look alike.  Levi is an amazing big brother and adores Devin (and Devin really looks up and idolizes Levi).  It’s a very sweet relationship.

 What a treat we got this year…we got to RIDE on our little island’s Christmas truck.  Thanks to our friend, Ron, who is a firefighter we got the invitation.  How fun it was to ride along and wave to all the people.  This truck is so loved.  Carlos, bless his heart, fell asleep about 2 minutes into the trip.  I think it’s his way of fighting motion sickness, he has been known to snuggle up with me on a boat trip for hours.
We loved it and hoped you all got a chance to see the Christmas Truck this year!

Couldn’t be more proud of the boys – they rocked the flash mob dance in the church Christmas Pageant this morning.  Who doesn’t love the story of the Charlie Brown Christmas?  Seeing is acted out with my people in the dance scene, priceless.

This photo is proof…Dee went to a party!  If you know her, you will know what a big deal it was.  She even had a good time and we went out AGAIN last night to a performance of the Edge Improv.  So much fun and much needed break from the holiday chaos.