Sophie. Poor, poor, Sophie

So, last Monday night the girls and I got home from a little weekend jaunt to St. George (it was my effort to distract us all from the fact that Daddy was gone, living it up in DC). We needed to get out of Dodge...so we did. When we got home Monday night, there was not a whole lot of food in the fridge and we were all a little worn out from a busy weekend. So, I got the approval of my children to have mac & cheese for dinner.

Now, I know this may sound strange, but it was the first time that I have ever fed my kids mac & cheese for dinner. We just don't ever do that. There are a plethora of reasons why we don't, my husband's food snobbery being the first (but he was gone so we could do whatever we wanted).

So, I make the mac & cheese and cut up some apples (trying to redeem the fact that we're eating a highly, highly processes food for our meal) and set it all on the table. The girls came and sat down and got ready to pray.

Sophie, oh Sophie, looked at the mac & cheese and apples, looked at me and said,
"Mom, I feel poor."
I looked at her and said, "wwhhaatt!!!"
And she repeated "Mom, I feel poor. This dinner makes me feel poor."

Oh, sweet, sweet, (poor and spoiled) Sophie.

O-B-A-M-A!

Even though I know that there will be much to post when Wade gets home, I can't resist celebrating today!

I loved watching the inauguration today knowing that Wade was there, right there. (In case you're the one person in the world that I forgot to tell, Wade went to the inauguration) I kept getting emotional (not a surprise) because I loved knowing that Wade was surrounded by history. It was quite overwhelming.

After listening to Obama's speech, watching his wife and girls, and looking at my own children, I feel something that I have never really felt before. I know it sounds terrible, but I have never really felt an emotional connection to my country. That changed today and it changed because of Barak Obama. I know that he is not the messiah. I know that he will not fix half of the things that he's hoping to. I know that he is a man, not a rock star. I know that he will fail a lot.

But, I like how he talks to me. I like what he expects of me and my family. I like what he expects of all of us. I like that he gives me hope in my countries potential. I like that he speaks beautifully. I like that he doesn't tell me how horrible the world will be for my children, he tells me how wonderful I can help make it. I like that he talks about generosity, and compassion, and love. I like that he can't really dance. I like that he loves his children and his wife. I like that he has Aretha Franklin sing. I like, that for the first time since Sept. 11th 2001, I don't feel guilty for bringing my girls into this world.

I like President Obama.



PS-Even Sophie, our McCain/Palin supporter, came around today. After the inauguration, she suggested that we go put our flag out.
So we did.
It looked awesome.

The Party's Over

Like I said, crazy from October through January 4th.

This was taken January 2nd after they exhausted themselves by cheering hard for the Utes in their amazing win over Alabama. The thrill of the game (and the fact that they hadn't gone to bed before 11:00 for a month) was too much.
We are going to be in serious detox mode for about a month.
Happy New Year!

The Wii

Like my friend Carrie said, we got a Wii like everyone else did this Christmas. The girls are quite enthralled, especially with their High School Musical dancing game (courtesy of Geoff and Jess, and Bop and Mimi). Here's a little video of poor Emma (notice her focus, she's about ready to put the remote right through the TV) trying to play while her sisters give in to their dancing urges (they can't ever resist).
This makes me and Wade laugh pretty hard...

Before I go to bed...

So, it's 10:0 and that's my bed time. I've just posted 3 times in one night, and I'm sick of it! But, I couldn't quit without one last Christmas picture post. My favorite of 2008...

Freakin' cute

Ho, Ho, Ho!

The second important night in starting off our Greenwood Christmas season is our annual visit with Santa at the Timmerman's house. It is a tradition like no other and we love it!

And, we all know, without a doubt, that he is THE real Santa Claus...

And, then it begins...

So, for the Greenwoods (with Halloween, 4 birthdays, and Thanksgiving), the craziness starts October 21st...

but then it REALLY starts December 1st.

And, our favorite way to start the Christmas craziness... Erin's gingerbread extravaganza!

It's one of the girl's favorite days of the year because it involves Erin, candy, frosting, candy, sprinkles, and more candy. This year it was even more exciting because it involved Lily's new best friend, Jared (or, Jawed, as she says).
It doesn't get much better than that!

Sophie and our lovely host



The candy chaos

And,
a lovely family photo to end the night
(every party has a pooper, that's why we invited Lily!)

Emma's Big 8!

Oh, what an 8 year old! So Christmas has come and gone but we couldn't talk about that until we gave due attention to Emma's fabulous 8th birthday. We had such a great day of friends, parties, and sushi (as usual)!
Have you ever had something in your life that you can't believe you're so lucky to have...Emma is that for me. She is the funniest, smartest, sassiest, kindest, and most fabulous daughter I could ask for. We have such a great time together. My new favorite things about her is her expanding ability to understand jokes. Watching our favorite Christmas movie "The Christmas Story" is the most fun with Emma because she laughs her guts out. She gets everything, especially the scene where the leg lamp breaks. When the Dad yells, "not a finga!" she totally cracks up and it totally cracks me up.

She's one of the top three best things I ever did.

TO DIE FOR!!

Emma's cute, cute buddies
(minus Sophie, she wasn't interested in the photo op)


Of course, no Greenwood Birthday is complete without.... The SUSHI!!!

Emma loves the sushi


Kung Fu Sushi Master Dude
(check out the concentration)

We love sushi!